{"id":4247,"date":"2009-04-05T09:27:00","date_gmt":"2009-04-05T16:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/?p=4247"},"modified":"2009-04-05T09:27:00","modified_gmt":"2009-04-05T16:27:00","slug":"tap-your-troubles-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/?p=4247","title":{"rendered":"Tap Your Troubles Away"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>I\u2019m always a sucker for a good tap dance. I\u2019m even more a sucker for a tap dance when you have a stage full of girls and guys doing the tapping. Combine that with great music, and I\u2019m happy. I mention this because… I was happy last night.<\/p>\n

Perhaps I should clarify. Last night we saw \u201c42nd<\/sup> Street\u201d at Cabrillo Music Theatre<\/a>. \u201c42nd<\/sup> Street\u201d is part of that subgenre of musicals I would call \u201cTheatre\u201d musicals: that is, they are an homage to the lore and legend of the theatre. Others in this category include \u201cCurtains<\/i>\u201d, \u201cMinksys<\/i>\u201d, \u201cMe and Juliet<\/i>\u201d, and \u201cFollies<\/i>\u201d. \u201c42nd<\/sup> Street\u201d is an adaptation of the 1933 Busby Berkeley<\/a> movie musical of the same name<\/a>. The story takes place during the depression, when famed director Julian Marsh (played in the first Broadway production by Jerry Ohrbach) returns to the theatre to mount a big musical called \u201cPretty Lady\u201d. The musical follows the process from first audition to opening night, and features the large cast of tappers, the newcomer from Allentown PA who can dance and sing a storm, gets into the chorus, trips the lead star (breaking the star\u2019s ankle), and then goes on to replace her and save the show. <\/p>\n

Oh, you want a more detailed summary? Here\u2019s the one adapted from Wikipedia: <\/p>\n

Act I opens with auditions for 1933’s newest show, \u201cPretty Lady<\/i>\u201d. They are near over when Peggy Sawyer, fresh off the bus from Allentown, PA, arrives. Billy Lawlor, already cast as one of the juvenile leads, notices Peggy and hopes to charm her into accepting a date with him. He informs her she’s missed the audition but he can help her bypass that process, but choreographer Andy Lee has no time for Billy’s latest conquest and tells her, “Beat it, toots.” Embarrassed and flustered, Peggy rushes off, only to slam right into director Julian Marsh himself. Meanwhile, one-time star Dorothy Brock, indignant at being asked to audition for a role, is reassured by Julian he merely wants to make sure the songs are in her key. Despite his feeling Dorothy is a prima donna past her prime, he agrees to cast her in order to get financial backing from her wealthy beau Abner Dillon. Outside of the theatre, writer Maggie and chorus girls Anytime Annie, Phyllis, and Lorraine take pity on Peggy and invite her to join them for lunch and some advice. They encourage her to show them a dance routine that is witnessed by a love-struck Julian, who decides there might be room for one more chorus girl after all. At a pre-production party, Julian learns that Dorothy is seeing old boyfriend Pat Denning behind Abner’s back. Knowing this could destroy the show’s future, he decides to put an end to the affair. One phone call to an unsavory acquaintance and Denning is visited by a couple of thugs who convince him to break it off with Dorothy, and he heads off to Philadephia to be safe. At the same time, the show\u2019s Atlantic City tryout is cancelled, and relocated to Philadelphia. As if you couldn\u2019t see it coming, Dorothy reunites with Pat Denning… and Julian finds out…. and when Peggy tries to warn Dorothy on Opening Night, Peggy trips and crashes into Dorothy, knocking her to the stage. Julian fires the young chorine on the spot.<\/p>\n

