Review: AMOUR: THE VIRTUAL BROADWAY REVIVAL Is As Light and Refreshing as a Smooth, Buttery Chardonnay

AMOUR: THE VIRTUAL BROADWAY REVIVAL transports audiences to Paris' iconic and beautiful Montmartre neighborhood in 1950 through the medium of sung-through musical theatre. Complete with scenic elements, costumes, and props, this production isn't just a Zoom performance with backdrops added in. Instead, the assembled cast has all recorded their parts individually and through the magic of film editing, the videos have been assembled like a jigsaw puzzle to create a digital experience that evokes-to the best of its ability-a live performance on a Broadway stage with a cast of Broadway veterans.

Featuring music by Michel Legrand, a libretto by Didier van Cauwelaert, and an English adaptation by Jeremy Sams, AMOUR's abbreviated Broadway run at The Music Box Theatre in 2002 earned five Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Now, in a time where most of us have been held captive in our homes due to a global pandemic, this romantic fantasy seems rather timely. AMOUR tells the story of Dusoleil, an unassuming civil servant who discovers he can walk through walls. He uses this ability to improve the lives of his colleagues by giving bread, money, and jewels to members of the French middle class. This also gives him a much-needed boost to his confidence, which grants him the courage to rescue the beautiful Isabelle from her unhappy marriage.

Starring as Dusoleil, Drew Gehling and his robust voice are just as charming and engaging as when he portrayed Dr. Pomatter in Broadway's WAITRESS. Painting the character with shades of LITTLE SHOP OF HORROR's Seymour Krelborn, Gehling's Dusoleil is an inconsequential everyman that becomes an overnight sensation. As his star rises, Gehling does fantastic work keeping Dusoleil relatable as the character wars against his insecurities while also wading through the temptations of his newfound abilities. As always happens in these Faustian tales, Dusoleil's Robin Hooding exploits with the goal of impressing the woman he loves go too far. Masterfully holding a mirror up to anyone has felt invisible, Gehling makes Dusoleil's transformation from feeling totally unnoticed by those around him to recognizing how much he mattered to those in his circle tangible and emotionally effective.

Dusoleil's love interest, Isabelle, is played with precision and skillfully sung by Christiani Pitts. Her heartfelt performance is a joy to experience and leaves the viewer truly wishing they could walk through the screen and actually experience Pitts' radiance in person.

Adam Pascal portrays Isabelle's distrusting husband, the villainous Charles. Leaning into the fun of being the villain in a frothy romance, Pascal is aptly slimy and sinister without being overly threatening. Both Kara Lindsey and Jennifer Sánchez as Dusoleil's co-workers Madeline and Claire are beguiling and delightful. Rachel York, as the whore, is entracing and offers poignant observations of the human condition. Furthermore, each tackling a myriad of roles, Kevin Massey, Thom Sesma, and Vishal Vaidya tap into the lighthearted nature of the piece and offer up enthusiastic performances that move the plot along while entertaining the viewer.

Portraying the painter with aplomb Derrick Baskin expertly delivers the most memorable moment in the show with his rendition of "Street Painter's Song." Across the roughly 100 minute film, this moment is also the best visual moment. The backdrops shift from footage of splashes of paint being mixed together to scenic paintings of Paris. These visual cues work to tie together Jennifer Trembaly's costuming choices, especially the paint spackled wearables that are used here and there throughout the production. The attention to detail during this one performance begs the question of whether this creative team sees the street painter as the all-seeing narrator of the tale, which could actually make for a neat narrative angle for the production. However, this angle is not committed to. So, in the end, having the backdrops, costumes, and other elements be inconsistent with their uses of plant splatters, the aesthetics of French Impressionism, and more does make the production feel a little slapped together despite the hours of hard work that went into making AMOUR: THE VIRTUAL BROADWAY REVIVAL as seamless as possible.

Without this virtual Broadway revival, AMOUR may have been forever relegated to be a forgotten musical from the early 2000s. Now, with an assist from its all-star cast, AMOUR: THE VIRTUAL BROADWAY REVIVAL will likely expose this fun and uplifting parable with a larger audience. Audiences may not walk away from their devices blown away or deeply moved, but the musical definitely makes good on it's promise to entertain and help us escape the realities of life under a pandemic a year later for 100 minutes. It's a welcome distraction that goes down as easily as a smooth and buttery Chardonnay.

AMOUR: THE VIRTUAL BROADWAY REVIVAL will stream on Stellar, the new premium streaming platform designed specifically for live shows, for three performances only. Those performances will occur on Friday, April 2 at 8:00pm EST; Saturday, April 3 at 8:00pm EST; and Sunday, April 4 at 5:00pm EST. All tickets are $20 and can be purchased at https://www.stellartickets.com/o/art-lab-llc/events/amour-the-virtual-broadway-revival. For an additional fee, ticket buyers for the April 2 performance can gain access to an exclusive hour-long pre-show virtual event presented by Playbill.com with moderated cast and creative team interviews, food and drink demonstrations, and more. Ticket buyers for all performances can add a special AMOUR wine package from Broadway Wine Club to their order.

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