42nd Street @ Sunderland Empire

The ultimate toe-tapping show in town

Based on a film of the same name which has become synonymous with lavish musical numbers choreographed by Busby Berkeley, it was always going to be interesting to see how a cast of hundreds of dancers set in huge movie sets would transfer to the rather more modest stage at Sunderland Empire.   The story would of course work on any scale; young wannabe comes to the big city with innocent dreams, turns out to be uber talented and is asked to understudy for the diva of the day, promptly breaks said diva's ankle and then steps in to save the show & the day.  What made 42nd Street the movie, and subsequently makes 42nd Street the stage show is the musical numbers - pounding symphonies of split second timing, tap routines that spell out the works of Shakespeare in Morse code all testimony to the choreographers drive to eek out every possible inch of routine.

This show did not, for one moment, undersell the proud history and heritage of the previous incarnations of 42nd Street.  The chorus line dancers were mesmerising in their collective delivery which at times defied the boundaries of the human body for speed and dexterity.  The leads created a supernova within this whirling maelstrom of sparkle, light and sound and then, just as quickly as it came, it went and we were left with the powerful delivery which gave the under-story pathos and humility.

Dave Willets and Marti Webb, brilliantly cast as Julian Marsh and Dorothy Brock, provided a richness, depth and worldly wise to their characters which would have not been possible with lesser, dare I say younger, actors.  Jessica Punch who took the lead of Peggy Sawyer was truly outstanding - a wonderful mix of wide eyed innocence coupled with energy levels that would not be out of place in the forthcoming Olympics (I defy any of the Olympians to be able to match Jessica's nightly routine, show after show).

This show however, can't have the impact, the spectacular, the WOW factor without the whole group.  The ensemble is one of the most talented assembled for any tour, they have to be to be cope with such demanding routines throughout the whole production.  Even here there are theatre stars in their own right; Felicity Chilvers who has recently toured with Buddy as Maria Elena (and is mentioned elsewhere in my blog); Abigail Climer who has West End productions of Whistle Down the Wind and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on her resume, and Jamie Harris who has recently returned from 'at sea' productions on board the Queen Elizabeth.  Special mention also to Hollie Sorelle, a local North Easterner who has rapidly become a well known name throughout theatre land for her wonderful performances, most notably as Cinderella in Darlington Civic's pantomime.

The show itself is very much "line 'em up 1st half, knock 'em down 2nd half" - in the main due to the fact that the big numbers and well known tunes reside after the interval.  It is also worth noting that the original movie had only 4 or 5 musical numbers, not enough for a full stage show, and so extra songs were drafted in - at times these are noticeably weaker than the foundation tunes "Lullaby of Broadway", "We're in the Money" and of course "42nd Street" but this doesn't detract from the overall performance, in fact it heightens the appreciation when the stage is full, the orchestra is loud and the dancing frenetic - well, you just have to tap along too.