'Jacques Brel' puts audience in middle of French salon

By Tamber Weston

March 4, 2005 | Entering the set for Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris in the Morgan Theatre of the Chase Fine Arts Center was like stepping out of Cache Valley and into a French parlor.

For the performance, the stage was converted into an intimate setting with tables, chairs and velvet couches for the audience to surround the revolving stage below.

Cast members -- dressed all in black, some wearing berets and French hairstyles -- mingled with the audience and sold drinks before the show, while upbeat French music played, setting the scene for a night in Paris.

An enormous chandelier hung over center stage and smaller chandeliers hung elsewhere over the audience.

The chandeliers were raised and lowered throughout the performance. A fog machine made for a smoky atmosphere while the cast pretended to smoke faux cigarettes. The walls of the parlor were created with white fabric and in front of them hung large projector screens where images would later accompany the night's music.

The show had very little story line but rather was a series of songs and dances with continued interaction with the audience.

Songwriter Jaques Brel was a popular artist in France during the 1950s and '60s comparable to Bob Dylan in the United States. He wrote songs about personal, dark and adult subjects with a cabaret style.

In 1968, songwriter Mort Shuman and his associate Eric Blau translated Brel's songs and presented them in a musical revue for an American audience. With 1,847 performances, the show became the third-longest-running show in off-Broadway history.

The show continues to capture audiences as it has done in Cache Valley.

The production, which opened Feb. 24, continues Friday night and closes Saturday. Performances are at 7 and 9:30 p.m.

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