“I can’t explain why I became obsessed with France and the French language from a young age. I think it maybe started when I saw Les Mis on Broadway with my grandparents,” Matthew Rosenstein told me in a recent interview, in the lead-up to his cabaret show, Make Me French! The born-and-raised New Yorker describes himself as a “Brooklyn bagel who wanted to be a croissant,” who spent his formative years seeking French culture wherever he could find it.
Rosenstein started out practicing his French by calling Air France from phone booths, chatting with the customer service reps, and finally hanging up when it came time to pay for a ticket. He eventually studied abroad in France in college, before moving to Paris as an adult to work for France Telecom.
In 2025, he first put on his cabaret show, Make Me French! on Bastille Day, and its success with both French and American audiences prompted him to bring the show back for another round. This year, on July 14, Make Me French! will return to the Laurie Beechman Theatre, before venturing down to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
“I think that Americans and French people have kind of a fascination for each other, and yet we find each other kind of confounding at times. So that’s what this show is all about,” Rosenstein explained.
The die-hard Francophile worked in collaboration with director Robbie Rozelle and music director Michael Cuschieri to bring the show to life. Accompanied by a band and backup singer, he puts his own twist on a mix of songs borrowed from Broadway and Disney, as well as French disco, pop, and chanson, to create a soundtrack for the foibles and faux pas that come with life abroad. Whether it’s getting robbed in his first Paris apartment, or almost burning down the Grande Arche de la Défense, Rosenstein has no shortage of comic cautionary tales to share.
The show has something for both French and American audiences, offering les français the chance to laugh at themselves a little, and providing some helpful tips for prospective tourists or wannabe expats—from the proper way to lock your door to the one French word that will get you out of almost any bind.
As Bastille Day this year comes right after America’s semiquincentennial and the anniversary of 250 years of Franco-American friendship, it’s a very poignant time to examine both our differences, and how they might ultimately allow us to continue to grow and evolve. “I think that French people have always been fascinated, amused, and a bit mystified by Americans, but ultimately I focus on the human relationship between our two peoples,” Rosenstein said. “It’s important to zoom out and realize that we’ve been allies for 250 years now, and that, I believe, will remain the case.”
Catherine Rickman is a writer, professional Francophile, and host of the Expat Horror Stories podcast. She is currently somewhere in Brooklyn with a fork in one hand and a pen in the other, and you can follow her adventures on Instagram @catrickman.
