TV: Watch A Performance By The Cast Of AMELIE THE MUSICAL

Today, BroadwayWorld's Emma Watkins attended the official West End press launch of musical Amelie at The Other Palace. The event featured a performance of songs from the show by Audrey Brisson and the company, plus there was a Q&A with director Michael Fentiman and Brisson. Watch the video!

Speaking at the launch, Fentiman explained that Amélie has been on a long journey, and isn't trying to be a typical musical. "At the moment we live in complex, divided times, and we want people to come to the show and hear the message of people just connecting. The moral is that ultimately, even when you feel divided from the world, human nature will bring you back to something hopeful. It's about remembering the simplicity of eye contact with another human."

Audrey Brisson said that the tour so far "has been great. The theatres have been varied and amazing, and a great test for how the show works in different spaces." Fentiman added that the audience reactions have been great too.

Why was the decision taken to make it an actor-musician show? Fentiman felt the structure of the story was challenging, and an actor-musician approach "helps to make the leap from the world of the movie to the musical theatre stage".

He confirmed that he just had to have Brisson play the role of Amélie because of her "weird, unique charm"...and her forward roll technique! He believes she's inherited Audrey Tautou's stillness, but has added more darkness to the role, so the musical will appeal even to those who found the movie too cute or sweet.

Fentiman noted that the show inherited the Broadway score, but reworked it "to bring back the French feeling of the film score. There is also a realistic magic about how the theatre show is staged." The emotional investment of the cast is essential, as "it was a beast to rehearse!".

The Broadway incarnation of the show was perhaps too American, Fentiman thinks, without the French essence behind it. "The show was also perhaps too big, and stifled the small, delicate nature of the story." He would love there to be an audio recording of this version of the show, so fingers crossed that it happens.

Watch the cast in action below!