Audiences transported to France in Aspire Community Theatre’s ‘Amélie’

If there isn’t already a name for someone who is the opposite of a Debbie Downer, might I suggest Amélie?

The title character of the beloved 2001 film of the same name and its musical adaptation seems to see sunshine and rainbows wherever she goes. She’s quirky, introverted and imaginative, though she works to keep people at arm’s length.

Despite this, she makes a positive impact on the life of everyone she meets.

We first meet Amélie Poulain as a young girl (Eloise Peltekian) growing up with her self-centered parents Raphael (Paul Eloe, who also plays Julian Dufayel) and Amandine (Michaellea David, who also plays Collignon’s mother).

After an isolated childhood and a tragic accident resulting in her mother’s death, we re-encounter Amèlie (played as an adult by Amee Peltekian) five years later, now working at a waitress in Montmartre, Paris.

At the cafe, Amélie interacts with a variety of characters, including Hipolito Jeunet (Elias Underhill), an unpublished writer; hypochondriac Georgette Cornuel (Bridget Dupuis); Gina, a waitress still obsessed with her late husband who had abandoned her for his secretary (Emmé Labenne); Joseph (Daniel Hunt), a plumber stalking Gina after a bad date the previous year; Philomene (Hannah Strickland), a flight attendant; and Suzanne (Emma Hoit), the cafe’s owner who was a previously a trapeze artist.

As mentioned, the observant Amélie doesn’t go out of her way to develop connections with the cafe-goers, choosing a more introverted life.

One night at home, Amélie stumbles upon a box of treasured items she believes belonged to the person who previously lived there. Amélie is determined to return the box to its rightful owner, Bretodeau (Corey Drake, who also plays Elton John), and succeeds.

Boosted by her success, Amélie decides to carry out more anonymous acts of good for those around her.

One of these acts involves taking a blind man (Collin Thompson, who also plays the gnome) on a tour of Montmartre. Another finds her trying to return a photo album to the mysterious Nino Quincampoix (Duncan Menzies), a man who Amélie is starting to fall for.

Amélie continues her good deeds while also navigating her feelings for Nino, with those she’s helped coming to her aid when she needs it.

The musical also stars Andy-Lee Collings (Lucien Villaparasis), Brent Starrh (Collingnon’s father/mysterious man) and Lorelai Provolt (Sylvia Legrandin).

The musical opens Friday and runs through Feb. 16 at Aspire Community Theatre.

“Amélie” is directed by Trigger Weddle, music directed by Presley DuPuis and stage managed by Sean Unruh and Robbie Johnston.

The musical is based on the film of the same name directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet featuring a screenplay by Guillaume Laurent based on a story by Jeunet and Laurent.

“Amèlie” is a fairly new musical, having premiered on Broadway in 2017 and on the West End in 2019.

The musical toured the U.K. but not the United States.

Weddle said the licensed version combines the best of both productions.

Rather than use a puppet to portray young Amélie like the West End version, for example, the Broadway version casts a young actress for the role.

As a fun bonus for audiences catching the show, young Amélie and adult Amélie are played by mother and daughter Amee and Eloise Peltekian. Weddle has worked with casts featuring family members before but not a parent and child playing the same role at different ages.

“There’s this innate chemistry that happens,” she said. “The work ethic of these two actresses is pretty astounding. They came in with ideas and they worked on movements that they could mimic each other. I gave them a guideline, and they went home and practiced and ran with it.”

While we mostly see Amélie as a quirky adult, young Amélie had a rough start to life, with disconnected relationships with both her parents. Because so much of the story is sung, Weddle said some people might not recognize the darker moments from Amélie’s past as the show quickly focuses on her adult life.

“It was one of the challenges of the show,” she said. “It’s like ‘Ooh! She’s so quirky,’ because that part is pretty fast. You’re enjoying the beautiful music and the actors performing.

“You might miss that she had a cold childhood with her parents and that her mother passed away.”

For those who do happen to miss those moments at the top of the show, there are flashback scenes in the second act that help to explain how Amélie’s relationship with her parents led to her being timid in relationships.

As quickly as the musical changes Amélie’s age, it also changes location, taking the title character on adventures all over Paris. To achieve these scenery quick changes, Weddle is using projected images.

Because so much of the story is narrated by various characters in the show, Weddle said there is also a big reliance on lighting design to help move the story along visually.

“When they jump from one place to another, if we don’t have France to share, at least we can relate that moment for the audience,” she said.

One last element to bringing France to the audience involved asking a native French speaker to help the cast with their accents. Philippe Riviere, a friend of Weddle’s, taught the cast about masculine and feminine words as well as how French speakers drop consonants and connect words.

The Broadway version found performers speaking with an American accent, but Weddle said the book they’re using indicates a preference for French accents.

“It says, ‘No Pepé Le Pew,’ ” she said .

The projections, lighting and accents all add to the appeal of “Amélie,” but it’s the title character who does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to the charm of the show. That’s all, Weddle said, despite the fact that Amélie didn’t have the most charming upbringing.

“Despite her dark, weird childhood, and despite the fact that she’s quirky, and despite the fact that she has this awkward relationship with this guy that she falls in love with from a distance, it’s all OK,” she said. “Everything’s fantastic with her. There’s no heavy stakes, it’s very light.

“The music is beautiful, and the actress who portrays her, Amee Peltekian, keeps that light heartedness, that joie de vivre about the character that we connect to every time.”