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In 2001, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s French-language romantic comedy Amélie charmed hearts all over the world. It’s a unique and fantastical story about a socially anxious but curious young woman who one day finds an old metal box in the bathroom of her Paris apartment. Upon realizing the box holds decades-old treasures, she seeks to find its owner to return it. After seeing how emotional the man becomes as he relives his youth through his long-lost objects, Amélie starts looking for ways to do other small but life-changing favors for those around her. What unfolds is Amélie’s journey toward allowing love in. But she has a lot of work to do. Will Amélie allow herself to let someone in?
Inspired by the film’s 2015 musical adaptation, Portland Playhouse co-founder Brian Weaver has reimagined Amélie with a mesmerizing, refreshingly diverse cast that actually resembles modern Paris’ population, and a creative use of space and technology. Cast members morph from one character to the next in believable blinks of the eye, and sets seamlessly transform from dinner to train station to apartment with something like magic. With the show closing Nov. 10, audiences have only a limited time to bask in Amélie’s quirky magic.
Standout cast members include Lo Steele (At the Root, Clyde’s), whose occasional wink of humor is delivered with the perfect level of dryness. Steele manages even to hit notes that seem unhittable, and conveys as much with her eyes as any words could express. Anyone who saw Steele perform her original music at this summer’s Pickathon knows the energy level she can bring audiences, whether in a musical or at a concert.
Opposite Steele shines love interest Nino, played by Emmanuel Davis, lead vocalist of the band Napp Jones, whose performance is nothing shy of brilliant. Davis lights the stage every time he enters and captures the photo-obsessed character so well it’s hard to believe he doesn’t actually walk around collecting forgotten photo booth pictures.
Though less a part of the plotline, two of the night’s funniest and most unexpected numbers were both sung by Benjamin Tissell. First, as shop boy Hipolito, who sings the dearest song about loving figs, then as—surprise!—a cheeky Sir Elton John, a persona Tissell absolutely nails (brava on the costume design, Dayna Lucas).
Another entrancing presence in the production is Jimmy Garcia, whose occasional trumpet solos were applaud-inducing, and who could transform from Amélie’s grumpy closed-off father to the emotional and sweet Bretodeau, the old man to whom Amélie returns the box of youthful treasures. Opposite Garica is Susannah Mars, who plays Amélie’s twitchy, anxious mother, Amandine Poulain (until she dies getting smushed by someone jumping off a building), as well as Amélie’s friend, a flight attendant named Philomene, a larger stage role than it is onscreen.
The live instrumentation onstage was lively and impressive (each actor played at least one instrument), and it was a good thing the lyrics were projected onto the set for the audience to read—some of the vocalists were difficult to hear when the full band was engaged, though the music and movements were so fun it was easy to interpret the song’s meaning, even when vocalists got a little outshone by the music.
SEE IT: Amélie at Portland Playhouse, 602 NE Prescott St., 503-488-5822, portlandplayhouse.org. 7:30 pm Wednesday–Friday, 2 and 7:30 pm Saturday–Sunday, Nov. 6–10. $60.