42nd Street

Saturday, 20 June 2009

Brash, tuneful and with the gosh-darn-it-let’s-put-on-a-show! attitude of a Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland baby Broadway musical; 42nd Street effervescently erupts right from it’s opening tap number.

It is truly a sight to behold 40+ dancers on stage tapping it out with style, finesse and frankly nostalgic charm – yup, they don’t do many shows like this anymore.

Modern audiences have little opportunity to experience the speed, rhythm and click-stamp-slide of tap; there have been a few novelty forays by Australia’s Own Dein Perry (Tapdogs, Bootmen) or maybe the syncopated drive of hiphop influenced Stomp the Yard; but all in all we’re mostly reduced to the occasional audition for TV dance mecca, So You Think You Can Dance.

This made 42nd Street an undeniable treat, and the closing night audience was there every uncynical step of the way, following the classic story of a talented understudy who gets her chance to be the next star on Broadway.

Kewpie doll faced naïf Peggy Sawyer (Meghan O’Shea) makes an impression on just about everyone she meets, (or blunders into!) and O’Shea was an appealing ingénue, with winsome contrariness and a big enough heart to hold the show within the show together. Tobias Madden as cocky tenor Billy Lawler was light on his toes and had a ready smile, but I felt like he spent most of the first act TALKING IN CAPITALS and punctuating the point.

Anthony Pepe as dance director Andy Lee was notable in his Gene Kelly inspired look and how-about-this-step? skills; and the comedy team of Maggie Jones (Kira Morsley) and Bert Barry (Drew Weston) twigged you to the fast paced 1930s banter of screwball comedic relief.

The person that most impressed though was Naomi Livingstone as Broadway diva Dorothy Brock, comfortable portraying her character’s ballooning ego and “I’m a star!” attitude, but able to elicit the audience’s sympathy over the love she left behind and a humble realization and confession that bright-eyed Peggy really is the best Pretty Lady for the role.

Jenny Lynnd dazzled the audience with her choreography, and with the amount of dance numbers on stage you can probably bet that the chorus members are most likely the fittest hoofers in town. I loved the slick and ultimately heartfelt musical ballet in the second act, reminiscent of the Broadway Melody interlude in the similar era set movie musical “Singing in the Rain”. Cyd Charisse’s green dress and looks were even homaged with a leggy brunette.

Set designer Nathan Weyers and his team gave us a tantalizing peak into the Great White Way with drop scapes proclaiming a constellation of New York’s myriad theatres, and the set change and side arch revolves as the Pretty Lady production travels to Philly was one of the best cast and crew transitions I’ve seen in an Australian show.

I has a fantastic time listening to this lullaby of Broadway.