Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris

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Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris is an American musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel. The original show debuted Off-Broadway in 1968 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 with Production Supervision by Eric Blau. In 1974, it was revived at the Astor Place Theatre for a limited run.

The revue, consisting of around 25 songs, is performed by four vocalists, two male and two female. Jacques 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 responsible for such hits as "This Magic Moment", "Viva Las Vegas", "Teenager In Love", and countless others.

The production enjoyed considerable success not only in New York but also in Johannesburg, South Africa in the 1970s, becoming the longest-running musical production in that country's musical history. In 1975, a film version was released as part of the American Film Theatre series.

In 2006, a new production opened Off-Broadway at the Zipper Theater in New York City for an open-ended run. While this revival used the same Blau-Schumann translations as the original production, there were also significant changes: the order of songs was rearranged, numbers were reorchestrated, and some songs were dropped or added. The well-received production was directed by Gordon Greenberg with musical direction and new arrangements by Eric Svejcar and starred Robert Cuccioli, Natascia Diaz, Rodney Hicks and Gay Marshall. The cast recording of the new production was recorded by Ghostlight Records for release on November 21, 2006.

[edit] Musical Numbers

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)
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. Caousel (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

1. The Taxi Cab (Le Gaz)
2. My Childhood (Mon Enfance)
3. My Last Supper (Le Dernier Repas)
4. Song For Old Lovers (La Chanson Des Vieux Amants)

SONG ORDER FOR THE 2006 REVIVAL

ACT ONE

1. Le Diable (Ça Va)
2. If We Only Have Love
3. Alone
4. I Loved
5. Jackie
6. My Childhood
7. Madeleine
8. Bachelor’s Dance
9. Fanette
10. Le Moribond
11. The Desperate Ones
12. Timid Frieda
13. The Girls And The Dogs
14. Statue
15. Sons Of
16. Amsterdam

ACT TWO

1. The Bulls
2. Brussels
3. Ne Me Quitte Pas
4. Middle Class
5. Old Folks
6. Funeral Tango
7. My Death
8. Marieke
9. Song For Old Lovers
10. Next
11. No Love You’re Not Alone
12. Carousel
13. If We Only Have Love

[edit] Reference

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