"42nd Street" - CSU Sacramento

Left: Bows. Starting with Brad Bong (Billy Lawlor) on the left, left to right, Heather Kenyon (Peggy Sawyer), Paul Alary (Julian Marsh), Dorothy Brock (Annie Purvis), Carly Sisto (Maggie Jones), and Brian Watson (Bert Barry).


Wonderful, exciting, exacting show! 42nd Street has always struck me as almost a hothouse relict of 1930's New York, with an intensity so keen and wired-up that it is almost neurotic. Interestingly, many of the young dancers here learned their tapping skills, on the fly, specifically for this show. Cramming all that learning on top of the immense energy expediture required just to get to bows would make almost anyone neurotic. According to Jasmine Elfant-Strode, who was in an RCTC production of "42nd Street" (and thus should know), this show was very faithful to the 1980 script.

Five friends were in the show: Brad Bong, Tim Stewart, Shannon Kendall, Amanda Morish, and Andy Hyun. They were all precise and wonderful, particularly Brad Bong as the male lead, Billy Lawlor. In the lobby at intermission, Ryan Adame commented with wonder and amazement: "These are real, legit dance steps, and this is, like, real, legit dancing! Brad has been tap-dancing everywhere - we even argued about it in the supermarket!"

Sometimes it's good to have young folks even in the older roles. Carly Sisto (Maggie Jones) and Brian Watson (Bert Barry) were aided by their youth, turning in what I thought were more effective performances than the equivalent ones I saw in a 2005 touring company.

Annie Purvis as Dorothy Brock sang the best and had the most dramatic presence. Really awesome! Heather Kenyon was very effective as ingenue Peggy Sawyer in the first act; maybe a touch less so in the second act, where she has to step up to the dramatic weight of stardom, and balance the ingenue quality with an other-worldly star presence.

The one I had the most respect for was Tim Stewart. I understand he turned an ankle last night, but being the trouper he is, he carried on despite what might have been considerable discomfort (his dancing wasn't compromised in any way).

Left: I liked Shannon Kendall's bow (and her Betty Page look). Andy Hyun peeks out from the back row in both pictures.


Just one more weekend left! See it while you can! Remaining performances are at 8 p.m., March 28-29; at 2 p.m., March 23 and 30; and at 6:30 p.m., March 27.