An irreverent French operetta

June 20, 22, 26 & 28
Running Time: 2h30
Tickets start at $30

Universal Preservation Hall

La Vie Parisienne

Show Dates

First stop, Paris in 1866, where Jacques Offenbach's sparkling and electric operetta pulls into the station. After being dumped by opera singer Metella (Tivoli Treloar), bourgeois bachelors Gardefeu (Randy Ho) and Bobinet (Michael J. Hawk) reject French women and set out to score a Swedish Baroness - the only problem? Her husband! Impersonating tour guides, Bob and Garde lead the Swedes through a concocted Paris - starting with a hotel which is actually Garde's apartment and starring his glove-maker as a war widow (Sung-yeun Kim). Will Paris reveal herself as the queen of culture and love? Or will the city of lights look too bright through the next morning's hangover? Offenbach’s romp through Paris with hummable tunes, fabulous parties, and champagne-fueled seductions will have you dancing out of your seat and rolling in the aisles with laughter.

La Vie parisienne will be sung in French and feature new English dialogue by Tim Drucker (Trixie and Katya Live!)

  • Act One

    Rush hour on Friday at a train station in Paris in 1866. Bachelors Raoul de Gardefeu and Bobinet wait for their respective lovers, but when the diva Metella arrives, appearing to have forgotten who each man is, Bob and Garde decide to team up to pursue women in their own social strata, re-peopling the drawing rooms of the Faubourg St. Germain. Serendipitously, they run into Joseph, Garde’s former valet, who is now moonlighting as a tour guide, awaiting a Swedish Baron and Baroness to escort them to their hotel. Garde seizes the opportunity to meet a Swedish Baroness and bribes Joseph to trade places with him. The Baron and Baronness of Gondremarck arrive, eager to take advantage of all Paris has to offer. They follow Garde to “The Grand Hotel”. In the melée, other tourists disembark at the City of Lights, including an energetic New York politico who is in town just for the weekend! 

    Act Two

    Meanwhile, at Gardefeu’s one bedroom apartment off the Boulevard Hausmann, Garde’s neighbor Alphonse opens the door to Frick, Garde’s German bootmaker in search of his ex-wife Gabrielle, also Garde’s glovemaker. Arriving home with the Swedes, Garde shows the Baron and Baroness their “hotel rooms.” The Baron asks Garde to deliver a letter to Metella, an opera singer who he’s been ‘referred’ to by a Baron Frascata. After Garde consents, the Baron demands a big group diner at the hotel. Garde thinks on his feet and recruits Frick and Gabrielle. Bob drops by to check in on how Garde is doing with the Baroness and concocts a party to occupy the Baron so that Garde can have a moment alone with the Baroness. He’ll host it at his aunt’s Madame de Quimper-Karadec’s apartment - she’s conveniently out of town. Metella calls and is presented with the letter and the Baron who she consents to visit with the following night. As things heat up, the dinner guests arrive to entertain the Baron. 

    Act Three

    Saturday evening. The Baroness is off to the opera and Bob prepares his aunt’s house for the Baron’s decoy party with the help of her servants. Garde checks in to make sure Bob has the evening in hand. The Baron arrives and the servants announce themselves as a series of noble guests, and Pauline the chambermaid attacks the job with admirable rigor. Bob, in disguise, welcomes the Baron but it seems he’s had a wardrobe malfunction. The servants realize that there’s noone to serve them and recruit some newbies in order to proceed with the festivities. 

    INTERMISSION! 

    Act Four

    Later Saturday evening. High on opera, The Baroness has returned to Garde’s waiting arms. They are rudely interrupted by the Baroness’ friend Babette and her Aunt, Mme de Quimper-Karadec, who returned home early and found their apartment in total disarray because of Bob’s party. The Baroness shares the letter she received with her old friends which tells of her husband’s planned infidelity with Metella and they go off in search of a way to get even, to Garde’s dismay. Just then the Baron and his new pals return, celebrating a night on the town. 

    Act Five

    Sunday night at the Cafe du Cirque, where the New York Politico is throwing a masked ball. The Baron arrives on the hunt for Metella, who arrives to seduce him. The Baroness and her cadre show up on cue and unmask themselves and then the Baron who is caught at his own game. The women exeunt into the party and the Baron swears to get vengeance on Gardefeu who he realizes is at the center of the web of deceit. With the help of the New Yorker and his unconventional negotiating tactics, Bob and Garde convince the Baron that he had a wonderful time abroad. The Baron apologizes to his wife, who has had an epiphany in Paris, and all end up getting what they traveled for, and more! They celebrate freedom, love, and la vie parisienne! 

Cast

  • Randy Ho

    Raoul de Gardefeu

  • Michael J. Hawk

    Bobinet

  • Sung-yeun Kim

    Gabrielle

  • Tivoli Treloar

    Metella

  • Geoffrey Schmelzer

    Le Baron de Gondremarck

  • Chase Sanders

    La Baronne de Gondremarck

  • Danny Lugo

    Frick/Major/New Yorker

  • Fantine Douilly

    Pauline

  • Sadie Spivey

    Clara

  • Kate Morton

    Mme. de Folle-Verdure

  • Brennan Martinez

    Léonie

  • Chuanyuan Liu

    Mme. de Quimper-Karadec

  • Wagner Mauricio Pastor

    Gontran/Prosper

  • Michael Segura

    Urbain

  • Jack O’Leary

    Joseph

Creative Team

  • Mary Birnbaum

    Director

  • Zoe Lesser

    Assistant Director

  • Juliane Gallant

    Conductor

  • Gloria Yin

    Assistant Conductor

  • Krit Robinson

    Scenic Designer

  • Anshuman Bhatia

    Lighting Designer

  • Audrey Nauman

    Costume Co-Designer

  • Michael Schaffner

    Costume Co-Designer

  • Tim Drucker

    Book

Stage Manager TBD

Principal Coach/Répétiteur Djordje Nesic

Assistant Costume Designer TBD

Assistant Stage Manager TBD