He comes on like a chubby hayseed in overalls and farmer’s straw hat. The curtain closes. A voice asks you for preparations to clap. The curtain opens on Olivier Giraud, a young Frenchman. A stay in the U.S.A. has made him different.
Giraud boasts his show, How to Become Parisian in One Hour, is 100 percent in English and draws on an American sense of humor. He begins with humor that’s almost as dark as the clothes he’s changed into, as he sheds light on French attitudes. Example: not liking a lot of other nationals “because they don’t like us.” But he becomes the guy you want to stay with if you want to be French.
As a Parisian, you’ve got to wear a scarf in winter. And in summer? Let him tell. He takes you on a tour, pointing out landmarks. At the Eiffel Tower, you should be blase. After all, you’re used to it.
Giraud energetically gives you tips--mostly behavioral-- on shopping, getting food and drink in restaurants and bars, having a night out on the town, using the local transportation. His most practical advice may involve dealing with strikes.
There’s some audience participation but neither of the “chosen ones” has to dress stupidly or handle being made fun of. The obligatory sexual advice, complete with positions and gestures, is Giraud’s (ahem) climax. Then Giraud’s curtain speech tells of having made a success of his show in a large theater after many producers shunned the idea of it. Audiences’ applause, as well as eagerness to meet and be photographed with him in the lobby, indicate his idea keeps proving a good one.
