Sheader Presents Gigi & Kids’ Dream at Open Air

As part of his debut season as artistic director of London’s Open Air Theatre (See News, 6 Mar 2007), Timothy Sheader will present the first major London revival of Lerner and Loewe musical Gigi. It will be the final production in the 2008 summer season, which will also feature three Shakespeare plays (instead of the usual two) – Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night and a new version of Park perennial A Midsummer Night’s Dream re-imagined for children – performed in rep by a single ensemble company.

Based on the 1945 French novel by Colette, Gigi is set in Paris at the turn of the 20th century and tells the story of a teenage girl being groomed by her grandmother and aunt to become a courtesan. Bachelor and bon vivant Gaston Lachaille becomes captivated by Gigi as she matures from wild adolescent to poised young lady.

The novel was made into a French film in 1948, then adapted as a stage play in 1951, with a Broadway production starring Audrey Hepburn. After Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe’s (music) success with My Fair Lady, they were hired to adapt the piece as a movie musical. The 1958 film, which starred Leslie Caron and Maurice Chevalier, won the Oscar for Best Picture. The score includes “Thank Heaven for Little Girls”, “It’s a Bore”, “I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore”, “The Night They Invented Champagne” and the title number.

Fifteen years later, the musical crossed back over to the stage, opening on Broadway in 1978. The original West End production opened at the Lyric Theatre in 1985. Sheader himself will direct the Open Air revival which will star Lisa O’Hare (Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady) in the title role and Millicent Martin (Side by Side by Sondheim) as Mamita. Gigi runs at Regent’s Park from 6 August to 13 September 2008.

Prior to the musical, the 2008 Open Air season will open on 9 June (previews from 2 June) with Sheader’s production of Romeo and Juliet, which will be joined in rep by Twelfth Night, directed by Edward Dick, from 13 June (previews from 4 June), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream from 12 July (previews from 8 July).

Director and choreographer Dominic Leclerc will completely rework A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a fast-paced, 75-minute physical production suitable for a young audience, aged six years and up. All three Shakespeares will be performed in rep by an ensemble cast on a shared set designed by Robert Innes Hopkins.

Commenting on his first season, Sheader said: “Contemporary theatre often sees an audience looking into the illusion of a self-contained world with performer and audience inhabiting different spaces divided by the fourth wall. At the Open Air Theatre, we are able to get closer to a collaborative and participatory experience of storytelling. Weather and climate add a thrilling contribution to our work, making the complicity between performer, text and audience a truly unique event at every performance. Built upon a core of excellent dramatic credentials, we will present bold and dynamic productions of these much loved plays to stimulate the senses and challenge expectation.”

As well as these productions, there will be one-off comedy events at the Open Air Theatre on Sundays throughout the season, including performances from Jimmy Carr, Daniel Kitson and the Comedy Store Players. Booking for the 2008 season opens on 14 January for members and 11 February for the general public.

– by Terri Paddock