42nd Street
Coventry Musical Theatre Society
Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
****
IN THE Great Depression of 1930’s New
York, there was many a wannabe star waiting for their dreams to come
true.
This ‘Rags to Riches’ story is like a mirror in a
mirror, it’s a musical about a musical. Julian Marsh (Jamie Sheerman) is
‘King’ of Broadway and his hit shows are numerous. Aspiring showgirl
Peggy Sawyer (Kirstie Smith) is la te
for the audition and seems both nervous and clumsy. But her heart is in
the right place.
Meanwhile leading man Billy Lawlor (Callum
Roberts) has fallen hard for our starlet. And veteran performer Dorothy
Brock (Hannah Farquarson) is unable to complete the run in Philadelphia
where her two-timing activities looks set to cost the show its financial
backer Abner Dillon (Peter Trew). Who will replace her and save the
show? I’ll give you one guess . . .
This is a production, their 109th, full of energy
and excellent performances, with a cast of hundreds and a plethora of
amazing costume and scene changes that were stunning in their
complexity.
I particularly liked We’re in the Money sung by
the ‘children’. I’m always impressed by people who can sing AND dance
and at the same time! I can’t do either. Choreography (Sue Biddle) was
also really impressive, again because so many dancers were involved, and
our budding star is intended to cause chaos among them.
This was a thoroughly professional production,
directed by Steve Boden with so much to recommend it. Musically I
enjoyed Miss Brock’s beautiful and emotional renditions of her solos;
her voice is truly amazing and I loved the New York nasal twang that
dominated her first number, intended to make a fool of her. She actually
created a character that, despite her bad temper and Prima Donna
outbursts, was really sympathetic.
If I have a criticism, I felt at times there was
too much going on and too many people to watch on stage and I came to
enjoy the quieter sections, for example, the lovely section where the
dancers are getting ready to go on stage. That was delightful. To
25-06-16
Jane Howard
23-06-16
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