42nd Street: Does it Play in Philadelphia?
by Sylvia S. Cutler, June 19, 1996
An ingenue bursting onto the stage of the 42nd Street Theatre in New York where auditions are being held, fresh from Allentown, Pennsylvania, is certain she's going to make it in showbiz; but is stunned to learn that it just isn't that easy. Young Peggy Sawyer (Rebecca Christine Kupka), fresh-faced, with a Dutchboy haircut, lands in New York with forty-five cents in her pocket and a pocketful of dreams. Meeting Billy Lawlor (Marc Kessler) who's gotten a part in the new review, Pretty Woman, she resists his attempts to date her. But she catches the attention of Maggie Jones (Kathy Halenda), the playwright, big, brassy, with flaming red hair, who tells producer Julian Marsh (Robert Sheridan) that he should fill the vacancy in the chorus with this bright-eyed child. There's no room for a novice, Marsh says; he's all wrapped up with Dorothy Brock (Michelle Felten), a svelte, mature, elegant actress who flaunts her sophistication along with her Texan boyfriend Abner Dillon (Michael Shiles) who's putting up the dough for the show; without it the show would close, putting nearly a hundred people out of work.
Sound familiar? How many times have you heard that tale? To complicate matters, Andy Lee (Christopher Dauphinee), the Assistant Director/Stage Manager, is trying to rehearse the show and get it ready in the short time they have, while Pat Denning (Brian West), Dorothy's real lover, is trying to get her attention. Julian Marsh is trying to get the chorus to perfect their dance numbers, and everyone else is trying to do something else. Abner Dillon is jealous; Marsh is afraid of losing his backer; Dorothy is afraid Abner will find out about Pat. Time is running short, Marsh is yelling, and nothing is jelling. In the meantime, Maggie's bellowing out her numbers, and during a fast dance number, Peggy bumps into Dorothy, who falling, breaks an ankle.
Marsh forcibly ejects Peggy who caused Dorothy's accident, and forlorn, she makes it to the railroad station to go home to Allentown. That's when Maggie and Annie (Natalie Slipko) persuade Marsh to go after Peggy and get her to take the lead in the show! Oh, sure! Naive, inexperienced, young, unsophisticated ... this kid is going to carry an entire Broadway show, delight the opening night audience, keep a hundred people working, make money for the backers, and justify Julian Marsh's impassioned and maudlin speech where he's trying to persuade her to return to the theatre. "I'll do it!" she shouts. But this is showbiz, fantasyland, dreamland. She does, he does, it does, and all's well that ends well. Young Miss Kupka makes an appealing ingenue.
The songs and dances were simply marvelous, and the performers were as professional as they come. While the choreography was not particularly spectacular, tap dancing is always fun, and this was a lively group. The songs included Shadow Waltz, Keep Young and Beautiful, I Only Have Eyes for You, We're in the Money, Lullaby of Broadway, About a Quarter to Nine, Shuffle Off to Buffalo, 42nd Street, and a host of others that were hit songs in the twenties, thirties and forties.
The plot may have been a cliche', but everything about this show was a delight. Kathy Halenda as Maggie Jones almost stole the show. One might compare her to Ethel Merman; but Halenda is her own person, and when she was on, she was "on." Just as good was Michelle Felten as Dorothy Brock, who at the end, before Peggy was due to go on stage in her place, gave her a sentimental pep talk--maybe her finest moment.
The chorus was peppy, energetic, riveting. I particularly liked Christopher Dauphinee's portrayal of Andy Lee. I found Julian Marsh's speech to Peggy a big sappy; but of course, in how many old-time movies have we heard this same speech?
42nd Street is at the Warner Theatre in downtown Washington; rush to see it before it moves on to its next venue.
This is what's so magical about theatre; it's an experience of a lifetime each and every time. So go, go, go! And see if you don't know the lyrics to every song the way the opening night audience did. What delicious fun!