Act II opens with the doctor reporting that Dorothy’s ankle is broken, and Julian deciding to close the show. The chorus kids convince Julian that Peggy could fill the lead role. Only one problem: Julian fired her. Julian decides it’s worth a shot and rushes off to the train station to catch Peggy before she departs. At Philadelphia’s Broad Street Station, Julian apologizes to Peggy and asks her to stay and star in Pretty Lady, but she responds that she’s had enough of show business and wants to go home to Allentown. Dumbfounded, Julian tries to coax her with the words “Come on along and listen to the lullaby of Broadway….” After the cast joins him in the serenade, Peggy decides to accept his offer. Forced to learn the part in two days, Peggy is on the verge of a nervous breakdown when she has an unexpected visit from Dorothy, who has been watching the rehearsals and realizes beneath her nervous exterior, Peggy is good, “maybe even better than I would have been.” She even offers a little friendly advice on how to perform the last song, “About a Quarter to Nine.” The opening night curtain is about to rise when Julian, who is completely in love with Peggy at this point, stops by for a last minute lip-lock and pep talk in which he utters the now iconic line, “You’re going out there a youngster, but you’ve got to come back a star!” The show is a huge success sure to catapult Peggy into stardom. And even though she’s invited to and expected to attend the official opening night party, Peggy decides to go to the chorus party instead. Julian is left alone on stage with only a single ghost light casting his huge shadow on the back wall. He quietly begins to sing, “Come and meet those dancing feet on the avenue I’m taking you to… 42nd Street.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The original Broadway production of this show has some interesting lore and characters. As I noted earlier, the Broadway premiere featured the irreplacable Jerry Ohrbach<\/a> as Julian Marsh, and Tammy Grimes<\/a> as Dorothy Brock (for some reason, I was recalling Yvonne DeCarlo, but she was in \u201cFollies<\/i>\u201d, in a similar role). The Broadway premiere also featured choreography by Gower Champion<\/a>, well known for large dance numbers (think \u201cBye Bye Birdie<\/i>\u201d, \u201cHello Dolly<\/i>\u201d, \u201cMack and Mabel<\/i>\u201d, and many others). Champion died the day of \u201c42nd<\/sup> Street<\/i>\u201ds Broadway opening. \u201c42nd<\/sup> Street<\/i>\u201d was also producer David Merrick<\/a>\u2019s last success.<\/p>\n

I should also note that the show features many well known numbers, written Harry Warren<\/a> and Al Dubin<\/a>, including \u201cLullaby of Broadway\u201d, \u201c42nd Street\u201d, \u201cDames\u201d, \u201cWe\u2019re in the Money\u201d, \u201cAbout a Quarter to Nine\u201d, \u201cShuffle Off to Buffalo\u201d, and many more. Most of these are well suited to large groups of people tap dancing their hearts out. The book of the musical was by Michael Stewart<\/a> and Mark Bramble<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, with all this history, how did Cabrillo do with the property? For the most part, quite well. Under the guidance of director\/choreographer Jon Engstrom<\/a> (the original production\u2019s dance captain), the show featured spectacular dance numbers with loads of tapping chorines hammering the stage in reasonably tight routines. The leads also did a great job, in particular Michael G. Hawkins<\/a>\u00e6<\/sup> as Julian Marsh, Tracy Lore<\/a>\u00e6<\/sup> as Dorothy Brock, and Cassie Silva<\/a> as Peggy Sawyer. Hawkins didn\u2019t quite have Ohrbach\u2019s voice (but who does?), but pulled off the role with a style of his own. Silva (together with the rest of the kids) danced up a storm, and demonstrated at the end (as she was supposed to do) that she has what it takes to be a star. The handsome tenor who loves Peggy, Billy Lawlor, was played by Jeffrey Scott Parsons<\/a> (who we\u2019ve seen before at both CMT and the Havok), who matched Silva in spunk and dancing ability. Every show like this has its veterans who take the chorus kids under their tutalege and who encourage the reluctant when spirits flag; in this case, it was Farley Cadena<\/a> as Maggie Jones, and Will Shupe<\/a>\u00e6<\/sup> as Burt Barry, playing the writers and composers of \u201cPretty Lady<\/i>\u201d. They exhibited the requisite grizziled-ness (if that\u2019s a word) while dancing up a storm. In supporting roles were Hector Guerrero<\/a>\u00e6<\/sup> as the choreographer, Andy Lee; David Burr<\/a> as Dorothy Brock\u2019s sugerdaddy Abner Dillon; and John D. Lemay<\/a> as Dorothy Brock\u2019s love interest, Pat Denning. Other small non-chrous roles included Ronald Rezac<\/a> as Mac\/Doc\/Thug and Steven Ladd Jones<\/a> as Oscar.<\/p>\n

