Doesn't Everybody Do It In Paris?

June 2010
IRT Theater, New York, NY

Doesn’t Everybody Do It In Paris? is a dance theatre piece inspired by Flaubert’s Madame Bovary and choreographed by Liz Vacco. An exploration of what happens when our ambitions are thwarted by reality, Paris reflects upon Emma’s fecklessly aspirational worldview and its relationship to the uniquely American culture of ambition, puritanical self-denial and conspicuous consumption. The piece further underscores these themes by introducing the story of the first English translator of Madame Bovary, Eleanor Marx Aveling, whose suicide by cyanide oddly mirrored Emma’s suicide at the end of the novel. Featuring a versatile, moveable set of live plants and choreographed specifically for untrained dancers, Paris investigates the novel and Marx’s life through movement, live and recorded music, video and spoken text.

Doesn’t Everybody Do It In Paris? was first presented as a work-in-progress in August 2004 at Green Street Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was later workshopped in IRT’s 3B Development Series in New York in June 2009 and presented at IRT in June 2010.

"Doesn’t Everybody Does not Do It In Paris? immerses viewers in the heart of intimate drama…violent and sexy."

− France-Amérique, le Journal Francaise des Etats-Unis

Choreography & Direction
Liz Vacco

Musical Composition & Arrangements
Brady Jenkins

Production Design
JJ Lind

Costume Design
Maki Takenouchi
Liz Vacco
Siobhan Towey

Sound & Video
Nathan Lemoine
Rob Ramirez

Performers
James Allerdyce
Max Dana
Brady Jenkins
Nathan Lemoine
Nadege Nechadi
Maki Takenouchi
Siobhan Towey