42nd Street taps its way onto the stage at Drury Lane’s Theatre Royal. Jessamy Chapman reviews it
42nd Street arguably has some of the catchiest numbers of any musical yet on the West End stage in 2017.
It opens in Depression-era New York, where stage director Julian Marsh is back in town with a new show and work for dozens of people – all of whom need the show, Pretty Lady, to be a success.
Clumsy Peggy Sawyer is a chorus girl and a tap wizard, but when she accidentally breaks prima donna Dorothy Bock’s ankle, she’s immediately fired, and flees, ready to give up on stardom and get the train back to small-town America. It’s up to Julian and the crew to win her back to play the lead…
It’s a revival of the Broadway hit that first came to the stage in 1980, an evocative adaptation of the original 1933 film.
And it’s got a lot of tap dance – a lot, a lot of tap dance – right from the opening number.
That aside, it starts off a little slow, and is a little light in plot, but it makes up for it with the music and dancing, as well as literally dazzling costumes and inventive set pieces – watch out for the big mirror, and the stairs.
The chorus excel – their part feels like a proper meaty acting part. Refreshingly, there’s not much in the way of distracting romance; and it’s sexy, without being overtly so.
After the first half-hour the memorable songs come thick and fast, including ‘Dames/Keep Young and Beautiful’, ‘We’re in the Money’, ‘Lullaby of Broadway’ and ‘Shuffle Off to Buffalo’, climaxing with the unforgettable, eminently hummable ‘42nd Street’. ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ is also thrown in for Sheena Easton, who plays Pretty Lady’s lead Dorothy.
Groups will love it.
Tickets for groups of 10+ start from £20.
