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Show: 42nd Street
Society: New Victoria Theatre (professional productions)
Venue: Main Auditorium, available from £21.00 subject to a transaction fee of £3.80. The Ambassadors, The Peacocks Centre, Woking, Surrey GU21 6GQ
Credits: Harry Warren: Music. Lyrics: Al Dubin. Book: Michael Stewart & Mark Bramble. Directed by Jonathan Church. Choreographed & designed by Bill Deamer & Rob Jones. Produced by Curve (Leicester)
Type: Sardines
Author: Paul Johnson
Performance Date: 20/09/2023
42nd Street
Paul Johnson | 20 Sep 2023 23:22pm
Photo: Johan Persson
This is a huge show …and so well done. In Fact it will be a travesty if it doesn’t return to London’s West End (it’s already played at Sadler’s Wells). Starring a perfect cast which includes Samantha Womack as the big star, Dorothy Brock; Michael Praed as big-time director of the high-kicking show, Pretty Lady, Julian Marsh; Faye Tozer and Les Dennis as the song-writing production team of Maggie Jones & Bert Barry; and relative newcomer, Nicole-Lily Baisden as Peggy Sawyer, the one-in-a-million shot from Allen Town who ends up leading a Broadway show after its star breaks her leg. Boy, can she dance!
With famous songs including We’re in the Money, Lullaby of Broadway, I Only have Eyes for You, Shuffle Off to Buffalo, and the title number, this is the brainchild of Olivier Award winners, Bill Deamer and Rob Jones, who have choreographed and designed the show. I say that but it was nice to see the giant coins coming out for We’re in the Money. Sometimes, staying faithful pays off as audiences at Woking’s New Victoria Theatre are finding out this week. The pair, while having their own agenda, have left some of the settings for the big numbers well alone. I was also pleased to see the Lullaby of Broadway scene set in the vast expanse of the traditional railway station.
Nicole-Lily Baisden is fresh as Peggy Sawyer – the small-town tap-dancing genius. She’s actually been in The Book of Morman and THAT star-studded production of Anything Goes at The Barbican which a good rehearsal for this show… and just like that, she was snapped up! Talent is talent, and this girl oozes it. Also oozing talent is Samantha Womack, who posseses a strong vocal… as does Faye Tozer from pop group Steps, who must be enjoying a welcome return to her musical theatre roots. She’s not that young anymore and belongs at the top of the bill; funny and talented. Here’s a musical superstar. In this show she plays alongside veteran, Les Dennis, who is enjoying a resurgance in popularity, arguably since playing himself brilliantly in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s TV comedy Extras. He’s on Strictly this year too.
As Julian Marsh, Michael Praed carries a natural air of authority with him, which is a good thing, since being in a ‘Julian Marsh Show’ is what the kids want – he’s a bit like a god of theatre. That said I loved the way that Peggy Sawyer didn’t fall for any of it, once she gets to know Marsh, and she does a great job of softening him up at the end. Even Dorothy Brock gushes over Peggy, complete with her leg in a cast. I don’t remember seeing it to that extent in other big productions. although it must have been there as they shared a song in the same scene.
I loved this production which features a very strong ensemble by default really. Sam Lips (Billy Lawlor), Oliver Farnworth (Pat Denning) and Anthony Ofoegbu (Abner Dillon) as well as the rest of the company all give strong support and have obviously rehearsed so hard but they aren’t stars yet and so must wait for now. A final word must go to MD Grant Walsh’s ten-piece orchestra. Brilliant! Clear, perfectly balanced and perfect throughout.