One of the longest running off-Broadway shows in History…

“This musical has French cabaret feel that is delicious and dramatic and humorous and very honest. In many ways, it’s the antithesis of a big Broadway show. Here, it is all about the actors putting their hearts on the line.” Gordon Greenberg, director of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris in 2006.

Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, an off-Broadway revue of Brel’s songs, opened at the Village Gate in Greenwich Village on January 22, 1968. Most songs were translated from the French by American poet Eric Blau and lyricist Mort Schuman with the help of Brel himself, conveying in English the pathos and wit of his story-songs, and the effect was overwhelming.

The revue played for four years and nearly 2 000 performances. It was revived on Broadway, in 1972 and 1981 and turned into a film in 1975, with Brel himself making an appearance. The latest off-Broadway revival in 2006 has received rare reviews and award nominations. Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris was also a worldwide hit: it is still today the longest running show ever played in Johannesburg for instance.