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42nd Street is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. Based on the novel by Bradford Ropes and the subsequent 1933 film adaptation, it focuses on the efforts of famed dictatorial Great White Way director Julian Marsh to mount a successful stage production of a musical extravaganza called Pretty Lady at the height of the Great Depression. The writers encourage him to cast past-her-prime prima donna Dorothy Brock in the lead role, less for her dubious talent and more for the financial support of her wealthy beau Abner Dillon. Complicating matters is the fact Dorothy is seeing former boyfriend Pat Denning behind Abner's back, a situation Julian - fearing he'll lose the show's backing if Dorothy is found out - hopes to change with the assistance of an unsavory henchman. Additional characters include young hopeful Peggy Sawyer, who ultimately saves the day when Brock breaks her ankle, and Billy Lawlor, who's had his eye on Peggy since she first showed up to audition for the chorus.
In July 1980, 42nd Street premiered at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. After six previews, the Broadway production opened on August 25 1980 at the Winter Garden Theatre, eventually moving to the Majestic and then the St. James before it finally completed its 3486-performance run. The original cast included Jerry Orbach as Julian Marsh, Tammy Grimes as Dorothy Brock, Wanda Richert as Peggy Sawyer, and Lee Roy Reams as Billy Lawlor. Replacements later in the run included Barry Nelson as Julian, Elizabeth Allen, Dolores Gray, and Millicent Martin as Dorothy, and Karen Ziemba as Peggy. Image:42ndStreetOrbach.jpg Jerry Orbach as director Julian Marsh and Wanda Richert as chorine Peggy Sawyer 42nd Street proved to be not only Champion's last show but Merrick's final success. In a case of life imitating art, the career of teenaged Catherine Zeta-Jones, a chorus member in the 1984 West End production, was launched when illness felled both the actress portraying Peggy Sawyer and her understudy on a night one of the producers happened to be in the audience. Zeta-Jones filled in and was impressive enough to be cast permanently in the role shortly afterward.
PlotSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Auditions for Pretty Lady are nearly over Peggy Sawyer, fresh off the bus from Allentown, Pennsylvania, arrives with valise in hand. Billy Lawlor, already cast as one of the juvenile leads, notices Peggy and hopes to charm her into accepting a date with him. He informs her she's missed the audition but he can help her bypass that process, but choreographer Andy Lee has no time for Billy's latest conquest and tells her, "Beat it, toots." Embarrassed and flustered, Peggy rushes off, only to slam right into director Julian Marsh himself. One-time star Dorothy Brock, indignant at being asked to audition for a role, is reassured by Julian he merely wants to make sure the songs are in her key. Despite his feeling Dorothy is a prima donna past her prime, he agrees to cast her in order to get financial backing from her wealthy beau Abner Dillon. Outside of the theatre, writer Maggie and chorus girls Anytime Annie, Phyllis, and Lorraine take pity on Peggy and invite her to join them for lunch and some advice. They encourage her to show them a dance routine that is witnessed by Julian, who decides there might be room for one more chorus girl after all. At a pre-production party, Julian learns that Dorothy is seeing old boyfriend Pat Denning behind Abner's back. Knowing this could destroy the show's future, he decides to put an end to the affair. One phone call to an unsavory acquaintance and Denning is visited by a couple of thugs who convince him to break it off with Dorothy. Soon after the show's cast heads to Philadelphia for the out-of-town tryout. On opening night, Peggy trips and crashes into Dorothy, knocking her to the stage. Julian fires the young chorine on the spot as the curtain falls on Act One. At the top of Act Two, we learn Dorothy's ankle is broken and the show may close. The chorus kids, certain Peggy could fill the lead role, find Julian that Peggy's a fresh young face who can sing and dance circles around Brock. Julian decides it's worth a shot and rushes off to the train station to catch Peggy before she departs. At Philadelphia's Broad Street Station, Julian apologizes to Peggy and asks her to stay and star in Pretty Lady, she's had enough of show business and wants to go back home to Allentown. Dumbfounded, Julian tries to coax her with the words "Come on along and listen to the lullaby of Broadway . . ." After the cast joins him in the serenade, Peggy decides to accept his offer. Forced to learn the part in two days, Peggy is on the verge of a nervous breakdown when she has an unexpected visit from Dorothy, who has been watching the rehearsals and realizes beneath her nervous exterior, Peggy is good, "maybe even better than I would have been." She even offers a little friendly advice on how to perform a dance routine. The opening night curtain is about to rise when Julian stops by for a last minute pep talk in which he utters the now iconic line, "You're going out there a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!" The show is a huge success sure to catapult Peggy into stardom. And even though she's invited to and expected to attend the official opening night party, Peggy decides to go to the chorus party instead. Julian is left alone on stage with only a single ghost light casting his huge shadow on the back wall. He quietly begins to sing, "Come and meet those dancing feet on the avenue I'm taking you to . . . 42nd Street." Spoilers end here.
Song listImage:42ndStreetLP.jpg Original cast album Act I
Act II
Awards and nominations1980 production
1984 London production
2001 revival
External linkInternet Broadway Database listingde:42nd Street (Musical)
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