Amélie (musical)

Updated on Nov 26, 2023

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Music Daniel Messé Basis 2001 film Amélie Composer Daniel Messé		Book Craig Lucas Playwright Craig Lucas Adapted from Amélie

Lyrics Daniel Messé Nathan Tysen Premiere September 11, 2015: Berkeley Repertory Theatre Productions 2015 Berkeley 2016 Los Angeles Lyricists Nathan Tysen, Daniel Messé Similar Craig Lucas plays, Other plays

Amélie is a musical based on the 2001 romantic comedy film with music by Daniel Messé, lyrics by Messé and Nathan Tysen and a book by Craig Lucas. The musical premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in September 2015.

Productions

Daniel Messé (of Hem) wrote the lyrics with Nathan Tysen, Craig Lucas wrote the book, and Messé wrote the music in the adaptation of the movie for the stage.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre production

Amélie had its premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. The musical was directed by Pam MacKinnon and starred Samantha Barks in the title role of Amélie, with scenic and costume design by David Zinn, lighting design by Jane Cox and Mark Barton and projections by Peter Nigrini.

Los Angeles production

The production opened at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles running from December 4, 2016 to January 15, 2017 before opening on Broadway in March 2017 with Phillipa Soo taking over the role of Amélie. The cast for the Los Angeles and Broadway productions includes Adam Chanler-Berat, Manoel Felciano, and Tony Sheldon.

Broadway

The musical will open on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on March 9, 2017 in previews, officially on April 3.

Plot synopsis

*From the original Berkeley premiere. This is subject to change in the upcoming LA and Broadway run.

The musical opens with an introduction to all of the major characters introducing themselves, and explaining how everything in life is connected. They all come together to announce the birth of Amélie Poulain on September 3, 1975 ("Everyone is Connected"). The young Amélie is born to a germaphobe father, Raphael, and neurotic mother, Amandine, and she feels isolated and emotionally distant from her parents. She takes solace in her telescope, which she uses to view the universe from afar. Her only contact with her parents comes in the form of a daily health check-up from her father. One day, Amélie gets so excited to see him that her heart races, and Raphael misdiagnoses her with a heart condition ("World's Best Dad").

Her parents, paranoid, begin to homeschool Amélie and cut off all of her contact with the outside world. In a lesson with Amandine one day, Amélie imagines her goldfish, Fluffy, coming alive and speaking to her ("World's Best Friend"). When Amélie allows Fluffy to jump into her drinking glass, her parents panic and force Amélie to release Fluffy into the Seine, leaving her alone. Feeling bad, Amandine takes Amélie to Notre Dame to make up for what happened, and Amandine prays for guidance on how to deal with Amélie and hopes for a son ("World's Best Mom"). When they leave the cathedral, Amandine is crushed and killed by a suicidal tourist who leapt from the top of it. The death hits Raphael hard, and he builds a shrine in their home to Amandine, complete with a garden gnome.

Years pass, and Amélie becomes bored with her quiet life and distant father, and she decides to leave home. Five years later, she is a waitress at a café in Montmartre ("Five Years"). She has a quiet, happy life, and spends her time with her three co-workers: Suzanne, the café's owner and a past circus performer, Georgette, a hypochondriac, and Gina. Some of Amélie's regular customers include Gina's ex-boyfriend Joesph, Hipolito, a poet, and Philomene, an air hostess.

On the night of Princess Diana's death, Amélie discovers a box of childhood treasures belonging to the man who used to own her apartment. She is determined to find the owner and anonymously deliver the box to him, and if the owner is touched by her gesture, she resolves that she will become an anonymous do-gooder. She first meets with a cranky grocer, Colignon, who constantly abuses his assistant, Lucien, a mentally-ill young man that has an obsession with fruit ("Figs"). Colignon tells Amélie to confer with his mother on the other side of town.

At the train station, Amélie spots a man her age, Nino, who she is attracted to. However, the train arrives before she can introduce herself to him. At Colignon's mother's home, Amélie learns the surname of the box's owner: Bredoteau. When Amélie returns home Nino spots her on the street, noticing how pretty she is and finds himself intrigued with the box.

Time passes, and Amélie's search for Bredoteau isn't working out. One day, she speaks to her neighbor, Raymond Dufayel—an artist who suffers from a brittle bone disease, giving him the nickname 'The Glass Man'—and, possibly recognizing the box, tells her that Bredoteau is the incorrect name. The man was really called Bretodeau. Dufayel then shows Amélie his recreation of the painting The Luncheon of the Boating Party, remarking on Amélie's isolation ("The Girl with the Glass").

Amélie discovers Bretodeau in the phonebook and calls him from a payphone, telling him where he can pick up the box ("How To Tell Time"). When Bretodeau finds it, he reflects on his childhood and decides to call his ex-wife and arrange to meet their son. Taking it as a sign, Amélie continues her good-doing.

