42nd Street

This was a glorious triumph of a production and had the audience amazed and delighted from the opening Company tap number; which received fully-merited rapturous applause. With great strength in every department - acting, singing, dancing, Direction and Choreography, and with superb sets and costumes, lighting and Orchestra, it was of professional standard and delivered not only a story with the gritty edginess of the 1930s Depression era, but also a delightful comedy, a moving romance, and one spectacle after another.

Every number was very strong indeed, every performance was assured and engaging; this was a production without any weak links. It’s a challenge, for example, to have everyone in a UK cast deliver convincing American accents and this production achieved just that. The Principals were superb whether acting, singing or dancing and the supporting cast and Ensemble of dancers and chorus were amazing, offering up for the audience a multitude of ‘wow’ moments. Billy Lawlor projected confidence and charm, with an excellent singing voice which was shown to great effect in Young and Healthy and Dames. Peggy Sawyer was perfect as the eager but naïve ingénue from Allentown who transforms into a self-assured star, with a great voice which impressed whether as solo in the song 42nd Street or in the lovely harmonies of About A Quarter To Nine. The slow, sultry dance with a sailor in the performance of the Pretty Lady show-within-a-show was very powerful.

Maggie Jones was excellent, with great stage-presence, poise, energy and talent, as demonstrated in, for example, Go Into Your Dance. In that number the character was joined by some tap-dancing waiters from the Gypsy Café, the three ‘Chorus Girls’ Ann Reilly (Chloe-Louisa Hughes), Lorraine Flemming and Phyllis Dale, and by Andy Lee, the Choreographer for the show Pretty Lady. It was one of the many highpoints of the show and exemplified the strength in depth of the cast; each one of these characters delivered great performances throughout the show. The tap dance by Ann, Lorraine and Phyllis on their way to the Café was a little gem, and they and Andy matched their dancing ability with great acting, whether straight or comic. Ann’s witty line about Billy, for example (‘he may be a tenor but he’s got base ideas’) was spot-on.

The comedy was a crucial part of the show and was handled expertly by both Director and cast. Bert Barry gave a stunning performance and won the audience with his humour and humanity. Mac was a very good Stage Manager of Pretty Lady, Pat Denning skillfully gave a three-dimensional quality to the role of Dorothy Brock’s thwarted love interest, particularly in the I Know Now scene with raw emotions being expressed, and Abner Dillon shone in the comedy role of Dorothy’s financial back and would-be-lover.

The I Know Now scene in which the song is presented in three different styles (straight and emotional, then as drunken carousing at the bar, then Billy singing an over-the-top version with a backing from the Chorus) is a challenge to get right and hold the audience, and this production got it absolutely right.

Stand-out, tour-de-force performances were given by Julian Marsh and Dorothy Brock. Both commanded the stage and combined totally convincing acting with first-class singing. Dorothy’s dancing and singing were moving as well as technically brilliant. Julian’s singing of Lullaby of Broadway was astounding and the actor really brought out the slightly pompous confidence and flair of the character. Julian’s powerful rendition of the reprise of 42nd Street was the perfect way to end the show, the culmination of a series of spectacular numbers with wonderful sets, lavish costumes and great choreography, including Dames, We’re In The Money, There’s A Sunny Side to Every Situation and Shuffle Off To Buffalo.

The fantastic sets added enormously to the atmosphere and ‘pazaz’ of the production. There were the detailed backdrops like The Regency Club, the New York skyline, the neon signs of Broadway’s theatreland, The Maison Des Dames, and Broad Street Station, and there were the cleverly-designed stage furniture like the train with its array of windows, the Art Deco bar in the Regency Club, and the double staircase for the Pretty Lady performance. The huge 42nd Street neon sign that was lowered at the end of the show was the cherry on the cake, as it were.

The vast array of splendid, sensational costumes were also a highlight of the production and the Lighting was thoughtfully designed and skilfully executed. The Shadow Waltz, for example, had two spotlights, set in place and held by actors, projecting the shadows onto the backdrop, with the chorus of dancers all in shadow and at Dorothy Brock at one point lit up in the centre with a single white spot. We’re In the Money was set very effectively in winter, with a brilliant white light effect, and for the Broadway theatreland a lovely night-time blue wash was provided.

Congratulations to the first-rate Stage Management (Duncan Hook & team) for seamless transitions and management of such a large cast; to the Director (Helen Barrington), Choreographer (Maria Jewiss) and Musical Director (Ian Peters) for their professional-standard and highly creative work; to the superb Orchestra and to the absolutely brilliant cast - Principals and Company Ensemble. This was a stunning show with both rousing spectacle and moving intimacy. I am conscious of an abundance of superlatives in this report but I do not feel a need to apologise for them; this was, quite frankly, the best amateur musical production I have ever seen.

 

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