Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris

Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris is a musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel. Brel's songs were translated into English by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman, who also provided the story. The original 1968 Off-Broadway production ran for four years and spawned international and regional productions, as well as a West End production and Off-Broadway revival, among others. A film adaptation was released in 1975.

In 2013, David Bowie included the cast recording in a list of 25 of his favourite albums, "Confessions of a Vinyl Junkie".^[1]

Early productions

The revue debuted Off-Broadway on January 22, 1968^[2] at The Village Gate Theater in Greenwich Village and ran for more than four years. Its original performers were Elly Stone, Mort Shuman, Shawn Elliott, and Alice Whitfield. The production was directed by Moni Yakim. The revue, consisting of around 25 songs, is performed by four vocalists, two male and two female. Brel contributed most of the music and French lyrics; English translations were provided by Eric Blau, Stone's husband, and Mort Shuman, a Brill Building songwriter. On January 25, 1972, a gala entitled "Hommage à Jacques" was celebrated at Carnegie Hall with Brel in attendance. His songs were interpreted by twenty-two artists.

The show enjoyed considerable international success. In 1968 Yakim directed a Canadian production in Toronto featuring Robert Jeffrey, Judy Lander, Arlene Meadows, and Stan Porter. In the 1970s, a production by Taubie Kushlick in Johannesburg, South Africa became the longest-running musical production in that country's theatrical history. A cast recording was released and is regarded as containing the definitive English-language versions of some of the songs. During that decade the show also enjoyed successful runs in Sydney, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen.

In 1973, "Jacques Brel" was produced by Ray Shepardson in the lobby of Cleveland, Ohio's State Theatre. It was intended to play for two weeks, but continued through 1975, with a 522-performance run that became the longest theatrical run in the city's history to that point. The production is credited as a major factor in the rescue and restoration of the theater and its adjacent venues, which are now Playhouse Square Center. In 1974, the revue was revived at the Astor Place Theatre for a limited run. In 1975, a film adaptation of the original production was released as part of the American Film Theatre series. The film included a few new songs.

Despite Brel's death in 1978, and his last years spent sailing around the world and living in Polynesia, the name of the show has remained unchanged.

1980s and later revivals

A 1988 revival served as the 20th anniversary production of the show at The Town Hall in Manhattan (and one night at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.). It was produced by Blau and Reuben Hoppenstein and was directed by Stone, starring Karen Akers, Shelley Ackerman, Elmore James and Kenny Morris.

In 1994 the show was performed in Dublin's Andrew's Lane Theatre and featured Irish actress and singer, Camille O'Sullivan.^[3]

In 1995 the show was revived in the West End, starring Michael Cahill, Alison Egan, Liz Greenaway, and Stuart Pendred. A cast recording of this production was released on August 12, 1997 with Jay Records.

In 2006, a production opened Off-Broadway at the Zipper Theater in New York City. While this revival used most of the Blau-Shuman translations, there were also significant changes: the order of songs was rearranged, numbers were reorchestrated, and some songs were dropped or added. The revival also included expanded staging and choreography. The production ran for more than a year. It was nominated for several awards including the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle. It was directed by Gordon Greenberg and starred Robert Cuccioli, Natascia Diaz, Rodney Hicks and Gay Marshall. The role played by Hicks was later done by Drew Sarich, Jim Stanek and Constantine Maroulis. Ann Mandrella, the wife of Sarich, was an understudy. A cast recording by Ghostlight Records was released in 2006.

In 2008, a production starring Leigh McDonald, Tony McGill, Emma Yong and George Chan, ran at the DBS Theatre in Singapore. In 2010, a production ran at the Stratford Festival in Canada. It starred Jewelle Blackman, Brent Carver, Mike Nadajewski, and Nathalie Nadon. In 2014, the show opened for a limited run in London at Off-West End Charing Cross Theatre with Gina Beck, Daniel Boys, David Burt and Eve Polycarpou. This production had a song list similar to the 2006 New York revival.

Musical Numbers

Original Off-Broadway production

1. Overture
2. Marathon (Les flamandes)
3. Alone (Seul)
4. Madeleine
5. I Loved (J'aimais)
6. Mathilde
7. Bachelor's Dance (La bourrée du célibataire)
8. Timid Frieda (Les timides) Tune also used in an Ovaltine television advert GB
9. My Death (La mort)
10. The Girls And The Dogs (Les filles et les chiens)
11. Jackie (La chanson de Jacky)
12. The Statue
13. Desperate Ones (Les désespérés)
14. Sons of... (Fils de...)
15. Amsterdam
16. The Bulls (Les taureaux)
17. Old Folks (Les vieux)
18. Marieke
19. Brussels (Bruxelles)
20. Fanette (La fanette)
21. Funeral Tango (Le tango funèbre)
22. The Middle Class (Les bourgeois)
23. You're Not Alone (Jef)
24. Next (Au suivant)
25. Carousel (La valse à mille temps)
26. If We Only Have Love (Quand on n'a que l'amour)

Songs added for the 1975 film version:^[4]

1. The Taxi Cab (Le Gaz)
2. My Childhood (Mon Enfance)
3. The Last Supper (Le Dernier Repas)
4. Song For Old Lovers (La Chanson Des Vieux Amants)
5. Ne Me Quitte Pas, sung by Jacques Brel

2006 Off-Broadway revival

References

• The Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology by Stanley Green and Richard Walters