MARC CHAGALL

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Developmental Lab at

Abingdon Theater Company

 

Director - Tony Speciale

Music Director - Matthew Stephens

Book, Lyrics - Charles Osborne

Music - Leo Hurley

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Paris Through the Window is about the City of Light in her darkest hour, and the ordinary men

and women who took extraordinary measures, through pen or sword, to preserve the world they

loved. The story begins in Paris 1914 with Alan Seeger, an unsuccessful American poet, on the day war

is declared. Alan falls for Marielle, a mysterious woman trying to move on from the tragic death

of both her husband and only child. But his expatriate aunt, Madame D, fears for his safety and

convinces him to return to America. As his friend Armand joins the war, and his friend Marc

returns to Russia, Alan tries to cling to Marielle. But Marielle realizes she must learn to move on

from her grief, alone. Alan encourages her to preserve her daughter's memory in a story. Then, on

the day he is to leave Paris, Alan has a chance meeting with Claude Monet who changes his

perspective on his role in the war. As German bombs rain, Alan enlists in the French army. Alan

fights on the Western Front for two years. Marielle immortalizes her daughter in a children’s

story, which goes on to help thousands face the war's losses. Alan's war poem "I Have a

Rendezvous with Death" makes him world-famous, but he is killed in action on the Fourth of

July. Ten years later, they all gather to remember Alan, as his old friend Marc Chagall unveils his

painting commemorating their time together, "Paris Through the Window."