Review: NO, NO, NANETTE at Athénée Théâtre Louis-Jouvet

Having originated in Chicago and having toured afterwards, No, No, Nanette is a unique case of a musical from the 1920s to cross the pond so quickly, even more so because it opened in London before it did on Broadway (both in 1925), followed by the Mogador in Paris in 1926. Although firmly situated in the repertoire of French operetta, it has been rarely seen for the past few decades in France. 

With a solid, tuneful score by the sadly overlooked Vincent Youmans and a libretto by Otto Harbach, Frank Mandel, and Irving Caesar, the show has always been carried by songs that instantly became iconic — above all "Tea for Two" and "I Want to Be Happy" — even before it opened on Broadway, helping lay the foundations of the modern American musical. The hugely successful Broadway revival of 1971, with a revised book by Burt Shevelove, actually created what is now known as nostalgia—with Art Deco aesthetics and an abundance of tap dancing—featuring Ruby Keeler from the Busby Berkeley movie-musicals of the 30s and, in London, her British equivalent Anna Neagle at the Drury Lane the following year. 

One hundred years after it first scandalized and delighted audiences in Paris, this high camp revival by Les Frivolités Parisiennes, presented at the intimate and astonishingly beautiful Athénée Théâtre Louis-Jouvet through April 5, was a very good idea, following their exploration of the Cole Porter repertoire in Cole Porter in Paris. 

Sadly, for me, a great disappointment with the production is that the tap dancing is almost non-existent. A Nanette without big tap breaks is like a Cats without whiskers, a Phantom without a mask, or a Miss Saigon without a helicopter! Caroline Roëlands is, of course, a great choreographer, as witnessed in Follies in Toulon, Cole Porter in Paris, and even the ill-fated Al Capone, but her creativity in the jazz medium should have been complemented by a genuine tap specialist here. 

The plot, on the other hand, remains a delicious farce of the Roaring Twenties: a Bible publisher who has become entangled with three mistresses, a lawyer ready to extricate him for a fee, wives of relative naivety, and young Nanette — a ward of the household and a resolutely modern figure who embodies a youthful femininity in pursuit of freedom. Everything, as the conventions of this fantasy America demand, resolves itself — naturally with the help of money. It is light, witty, fleet-footed and refreshingly politically incorrect entertainment of the highest order! 

The production could not be in better hands. Founded in 2012 by musicians Benjamin El Arbi and Mathieu Franot, Les Frivolités Parisiennes specialise in the lighter French lyric repertoire — opéra-comique, opéra bouffe and musical theatre. Their orchestra, spiritual heir to the historic Opéra-Comique ensemble, brings genuine expertise to this repertoire. 

Directed by Jos Houben and Emily Wilson, masters of physical and visual theatre trained at the École Jacques Lecoq, this No, No, Nanette promises to be their most festive collaboration yet.  

The company assembled for this production is outstanding. Marion Préïté, though a bit too old for the part, brings luminous charm and comic intelligence to Nanette—the role's modern, freedom-seeking spirit is written all over her. The male lead Loaï Rahman is charming as Tom Trainor, but his tap-dancing skills should have been put to better use. 

The irrepressible Lauren Van Kempen (recently seen in Gypsy) in the role of Lucille Early, Caroline Roëlands as Sue Smith, and Marie-Élisabeth Cornet as Pauline form a sparkling trio, each with distinct comic color, while Véronique Hatat as the acerbic Flora Latham, Maeva Simonnet as Betty Brown, and June Van Der Esch as Winnie Winslow round out the female company with considerable flair. 

Arnaud Masclet (Jimmy Smith) and Ronan Debois (Billy Early) keep pace with effortless élan. The ensemble of dancers — Enora Veignant, Ludivine Bigéni, Adrian Conquet, Joris Conquet, Xavier Ducrocq, Gregory Garell, and Maxime Pannetrat — are, as Wilson and Houben intended, the beating physical heart of the production: they become the scenography, the staircase, the ocean waves, a departing train! 

The staging seduces through its vivacity, its sense of rhythm, and its unrelenting humor. The visual design by Oria Puppo — encompassing sets, costumes, wigs, and makeup (with wig and makeup realisation by Maurine Baldassari) — evokes a Twenties universe of candy-bright elegance. Lighting, designed by Bruno Marsol, sculpts the space with a warm period palette. 

The Orchestre des Frivolités Parisiennes, visibly complicit in the fun, plays with this music as if in a spirit of joyous connivance with the singers. Under the direction of Benjamin Pras — who also serves as chef de chant and pianist — the ensemble deploys a communicative energy that is impossible to resist. The French adaptation by Christophe Mirambeau (2026), the Frivolités Parisiennes' longtime collaborator and leading musicologist of the repertoire, is pitch-perfect in tone, finding exactly the right register of wit and lightness, but unfortunately some of the lyrics are drowned out by the music. 

With No, No, Nanette, audiences plunge into a world where love rhymes with lightness and every musical number becomes a moment of celebration. The atmosphere is joyful, the energy contagious, and the urge to dance irresistible!  Let’s hope this run will be followed by a tour. 

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