Piaf! The Show

Friday, February 6, 2026 at 8pm

This performance will include a 15-minute intermission.

The Cast

Nathalie Lermitte: Singer

Philippe Villa: Piano

Benoît Pierron: Percussions

Fréderic Viale: Accordion

Daniel Fabricant: Double bass

Gil Marsalla: Producer, Director

Andy Guignard: Light Designer

To mark the 110th anniversary of La Môme, the world’s most beloved French icon, Édith Piaf, this production will tour major theaters around the globe. Experience the story of one of the greatest singers of all time in a stunning new staging that transports audiences from the streets of Montmartre to the Olympia in Paris, brought to life through her timeless songs.

With over 1,000 performances in more than 50 countries and one million spectators, Piaf! The Show stands as the most successful French musical production in history, captivating audiences worldwide.

Performed by Nathalie Lermitte and conceived and directed by Gil Marsalla, Piaf! The Show is unanimously praised by Piaf’s family and friends as:

“...the most beautiful tribute ever produced to Édith Piaf’s career.”

The first act offers a glimpse into Édith Piaf’s life before fame. Imagine yourself on the terrace of a small Parisian café or standing in a cobbled square in Montmartre. This is where Piaf spent her earliest years—singing in the streets, surviving on the kindness of strangers, and hoping for the sound of loose change dropping into her hand.

A young Édith Piaf enters to the sound of a wistful accordion. She sings of her childhood in poverty and her longing to spread her wings and fly away like a sparrow. Her words are tinged with sadness, but a smile lingers on her face—she is no longer that lost little girl.

She reminisces about singing for the crowds between Saint-Ouen and Clignancourt, surrounded by street gangs, the smell of lilacs, and the aroma of French fries drifting from nearby cafés. She recalls her first loves and daydreams of those fleeting days of innocence. In “C’est un gars” (“It’s a Guy”), she sings of a man who loved her and left her heart in pieces. In “Elle fréquentait la Rue Pigalle” (“You Could Find Her on Pigalle Street”), she tells the story of how cabaret owner Louis Leplée discovered her in 1935, standing on a street corner in Pigalle with her pale, sorrowful face.

Édith’s heart beats for Paris. She sings of the city’s chestnut trees, its morning light, and the music echoing through its streets. Paris has sheltered her since birth and continues to watch over her as she dances and sings across its cobblestone streets.

ACT I 

CHANTE-MOI

PLUS BLEU QUE TES YEUX

LES MÔMES DE LA CLOCHE

L’ACCORDÉONISTE

LE AMANTS DUN JOUR

ENTRE SAINT-OUEN ET CLIGNANCOURT

ELLE FRÉQUENTAIT LA RUE PIGALLE

C’EST UN GARS

À QUOI ÇA SERT L’AMOUR

LES CROIX

LA GOUALANTE DU PAUVRE JEAN

PARIS

SOUS LE CIEL DE PARIS

PADAM... PADAM...

~ INTERMISSION ~ 

The second act recreates some of the legendary performances Piaf delivered after rising to international fame, singing on the world’s most renowned stages. Imagine sitting in the iconic Olympia Theatre in Paris, or in the audience at Carnegie Hall in 1957, witnessing one of her final, unforgettable concerts.

Édith Piaf’s turbulent relationship with love continues to shape her music: the buoyant joy of "Mon manège à moi" (“You’re My Carousel”), the bittersweet farewell of "Les Feuilles mortes" (“Autumn Leaves”). Memories of lost loves pulse through her like the steady beat of a wooden heart.

Yet Piaf refuses to linger in sorrow. Instead, she tumbles headlong into passion in "La Foule" (“The Crowd”), swept up and carried away by a love as wild and overwhelming as the mob around her. A different tone emerges in "L’Hymne à l’amour" (“Hymn to Love”), where she bares her soul, surrendering herself completely and promising to give up everything—country, home, friends—if only love will remain. In "Mon Dieu" (“My God”), she turns her prayer to the heavens, begging for just one more day with the person she adores.

With the world in the palm of her hand, Piaf offers the tender, shimmering beauty of her most beloved song, "La Vie en rose": Hold me close and hold me fast, the magic spell you cast—this is la vie en rose.

ACT II 

LES TROIS CLOCHES

MON MANÈGE À MOI

LES FEUILLES MORTES

L’HOMME À LA MOTO

MILORD

MON DIEU

LA FOULE

NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN

HYMNE À L’AMOUR

LA VIE EN ROSE

Bob Romney, Chairman
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Professor Emeritus Physics and Astronomy
University of California, Irvine

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