David Andrews Rogers considers himself “the luckiest kid in show business.” And maybe he is. As the music director/conductor of the first Broadway touring production of An American in Paris, he travels the country working with a talented cast of actors, dancers, singers and musicians to bring the award-winning musical to life. The two-year tour includes a stop at Overture Center from Feb. 27–March 4.
Rogers is approaching his 500th performance of the musical, which was inspired by the music of George and Ira Gershwin and the 1951 Gene Kelly movie. But he still looks forward to every single show. It’s the latest gig in a 26-year career spent on the road.
Stephen Mosher
Rogers has spent 26 years touring with musicals.
“When I was growing up in Texas we used to go see all the big musicals that came through Dallas. It was our only opportunity to see Broadway shows,” Rogers tells Isthmus from the company’s recent stop in New Orleans. “It’s like things have come full circle. It’s such a pleasure for me to bring exciting, new theater to audiences all over the country.”
“I also love the road,” he adds. “I have friends and a favorite restaurant in every city. I know the special quirks about certain theaters. And I tend to run into the same stage hands. Sometimes we’re in the same city for five weeks, and I’m really able to explore each community.”
Although the conductor is always integral to a touring musical production, An American in Paris is unusual because it’s bringing the entire 14-person orchestra along with the cast instead of following the usual practice of hiring locals to fill out the roster with only a short rehearsal beforehand. “This music is remarkably difficult,” he says, explaining that the show opens with Gershwin’s “Piano Concerto in F” and ends with 15 minutes of a ballet. “It’s breathtaking symphonic music — it’s like another character in the play. We need the consistency and integrity that a professional orchestra brings.”
Rogers says he can tell from the pit how much the audience is enjoying the beautiful Gershwin score. “I can see in their eyes and in their faces how grateful they are to hear music they fell in love with,” he says. “Then there are also people in the audience who have never heard any of it — for them it’s all fresh, new, and exciting.”
In addition to hearing Gershwin classics like “‘’S Wonderful,” “I Got Rhythm” and “Embraceable You,” Rogers says American In Paris audiences should expect to see a lot of great dance. “People come to the show who’ve never been to a ballet in their life, and they walk away having experienced something marvelous for the first time.”
He also credits the musical’s success to its story about an American GI at the end of World War II who stays in Paris instead of coming home and becomes part of a community of struggling artists. The main character also falls in love with a lithe young ballet dancer. “It’s so compelling. Not just the love story, but it’s set against the very real backdrop of post-war Europe,” says Rogers. “We bring it alive — putting the city of Paris back together after the war. People are shell-shocked, but they begin rebuilding their lives, finding the light again. They rediscover love, music, passion and joy.”
