42nd Street review: new production has ‘energy and pizzazz’
This musical is all about the big numbers – and they really are fabulous
In 2021, the success of “Anything Goes” at the Barbican proved that there remains a strong appetite for “classic tune and toe shows”, said Fiona Mountford in The i Paper. And this new production of “42nd Street” – a musical that was first staged in 1980, but which is based on a 1933 Busby Berkeley choreographed film – is sure to delight. The archetypal showbiz story, it is about a chorus girl who becomes a star, and in this revival, it has a dream leading lady in Nicole-Lily Baisden, as well as “exquisitely expressive” tap routines from choreographer Bill Deamer – and all the “energy and pizzazz” you could hope for, from the show’s opening scene to its “shimmering finale”.
Set during the Depression, the message “42nd Street” is one of “bright positivity”, said Lyndsey Winship in The Guardian: “buck up, lace up your dancing shoes, get out there and put on a show. And also, be young, pretty and ever so nice, and good fortune will come your way.” Some recent musical revivals (“Oklahoma!”, “Carousel”) have been updated for modern audiences. For this co-production with the Leicester Curve (which will be going on a nationwide tour), director Jonathan Church has opted to retain the feel of the period, with mild sexism, “deco sparkle”, and black and white newsreel of the unemployed.
Some of the supporting cast are strangely lacklustre, said Nick Curtis in the Evening Standard. But the show is packed with classic songs – including “We’re in the Money” and “Lullaby of Broadway”. And Baisden turns in such a superb performance, it would “perfectly mirror the arc of her character” – had she not already wowed audiences in “Anything Goes”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The “gossamer thin” and wildly “outdated plot” is a problem, said Claire Allfree in The Daily Telegraph: with no “decent book to anchor them”, the song and dance routines “seem to float free in their own ether”. But in that sense “42nd Street” is all about the big numbers – and they really are fabulous. The tap dancing sequences are “so mesmeric and weightless, they induce a sort of trance”, while the songs “send the soul soaring. If you want to feel the beat of the dancing feet, this really is the only show in town.”
Sadler’s Wells, London EC1, until 2 July, then touring; 42ndstreettour.com. Rating ****
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'New arrivals are more than paying for themselves'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
6 stylish homes in Portland, Oregon
Feature Featuring a wall of windows in Collins View and a historic ballroom in Portland Heights
By The Week US Published
-
What's next for US interest rates?
The Explainer Stubborn inflation forestalls anticipated rate cuts
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
6 stylish homes in Portland, Oregon
Feature Featuring a wall of windows in Collins View and a historic ballroom in Portland Heights
By The Week US Published
-
Tom Crewe's 6 favorite works that challenge societal norms
Feature The novelist recommends works by Margaret Oliphant, Patrick White, and more
By The Week US Published
-
On the trail of India’s wild lions at Sasan Gir National Park
The Week Recommends The sanctuary is a 'roaring' conservation success
By The Week UK Published
-
Recipe: almond marmalade cake
The Week Recommends This syrupy cake can be toasted for brunch
By The Week UK Published
-
Properties of the week: houses with enchanting gardens
The Week Recommends Featuring pretty homes in Hampshire, Devon and West Sussex
By The Week UK Published
-
Venice Biennale 2024: from the good to the bad to the downright 'bizarre'
The Week Recommends Central exhibition features the work of some 330 artists
By The Week UK Published
-
Sunset Song: gripping theatre that's 'close to magic'
The Week Recommends Morna Young's 'first-class adaptation' of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's classic novel
By The Week UK Published
-
Challengers: 'the most purely pleasurable film of the year so far'
The Week Recommends Zendaya plays a former tennis player turned coach in this 'almost ridiculously' sexy drama
By The Week UK Published