French and Musicals

The recent blockbuster smash movie, Les Misérables, is based on the equally popular Broadway musical, which came from London (where it has been on the West End for over 25 years now...must be 28 now, since when I studied abroad in Paris three years ago, I saw the 25th anniversary edition). But what most people don't know or perhaps just don't realize, is that this musical as we know it was originally written in French. It was written by two French men, as a stage play with music (not as the operetta we know from the English version), supposed to run for 8 weeks in Paris. Well, it ran for 16, which was the biggest success French people could have expected for that lower art form, the musical. They were very pleased, and that was that. Then, a few years later, a revamped, translated version appeared in London, and was so wildly popular that after a few years, the French began to wonder what was wrong with their version. As an experiment, they translated the English version back into French (and I could say a lot more about that, but I won't here), and put it in the Théâtre Mogador, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, right by the lovely Opéra Garnier. This version lasted even less time than the original run, and one of the complaints was that it looked too British. 

The French don't seem to like musicals. They politely chuckle when I tell them of my obsession, as though all the good qualities they had just inferred from how well I speak French have just disappeared, since I clearly have horrible tastes. For them, reading Victor Hugo and watching a musical are almost incompatible, it seems, even if that musical is Les Misérables. Except that the Théâtre Mogador shows musicals, and is currently the only theater in Paris (that I know of) that is exclusively for translated versions of musicals that are popular elsewhere. 

The stage at Mogador. Good thing that fat man was posing front and center. 

It shouldn't be surprising to the French that Mogador and its shows have a British feel: the theater was created by a British man, Sir Alfred Butt, who wanted to reproduce the feel of a London music hall. While a French architect carried out his goals, he seems to have remained true to this British intent. The original name of Mogador was the Palace Théâtre (the Palace Theater), but was renamed Mogador when the street was (Mogador is the old name of the Moroccan city Essaouira), and inaugurated by FDR in 1919, before he was the president of the USA. 

With such a history, it's not surprising that Mogador wouldn't show exclusively French musicals. Yes, there are a few. If Les Misérables doesn't qualify, another Victor Hugo-inspired show might, Notre-Dame de Paris, based on The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. But at its outset, Mogador mostly put on Ballet russes (Russian ballets) and musical afternoons accompanied by tea (les Thés Mogador). That was in the 20's, and in the 30's, someone named Mistinguett was successful there with his show: "Ça, c'est parisien." (That is Parisian). Since then, Mogador has been the venue for operettas, revues, and musicals. Hello Dolly even played there in 1969, when the director, Hélène Martini, revived (according to the French) the entire genre! 

In 2005, a group called Stage Entertainment bought the entire building, and has since been reasonably successful with its Broadway imports. The most successful was Le Roi lion, The Lion King, which opened in 2007 and didn't close until after I left Paris in 2010. I saw it twice in Paris (the second time was NOT my fault), bringing my grand total to 10. In 2010, after Le Roi lion, Mamma Mia took the stage, and while not as long-running, I bore witness to the Parisian reaction to this Hostess snack of a musical (that's what Ben Brantley called it), and it was shocking!! They loved it! I never would have guessed that a city full of overly-philosophical people who prefer complaining about little problems than actually doing anything to fix them would like such a trite, silly story accompanied by the less-than-brilliant Swedish pop music of ABBA. But they clapped during every poorly-translated song, and gave the show the longest standing ovation I have ever seen (and my grand total for Mamma Mia is 13!). 

Sister Act is the new musical, and it is closing on June 30th. It opened on September 20th, so it hasn't been a horribly unsuccessful run. I was a bit surprised when it was announced, because no matter how famous Whoopie Goldberg is, who would have thought her musical was the same caliber as The Lion King or Mamma Mia? Well, after seeing it, I can say that it isn't, but the crowd didn't seem to mind. They loved every corny and uplifting second, and it was pretty fun for me too, to see a musical all about convents given I came to Paris this time to study the convents in Les Misérables. Something tells me that, in a weird way, Hugo would have liked this musical. Already in the 19th century, he thought convents were an anachronism regardless of how useful they were in the past. Now in the 21st, he would be appalled to know they still exist, especially in America. And I think that he would have approved of the makeover they get in Sister Act. But he probably wouldn't have admitted it. 

Anyway, I went with Alix. We got 20 euro student tickets in first category seats!! Row K, a little off to the side. 

Yes, that's me about to go in through the Orchestre doors. 

Us in our seats. 

A picture from the program: "Sacrifice, obedience, and modesty... YOUPI!" 

Overall, it was a pleasant night, and I'll see anything for 20 euros! Extremely talented cast, enthusiastic crowd, and I will no longer accept when French people look disgusted when I tell them I've memorized 40 musicals. The two people in front of Alix and me in the theater were dancing during the show. Yes, during the show. Clearly, there are Parisians who like musicals, and you don't need to look hard to find them—just go to Mogador!

PS: There is an excellent macaron that they make at Pierre Hermé (my favorite macaron place) called the Mogador—it is a passionfruit cookie with dark chocolate cream. Delicious!