Later that night, Amélie has a strange dream where she imagines her lavish funeral in the style of Princess Diana's, where she is serenaded by Elton John and dubbed 'Godmother of the Unloved' – someone who gives herself to help others despite not being able to find her own love ("Goodbye Amélie"). Amélie suddenly realizes she hasn't helped her father and visits him the next day and tries to convince him to leave home ("Come Visit Me"). He refuses, saying he can't leave the garden gnome, so Amélie secretly steals it as she leaves. On her way home, she spots Nino again at the train station, where he drops a photo album on the ground that Amélie takes.

Amélie explores the album with Dufayel, and finds it is full of photo-booth photographs, one of which is a picture of a man who appears over and over again, expressionless. Nino appears and explains the meaning of the photos to the company ("Everything That Brought You Here"). Amélie watches him from the distance, and Dufayel, seeing her attraction to him, encourages her to give the album back and meet Nino.

Amélie seeks out his place of work, a sex shop, and goes dressed as a nun. While she waits for Nino, the other employees mock him, unknowingly painting him as a perfect match for Amélie. However, when he arrives, Amélie runs away ("Stay Right Here"). He chases her but she escapes and reflects on her childhood, remembering how her mother told her to never get too close to anyone ("Halfway to Go"). Amélie then calls Nino, but refuses to give him her identity, instead sending him a photo of her in another disguise and a riddle to solve.

At the café, Amélie secretly instigates a romantic encounter between Joseph and Georgette. Her father then turns up, telling Amélie about the missing gnome and how he has been getting anonymous postcards detailing the gnome's travels ("Travels of a Gnome"). The travels encouraged Raphael to step out of the house to look for him, and Amélie uses the opportunity to get him to relax and embrace the change, while introducing him to Suzanne, who he falls for.

Meanwhile, Nino has been searching Paris for Amélie, and handing out posters with her photo on them to anyone he sees, wondering how he's fallen for someone who doesn't want to be found ("Thin Air"). While doing another of her good deeds—spray painting a quote from one of Hipolito's poems on walls around Paris—Amélie notices the flyers and runs home, sending Nino another photo and instructions to meet her at the Montmartre Carousel.

Amélie constructs an elaborate trail to lead Nino to the album ("Trail of Breadcrumbs") and watches him follow it. When he finds the album, she calls out to him, asking about the man in the photo-booth. However, Nino is more interested in seeing her face, and she agrees to meet him at the café on Tuesday.

Tuesday arrives and Nino is late for the meeting, prompting Amélie to imagine an elaborate story to his reasoning ("Nino is Late/How to Tell Time (Reprise)"). Meanwhile, Georgette is overwhelmed by Joseph's clingy nature. Nino shows up, but when he recognizes Amélie, she finds herself nervous and runs from him. Hurt and tired, Nino leaves, but the girls in the café go after him just as Amélie reconsiders and returns. Asking of Nino's whereabouts, Joseph lies and says he went off with Gina. Heartbroken, Amélie returns home.

Outside the café, Gina and Suzanne demand to know Nino's intentions with Amélie ("A Lover for the Ages"). Nino says he is honestly in love with her, and needs to know her how she feels for him. Touched, Georgette gives him Amélie's address.

At home, Dufayel tries to talk to Amélie, but she angrily tells him to stay out of her business, not stopping to hear that he has finally gotten out of his rut and painted a unique picture: a portrait of her. As she goes inside, Nino shows up outside her door and begs a conflicted Amélie to let him inside and stop running from him ("Stay"). She is convinced to let Nino inside when Dufayel, through the apartment's window, shows Amélie his painting and insists that she'll regret not trying a relationship with Nino.

She opens the door and tells Nino she wants to be with him. He tells her he loves her, even if she cannot love him back ("Halfway to Go (Reprise)"). They kiss and Amélie takes him to the photo booth, where she shows him the answer to the mystery of the man in the album: he's the repairman who takes a photo after fixing the booth, to check if it works properly. They go into the photo booth, taking pictures together, and reflecting on their newfound happiness as the company watches on ("Finale").

Songs

Subject to change. Due to lack of song list in the Los Angeles program, some of the titles are based on the lyrics of the song.

"Everything is Connected" - Company

"World's Best Dad" - Young Amelie, Raphael

"World's Best Friend" - Young Amelie, Amandine, Fluffy

"World's Best Mom" - Young Amelie, Amandine

"Times Are Hard For Dreamers" - Amelie

"Her Life Will Change" - The Cast of Amelie

"Trail of Breadcrumbs (Reprise 1)" - Amelie

"Figs" - Lucien

"The Girl With the Glass" - Dufayel, Amelie

"Trail of Breadcrumbs (Reprise 2)" - Amelie

"Goodbye, Amelie" - Amelie, "Elton John," Chorus

"Come Visit Me" - Amelie

"Everything That Brought You Here" - Nino

"Stay Right Here" - Amelie

"Halfway to Go" - Young Amelie, Amelie

"I Can See Everything From Here" - Amelie, Gina, Gina's Lover

"Greetings From" - Garden Gnome, Raphael, Philomene

"Thin Air" - Nino

"Trail of Breadcrumbs" - Amelie

"Nino Is Late/Who Has Time" - Amelie, Chorus

"A Lover For the Ages" - Gina, Suzanne, Georgette, Nino

"Stay" - Amelie, Nino

"Finale" - Company

Differences from 2001 film

Several plot points from the movie have been changed, cut or rearranged including (updated to depict that changes that were seen in the Los Angeles Production):

In the film the narrator is one person. In the show to capture the ensemble, interwoven nature of the story all the characters act as a Greek chorus narrating the story when their characters not directly involved in the scenes taking place.

