42nd Street is the address of the theatre that is home to the company whose fortunes we follow in the show. Voices are heard around the theatre announcing the new show 'Pretty Lady', as the curtains are opened on the audition scene. We are introduced to the full cast, choreographer, Andy Lee, the writers, Bert and Maggie, and the lead Billy Lawlor. Young Peggy Sawyer rushes in too late, and has missed her chance to join the chorus , because she had been trying to muster the courage to enter the stage door. Billy is instantly attracted to her and tries to help, but the director Julian Marsh has his own problems.
Dorothy Brock, the glamourously old leading lady, has not had a hit in 10 years and this show may be beyond her. What Dorothy does bring, however, is money in the form of Abner Dillon, her 'sugar daddy' (or as the gossip goes). Julian must attempt to cope with a tempreramental Dorothy, a fussy Abner, and the annoyance of Dorothy's old flame Pat Denning who is always there to stir up trouble.
After being invited to share lunch with one of the co-writers Maggie Jones and the other dancers, Peggy impresses them with her fast tap feet, and is hired instantly by Julian. Things are going well for the looming opening of Pretty Lady. Pretty Lady opens to much speculation, and when Dorothy rushes on stage she slips (or is pushed) and breaks her ankle. Panic spreads through the company, as the show is doomed for closure, until it is suggested that Peggy take the roll. Peggy, 'the novice', has 'exactly thirty-six hours to learn twenty-five pages, six songs, and ten dance numbers'. By the next evening Julian will either have ' a live leading lady or a dead chorus girl'.
Will the fresh chorus girl, now thrust into the spot-light, win the audience in the way she won the cast?
Many years ago I attended a production at Watersmeet and this was a very welcome return for me. It is so nice to see it back open and available again as I was aware of the protracted trouble in recent years.
42nd Street is a very vibrant show. It captures the atmosphere and pressures of mounting a musical production, which is something we all know a lot about. Geoff Bullen, in the Chairman's programme notes, mentions the desire to produce newer less often performed musicals. This satisfies the performers artistic demands as well as exposing audiences to many new excellent shows. I believe 42nd Street is up there amongst the best.
This production was most entertaining under the Direction of Gillianne Morris-Monk. The curtain lifted slowly to reveal the familiar toe-tapping opening sequence as the dancers went through their paces in the opening audition. This was cleverly done using upstage rostra... The pace was good throughout, moving from production number to production number with ease. Part of the 'Shadow Waltz' was played behind gauze but I think greater use could have been made of this and indeed more comedy extracted. 'Go Into Your Dance' was well choreographed and conceived by Choreographer Kelly Hardwidge ... I think all the production numbers came over well. They were well choreographed and in the main were well executed ... The excellent orchestra under the Musical Direction of Clive Swan perhaps needed additional amplification just to lift proceedings. The technical side of things seemed to work smoothly. The Set was well designed and made use of the available space. The upper level added perspective and interest to production. The crew were anonymous and invisible which is always a good sign. The Lighting plot was effective and suitably moody. The Sound balance was just right but I believe needed boosting as previously mentioned. The Costumes from the Isle of Wight were excellent and added much colour. The importance of costumes in a show like '42nd Street' cannot be underestimated. Diana Bowles and her team did a great job ...
I particularly liked your splendid souvenir programme. A4 is not always the easiest to handle but it was packed with goodies. Loads of 42nd Street history was accompanied by society background and information. Cast photos and biographies are very welcome too, it helps to assess relative experience of the performers and creative team.
There were some strong performances amongst the principals and I shall make a few comments on the main players, in programme order;
Dorothy Brock - Marie-Louise Williams - More youthful than most Dorothy Brocks but probably nearer the true playing age. This was a strong portrayal, both vocally and dramatically. There was plenty of attack and energy in Marie-Louise's business but at times I would have liked to have seen her slow down and almost torment Julian.
Julian Marsh - Ian Parrott - I have known Ian over the years best as a comedy character and was interested to see him play a fundamentally straight role. Julian Marsh is often portrayed as a big blunderbuss character but Ian's diminiutive presence and central command of the stage made the characterisation equally successful.
Peggy Sawyer - Emma Bowles - This is an ideal part for a young lady taking her first major role. It requires some acting, some singing and enough dancing to convince of a professional standard, yet doesn't expose any of the disciplines to too much scrutiny. Emma was entirely charming and looked altogether comfortable in the role.
Billy Lawlor - David Rees - This is a tough role for amateur societies to cast. Most young men who could pull off the range of disciplines required of this role are probably in professional theatre. David fought back the years to play this juvenile lead and I thought he did a pretty good job. He got the balance between smarm and charm just about right.
Maggie Jones - Sue Reynolds - According to her programme biog, Sue has played many of the leading matriarchal roles available to musical performers. Sue's experience shone through and as the evening went on her character blossomed.
Bert Barry - Jonathan Carter - Bert is a lovely cameo role, a few scattered bits of dialogue and a fantastic comedy number towards the end. Jonathan said the lines and sang the song but I felt the character needed a bit more personality.
Andy Lee - Rob Jarman - Rob was solid in his role as choreographer but only managed to smile at the very end!
Abner Dillon - Chris Kane - This also is an opportunity for a male cameo and again Chris was solid but similar to Bert, I would have liked a bigger characterisation.
Pat Denning - David J Martin - David was suitably suave but wasn't unduly tested in this fairly minor role.
The principal chorus girls in Pretty Lady are Ann Reilly, Phyllis Dale, Lorraine Fleming, Diane Lorimer, Gladys and Ethel and these predominantly dancing roles were played by Nicola Fulljames, Nicola Wallbank, Tiffany Monk, Anna-Louise Statt, Catherine Minns and Sali Ann Davis respectively. All these girls have plenty of business to do and each formed their own personality on stage. I don't usually pick out individuals but I have to manage the contribution of Nicola Fulljames. Her stagecraft was excellent and her smiley face was 'working' the whole time. An inspiration to us all!
The ensemble was completed by a variety of stage hands, goons, socialites and barflies. All of whom added to the success of the production. As I mentioned before, everyone worked really hard and it was an enjoyable show ...
Once again thank you for inviting me to Watersmeet and best wishes for your next productions "Carousel” and the intriguing "Witches of Eastwick".