Top Hat at Théâtre du Châtelet: tap-dancing, romance and old-school Broadway — photos & reviews

From April 15 to May 3, 2026, the Théâtre du Châtelet welcomes Top Hat,Irving Berlin's iconic musical based on the famous 1935 film starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. For the first time, one of the pillars of the Great American Songbook enters the repertoire of the Parisian theater, joining Gershwin, Kern and Rodgers already celebrated on this same stage. With its tap dance numbers, brilliant score and glamorous world, Top Hat takes audiences back to the golden age of Broadway, between misunderstandings and dazzling ballets.

In London, Jerry Travers, a charismatic American dancer, inadvertently wakes up his downstairs neighbor by practicing tap dance in her hotel room. When Dale Tremont goes upstairs to complain about the commotion, it's love at first sight. A series of misunderstandings ensues, and the characters end up in Venice for a series of sentimental adventures as light as they are choreographed. Conceived in the tradition of classic musicals, Top Hat alternates sparkling dialogue, cult songs such as Cheek to Cheek, and dance numbers in stylized settings reminiscent of 1930s Hollywood cinema.

This production will appeal to fans of classic musicals, those nostalgic for the golden age of Hollywood cinema, and family audiences looking for elegant, accessible entertainment. Fans of tap, American standards and stylized romantic universes will find a proposal faithful to the spirit of Broadway.

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With Top Hat, the Théâtre du Châtelet celebrates the timeless elegance of the American musical, with its lively tap dancing, technicolor romance and unforgettable scores. Running from April 15 to May 3, 2026, this revisited classic offers a joyous, refined plunge into the world ofIrving Berlin, in a tribute to Broadway that's as spectacular as it is nostalgic.

Our take:

Tap-danced and well-oiled, a top hat pinned on a night that races along: Top Hat swings the Théâtre du Châtelet with a Broadway-flavored panache. From the moment the curtain rises—first volley of dance and skyscraping scenery as a backdrop—the tone is set and it never wavers for nearly two and a half hours.

Adapted from the cult 1935 film by Mark Sandrich with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, this show, created by Matthew White and Howard Jacques, adds about ten Irving Berlin numbers without losing the delicate thread of a plot built on neighborhood quirks, mistaken identity, and a love that runs into Venice. The story remains light, almost a pretext, but carried by a true theatrical vitality that leaves room for full-throttle musical numbers.

First stop in London: Nicole-Lily Baisden (Dale, magnetic) and Philip Attmore (Jerry), a harmonious and elegant duo, master the triad of song-dance-tap with ease. Then off to Venice, where the game expands: the comic pace rockets, supporting players steal the show—the Madge–Horace couple irresistible in their verbal sparring, the Italian dressmaker theatrically caricatured as a perfect Latin lover, and the butler Bates, deliciously sharp.

All of it, under the baton of Kathleen Marshall, rests on a rotating Art Deco set—an entrance hall, a hotel room, spaces that glide and reconfigure as the story unfolds—paired with flamboyant costumes that whirl to the beat of conductor Chris Walker's score. The energy is constant, very Broadway in full swing, sustained by a supremely versatile company.

A minor practical gripe: for non‑English-speaking audiences, the surtitle translations can be mispositioned (too low or too high depending on seats), making them occasionally hard to follow and potentially hampering comprehension. But on stage, the charm remains perfectly legible.