Alexandria — Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living is Paris is a classic. It landed in New York in 1968 with an English translation and played at the Village Gate for four years. Since then it has played all over the world and is a beloved compilation of music by Brel, an artist growing up in Brussels, then living and performing in Paris. His music was translated by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman and Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living is Paris introduced this stunning, passionate music to American audiences. The rest, as they say, is history.

I was introduced to Brel’s music in the ‘80s at d.c. space, a funky little performance venue on the corner of 7th and E St. NW (now a Starbucks). I still own the original vinyl cast album. It has been a favorite of mine for decades. And now MetroStage is producing it, opening our season with an amazing cast and band to celebrate this brilliant music which covers life and death, love and loss and all of the human experiences in between. It is just as relevant today as it was when it was first introduced to English-speaking audiences of the late ‘60s.

In 2006 a new production of Brel opened at the Zipper Theatre in New York. One of the acclaimed actors in that production was our very own Natascia Diaz. We are delighted that she will be headlining this great cast, also comprised of Bobby Smith, Sam Ludwig and Bayla Whitten. Natascia is well known to our audiences because she was in

our world premiere of ROOMS a rock romance, where she won the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical. She has also been at MetroStage in Glimpses of the Moon and, most recently, Savage in Limbo. Nationally she has been seen in Cabaret (Velma) and The Capeman (Esmeralda) and other Broadway and national tours as well. Bobby Smith, you will remember from our hilarious parody Musical of Musical (The Musical!), Sam Ludwig was seen opposite Natascia in Glimpses of the Moon, and Bayla is a beautiful young ingénue we will be introducing to MetroStage audiences for the first time.

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris will run at MetroStage through Oct. 21. With this great cast, great band and great music this production of this classic show is a must-see this fall.