42nd Street

42nd street  - 31/05/19

The Grand Theatre Blackpool was the setting for BFLOC’s 70th anniversary show and their rendition of the glitzy dance fest 42nd Street.  Having tapped for years when my joints let me at a younger age I was really excited to see this show and I have to say I certainly wasn’t disappointed!

It started with a partial view of the casts’ legs tapping away and I knew straight away that there had been a lot of thought gone into the production of this show.  Howard Raw (Director) had a very clear image of what he was after in this piece which developed beautifully whisking us from the rehearsal stages of Julian Marsh to The Broad Street Station of Philadelphia.  The set and scenery for this show were very well thought out with a spectacular mirror scene which I was extremely impressed with - very clever! The costuming was in keeping with the 1930’s mostly with maybe a couple of slips in some of the large group pieces.  Technically, there were some issues which I think the cast dealt with very well.  Some small issues with mic drops and balances of the mics versus the large live band were firmly down to the sound operator and the multiple issues with the lighting mis cueing which unfortunately detracted from the scenes and also did throw a couple of the actors, understandably.  Well done to all those involved in those scenes for carrying on.  The music of accomplished Musical Director - Dave Thomas, was fantastic.  The band were tight and the dynamics of the score skilfully executed by this experienced MD.  Familiar faces in the pit at the beginning of the evening helped me relax and know that the music would be something to enjoy.  Hats off to the wind musicians playing 4 instruments throughout the show!

Moving on to the cast, I must congratulate a number of principle performers from this cast.  Firstly I’d like to mention Nikita Coulon on her role of Peggy Sawyer. Nikita is the definition of a “triple threat performer”, with her outstanding dance ability and beautiful vocals which fit the character perfectly and her acting which held through the whole show.  Nikita was a delight to watch on stage and myself, my wife and my little boy were all looking forward to her coming on to the stage again in each scene - well done!  Acting opposite Nikita was Derek Winward as Julian Marsh, the often angry and pushy director of the show Pretty Lady.  Derek had a hard task to stay in character whilst dividing his time in this role both on the stage and in the auditorium, which is a difficult thing to do, he managed this with ease and his character was clear and strong for the whole show, unfortunately Derek was one of the performers that had some unfortunate lighting issues in a couple of his scenes which did seem to throw him slightly but he recovered the scene very well and with complete professionalism - good job.  Dorothy Brock played by Lynne Nolan was a delight to watch, mixing attitude of a diva status and comedy, Lynne showed her experience with comic timing and her ability to rule the stage with expressive movement which had the audience in love with her from her first scene.  Great shadow puppetry! Lovely job of a difficult role.  Jack Price was the young actor that played the cocky and assured youth Billy Lawlor which he did with ease.  Jack moves very well and it was like watching an experienced professional dancer in his choreographed dances.  With his experience of Ballroom dancing, it is no surprise that his partner work was impeccable.  Probably one of my favourite performances came from Helen O’Neill, playing the role of Maggie Jones.  I laughed out loud at her delivery of this character, with expert comic timing and what was in my opinion, a slick and accomplished performance overall that was backed up by powerful vocals and a real focus throughout every scene that she was involved in.  Playing along side Helen in the supporting role of Bert Barry, Sam Pegg did a great job to support the leads in their scenes with secure accent and good reaction to the action.  Joff Keelan in the role of Andy Lee also showed a great understanding of comic timing and character acting with a couple of great one liners and an impressive vocal to assist in Derek Winwards’ songs - very clever!  I have to say a funny addition to the cast was Chris Cooper as the wealthy show backer Abner Dillon. Chris’ southern drawl accent really stood out and I was worried that maybe the accent mark had been missed until I saw his cowboy boots and Stetson - great little character role which again had the audience chuckling at most of his lines.  Long time lover of Dorothy Brock, Mr Pat Denning was played by Dave Swift and he fitted the role very well, playing opposite his love interest in a supporting and confident way. Mac, the assistant to Julian Marsh, was played by Mike Donnellon, who’s  projection filled the theatre and I’m sure he was ready for a rest after his lines!  The featured dancers Sophie Coulon (Anytime Annie), Ieasha Ward (Lorraine Flemming), Madison Willacy (Phyllis), Rachel Cadley (Diane) and Darwin Quilligan (Gladys) all performed very well with some lovey scenes with the lead characters, showing the importance of a talented supporting cast.  Good accents and fantastic dancing from all 5 of them.

The ensemble in this show worked extremely hard and it was very clear to see that Danielle Woodhouse as the choreographer had drilled her cast during the rehearsal process, with a very effective result.  The ensemble ranged in age and dance ability, however the group pieces were set in a way to accentuate the talented individuals in the cast and every member of the cast that danced gave 100%. I was impressed with the ability of the ensemble as a whole for lacing up their tap shoes and dancing so well.

The show was a great success with a very happy audience all around me.  I was again blown away with how small the gap from “non-professional” theatre and professional productions really are.  Keep up the good work BFLOC and I am sincerely looking forward to my next visit.

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