By Tanner Tate
With all the pizzazz of an authentic, big-band, blockbuster Broadway show full of hopeful actors praying to make it big, (or at least to the next week of performances,) 42nd Street bursts onto the stage with palpable excitement and toe-tapping fun at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre in Centerville, Utah.
Originally released as a book in 1932 written by novelist and screenwriter Bradford Ropes, 42nd Street was shortly after made into a musical film in 1933, becoming one of the most successful films of the year. Music and lyrics were written by dynamic duo Harry Warren and Al Dubin, respectively, and some of the songs have gone down in musical theatre history. In fact, one of my friends that accompanied me to the show with kept saying, “I’ve never seen this show, but I swear I know these songs.” Almost 50 years after the release of the movie, the musical found its way to the Broadway stage in 1980, opening on August 25th at the Winter Garden Theatre and running for nine years and more than 3,000 performances, performing more times than Grease, The Producers, and even Fiddler on the Roof.
42nd Street follows a group of Broadway hopefuls who have signed on to what is projected to be the next big Broadway hit, a show called Pretty Lady, produced by the wildly famous Julian Marsh (Brock Harris/Kelly Griffiths). The show opens with the cast already in rehearsals, leading the way with an aptly energetic tap number to kick off the story. As the rehearsal progresses, the cast is met with a young woman, Peggy Sawyer (Kaylee Wheeler/Danna Facer) just off the train from speck-on-a-map Allentown, Pennsylvania with starry-eyed dreams of being on Broadway. While Peggy is unassuming at first, it is revealed suddenly that she has a remarkable aptitude for tap dancing, and the cast takes a liking to her, especially the young leading man of Pretty Lady, Billy Lawlor (Taylor Smith/Daylen Bills). While Peggy attempts to get into Julian’s good graces to find her way into the show, the cast is forced to contend with the antics of their leading woman, the washed-up and aging former star of Broadway Dorothy Brock (Cynthia Klumpp/Judy Binns). As Pretty Lady makes its way from a rehearsal warehouse in Manhattan to its debut, the cast and production staff are faced with unexpected speed bumps, abrupt changes of plans, and all the last-minute curveballs that every thespian is familiar with all the way down to the minute the curtain is due to go up.
I saw the show on a Tuesday night, so the majority of the cast I saw was that of the T/Th/Sat performances, and my review will reflect their performances, which are sublime. With much of the show following her, Facer plays a wide-eyed and excitable Peggy Sawyer, complete with an impressive skill set surrounding her dancing. Her smile and eagerness are infectious, and one can’t help but marvel at her ability to draw you in with sincerity. Accompanying Facer onstage is J. Binns, who brings a level of overstated poise and dramatic grandeur to the stage as Dorothy Brock. From the moment she arrives, her commitment to character is both hilarious and authentic, while also telling a more profound story as Dorothy’s tale unfolds and her plans and ideals are called into question. Holding the reins of the entire production, Julian Marsh, played by Griffiths, is at once intimidating and encouraging as a producer. It is obvious that Griffiths has been in the arts for a while, as his understanding of theatrical lingo is complete, and his portrayal of a pushy and driven producer is entirely accurate. However, Griffiths reels you in toward the end of the show, when Julian demonstrates softness toward Peggy, and Griffiths provides a method of storytelling that turns Julian from a cold, strictly-business producer into something much more rounded and whole.
All that said, 42nd Street would be nothing without a massively talented ensemble, and CenterPoint delivers, with strikingly tight choreography, (Bailee DeYoung) powerhouse vocals, (complete with stellar diction, I might add, kudos to music director Jessica Rampton) and some of the most radiant smiles I’ve ever seen onstage, the ensemble cast of CenterPoint’s 42nd Street is up there with some of the best I’ve ever seen. Their commitment to character, the precision of their dancing, and the projection of their voices is equally impressive and exciting. Tap dancing on your own is difficult, but to throw you in front of an audience with a dozen other people all expected to stay perfectly in step for two hours straight is nothing short of jaw-dropping. I had the opportunity to speak with several of the cast members after the show, and a common consensus among the actors is that there is camaraderie in this production that creates a bond between the performers rooted in trust and respect. As J. Binns put it, “Backstage just crackles with energy. Everyone in this show is all-in.”
Director Kristin Pettingill Callor exhibits a distinct flavor of theatre with her direction in the production, staying true to the classic “Golden-Age” musical taste and enhancing it with her own touch in subtle and welcome ways. I particularly appreciate how she handled the deepening relationship between Julian and Peggy. While the script is written one way, Callor made the decision to demonstrate it another way without, (to my knowledge,) altering any of the text itself, and while this can be a dicey way to experiment as a director, her choices only served to brighten the experience of 42nd Street.
With a technical team assembled and directed by Derek Walden, 42nd Street is complete with an array of finely-tuned lighting schemes designed by Jordan Fowler, a host of fabulous costumes that compliment and enhance the production without upstaging the actors designed by Brianna Taylor, an innovative set that made good use of CenterPoint’s ample stage space and could discreetly transform it into any number of settings designed by Truxton Moulton and Janae Klumpp Gibb, and a sound design I hardly noticed at all, (the highest compliment one can give to a sound designer,) delicately handled by Krista Davies, who doubles as executive producer, 42nd Street is a master-class in the behind-the-scenes work that makes a production truly shine.
42nd Street at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre in Centerville, Utah will keep your toes tapping and your mind humming for hours, and even days, after the final curtain falls. Get your tickets soon to come and meet these dancing feet, because once the word gets out, there may not be many left.
A review by Front Row Reviewers.
CenterPoint Legacy Theatre presents 42nd Street by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, Music by Harry Warren, Lyrics by Al Dubin and Johnny Mercer.
CenterPoint Legacy Theatre, 525 N 400 W, Centerville, UT 84014
Jun 9 – Jul 11, 2023 Monday – Saturday 7:30 PM, Saturday Matinees 2:30 PM
Tickets: $19.00-$37.00
Contact: 801-298-1302
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