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Long Beach is home to a vibrant community of people who celebrate culture through art. Their stories deserve a platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peggy arrives late to audition for \u201cPretty Lady\u201d\u2014a new musical by famous producer Julian Marsh (Robert Mammana) \u2014 wearing a baby-blue long skirt and jacket amid dozens of shorts-wearing tap dancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But she catches the eye of leading man Billy Lawlor (Quintan Craig) as they sing \u201cYoung and Healthy\u201d together (qualities that apparently count for a lot). And she bumps into producer Marsh on the way out, precipitating events that get her into the show\u2019s chorus and may even allow her to replace diva Dorothy Brock (April Nixon) as leading lady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story is almost farcical in the way Peggy dances her way into the biggest Broadway show to achieve her dream, however disillusioning it turns out to be. Characters are almost like caricatures in their one-dimensionality, and the plot unfolds episodically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it\u2019s the song and dance that are the true stars of this production \u2014 and this is where Musical Theatre West\u2019s production of \u201c42nd Street\u201d absolutely shines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As directed by Cynthia Ferrer and choreographed by Cheryl Baxter, an ensemble of 20 dancers, some of them very talented students, hit every toe-and-heel tap-dance beat from the get-go. The high-energy opening ensemble number, a rehearsal for \u201cPretty Lady\u201d called \u201cOpening Act One,\u201d is alone worth the price of admission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The song-and-dance numbers that follow \u2014 including the well-known \u201cWe\u2019re in the Money\u201d \u2014 are similarly energetic, the cast glitzy in colorful, sparkly costumes (designed by Debbie Roberts) and bright lighting (Paul Black).<\/p>\n\n\n\n An interesting \u201cShadow Waltz\u201d is the exception, an exercise in minimalism in which spotlights in front of the performers cast shadows against a background. Shadows grow smaller or larger depending on how the lighting moves, reminiscent of Indonesian shadow puppetry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This sequence early in Act One, and other such potentially revealing moments in the musical, create opportunities for emotional depth that are never believably plumbed. Instead, the backstage plot of \u201c42nd Street\u201d meta-theatrically comments on Broadway as a business, along a \u201cBoulevard of Broken Dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, because the setting is in the 1930s \u2014 and perhaps because the stage musical was first produced at the start of the Reagan era \u2014 sexism is rather rampant in \u201c42nd Street.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy seems to insinuate himself on Peggy when they first meet and she sweetly goes along with his physical forwardness. A much older Marsh eventually also falls for the youngster. And the dancers talk practically about having \u201csugar daddies\u201d during a lunch out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most explicitly, in the song \u201cDames,\u201d men sing about how ogling female performers is the only reason to see a Broadway show. Granted this is sung tongue-in-cheek (and the women dancers do indeed look good), but the messaging about dames as \u201ctemporary flames\u201d for men who \u201cdon\u2019t recall their names\u201d seems anachronistic today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, what you\u2019re going for are the big Broadway numbers like this one, with a swinging orchestra (conducted by Wilkie Ferguson), excellent tap dancing and glamorous costuming. There is also much humor and some drama involving Dorothy\u2019s feelings between her true love and the man who pays her bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The leads all do justice to the songs, including the richly voiced Nixon as Dorothy. In terms of acting, Bree Murphy stands out as boisterous writer Maggie Jones, who notes how patrons will be paying a whopping $4.40 per seat for \u201cPretty Lady.\u201d And Phillip Attmore is fluid and authentic as dance director Andy Lee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the story and attitudes of \u201c42nd Street\u201d may feel more aligned to an older generation, this production\u2019s dazzling staging, costuming, singing and dancing \u2014 with a message of staying true to yourself and your dream \u2014 still make it entertaining today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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