Instead of a telescope, in the film Amelie's childhood toy is an instamatic camera.

In the film the name of her friend/ pet goldfish is called Blubber in the show it is changed to Fluffy.

The tourist that kills Amandine in the film is a female tourist from Quebec in the show it is a male tourist from Brussels.

In the film Hipolito is novelist who has written books that keep getting rejected by publishers. In the show he is an aspiring poet.

In the film the discovery of the box prompts Bretodeau to reunite with his daughter and grandson in the show this is changed to reuniting with his wife and son.

When Nino and Amelie first see each other at the station in the film it is shown that she is attracted to him but it is vague as to whether this attraction is mutual. In the show the characters themselves speak out their thoughts to the audience establishing that it is mutual love at first sight.

In the film Amelie's stealing of the gnome prompts her father to leave his home and go travelling. Something he stated earlier on in the film that he wanted to do with Amandine but couldn't because of Amelie's supposed heart condition. He never goes to the Two Windmills or meets Suzanne as he does in the show.

In the film Nino never arrives at the sex shop when Amelie first attempts to return the album. Instead Nino's co workers tell her to go to the funfair where he also works part-time to deliver it. The co workers later tell Nino about Amelie rather than him catching a glimpse of her and chasing her as he does in the show.

The concept of Zeno's philosophy is never a theme or even mentioned in the film.

The mystery of the man in the album is solved before Nino goes to Amelie's home. She solves it and leads him to solve it, in the show this is the final scene.

Dufayel never paints his own work in the film. He also interacts with Lucien.

Amelie spray painting Hipolito's quote is never shown on screen. Hipolito sees the quote on the wall and happily walks on. In the show not only is Amelie explicitly shown doing it, Suzanne mentions the quote has been sprayed on multiple walls across Paris causing such a public demand for Hipolito he's begun writing a book.

The roles of Colignon and Lucien are cut down considerably in the show. In the film they interact more with Amelie. Amelie later even gets revenge on Colignon for his cruel treatment to Lucien through a series of pranks in his home. Lucien also has a crush on Princess Diana. Whereas the role of Philomene is slightly expanded she appears in more scenes at the Two Windmills than in the film and due to the ensemble nature of the show she is seen on stage a lot more narrating the action.

The story Amelie concocts to justify Nino's lateness is different in the film. It involves kidnapping, escapes and amnesia ending with Nino becoming a hermit in the mountains. In the show the story involves the idea of Nino possibly being hit by a train after his watch stops, losing use of his limbs and nursed back to health by a Nurse he will marry.

The character of Madame Wallace, a tenant from Amelie's building is cut from the show completely, in film she is another person Amelie helps by fabricating letters from her deceased husband in order to help her move on. This storyline has been given to Gina, rather than bone cracking.

In the film the Nino's backstory is shown in flashback highlighting the parallels between him and Amelie. In the show this is cut.

In the film Nino returns to Two Windmills after solving the mystery of the photobooth repairman to try to find Amelie again. It is Gina alone who decides to discern his intentions concerning Amelie through testing his knowledges of old proverbs. In the show because solving the mystery of the repairman doesn't occur till the end, Nino's arranged meeting with Amelie is the point where Gina along with Suzanne and Georgette face him and try to suss out his motives.

In the film Nino's flyering around the city occurs after the Montmartre Carousel scene. In the show this is moved to before that scene occurs to build on the love story.

In the film when Nino arrives outside Amelie's door they don't speak to each other. He calls her name she doesn't answer so he leaves sliding a note under the door saying he'll comes back. By the time Dufayel has encouraged her and she opens the door he has returned.

Instead of painting a picture to encourage her to open the door to Nino, in the film Dufayel encourages Amelie with a video recording he films live in his apartment with Lucien.

The film ends with a quick reflection of the various characters and what they do with their lives after Amelie and Nino get together such as, Dufayel continuing to paint, Hipolito finding a quote from one of his books written on a wall, and concluding with Amelie and Nino riding through Paris on his bike. In the show the conclusion is solely focused on Amelie and Nino as they take photos in the booth.

Reception

The opening night review at Berkeley Rep from the San Francisco Chronicle gave the show a rave review saying, "wit crackles and charm fills the house…in this seamless blend of visual, narrative and performance delights."

References

Amélie (musical) Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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