But what makes \u201c42nd<\/sup> Street<\/i>\u201d shake the stage is the tap dancing ensemble, which in CMT\u2019s case, was spectacular. The lead roles in this group were Layne Baker<\/a> as Anytime Annie, Ashley Cowl<\/a> as Phyllis, Jessica Taylor as Lorraine. Others in the emsemble were Cory Bretsch<\/a>, Kevin Brown, Jonathan Bryson, Brian Buxton, Robyn Carleton<\/a>, Alicia Dodgin<\/a>, Karlee Ferreira<\/a>, Drew Foronda, Tessa Grady<\/a>, Dean Hendricks, Patrick Logothetti<\/a>, Holly Long, Nick Lorenzini, William Loufik, Margot Major<\/a>, Kristina Miller, Zach Mink, Megan Niles<\/a>, Erin Perkins, Jonalyn Saxer<\/a>, Stephanie Simpson, Libby Snyder, Rebecca Steinberg, Veronica Stevens<\/a>, Johanna Unger, and Alison Woods. All were spectacular dancers.
\n[\u00e6<\/sup> denotes members of \"\u00e6\" Actors Equity<\/a>. One other note to actors reading this: Please make yourselves real pages — it does you no good when the first hit on a search of your name gives me your facebook page, especially with a picture of you drinking. ]<\/font><\/p>\n

Cabrillo was also very strong musically, with a great 17-member orchestra under the direction of Steven Applegate<\/a>. They are always great to listen to.<\/p>\n

If you recall my response regarding how Cabrillo did, I said for the most part, they did well. Although the acting and dancing was spectacular, where they were weaker was on the technical side. The sets provided by the Reagle Players were very sparse and showed a bit of wear. The props, designed by T. Theresa Scarano, were also a bit odd — especially the large coins that for some reason had holes in them. The lighting design by Michael Tachco had mixed strengths: I liked some numbers, such as the shadow dancing early on, but there were also the usual CMT\u2019s overuse of follow spots, some badly misaimed side lights that were distracting, and a really odd turquoise blue double spot that created this odd floating head effect. The costumes (wardrobe supervision by Christine Gibson), which supposedly were from the original production<\/a>, were beautiful but at points seemed to be off-era. Hair and wigs were by Rick Geyer<\/a>. The sound design by Jonathan Burke was mostly unnoticable (a good thing), except for a few microphone pops in the last number. The technical director was Darrell J. Clark. <\/p>\n

The production stage manager was the ever capable \ud83d\ude42 \"youarebonfante\"<\/a>Lindsay Martens<\/a>, assisted by Emilee Wamble and Allie Roy. <\/p>\n

\u201c42nd<\/sup> Street<\/i>\u201d continues at Cabrillo Music Theatre<\/a> through tonight, April 6, 2009.<\/p>\n

During this performance, Cabrillo announced their 2009-2010 season. Alas, they lost the rights to \u201cDreamgirls<\/i>\u201d, which was to be their first show. The revised season features \u201cGuys and Dolls<\/i>\u201d in Fall 2009 (October 16-25, 2009); \u201cThe Andrews Brothers<\/i>\u201d in Winter 2010 (February 5-14, 2010); \u201cHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying<\/i>\u201d in Spring 2010 (April 23-May 2, 2010), and \u201cRogers & Hammerstein\u2019s Cinderella<\/i>\u201d in Summer 2010 (July 23-August 1, 2010). They are also bringing in a holiday show, \u201cIrving Berlin\u2019s White Christmas<\/i>\u201d for six performances in December 2009. They are trying to grow their subscription base (not a surprise in this economy) by offering 2-for-1 balcony subscriptions (where we\u2019ve been for a few years), supposedly lower prices, and half-price tickets for White Christmas<\/i>\u201d. I should note that their prices are already pretty good: $198\/$188 (matinee) for four shows in Orchestra, $172\/$156 (matinee) for four shows in Mezzanine, and $100\/$80 (matinee) for four shows in the Balcony (and with the 2-for-1, that makes it $50\/$40 (matinee) in the Balcony, which is stupendous!). Cabrillo does great local productions (not tours) with remarkable acting, singing, and dancing. Their lighting design is a bit conventional (nsshere<\/a> gets annoyed with their follow spots), and their sets run hot and cold, but they are a great value for the entertainment you get. As for us, I\u2019m not sure whether we\u2019ll renew in the balcony (where we presently are) or coordinate an upgrade with my Uncle Ron (who joined us last night), who has his tickets in the Orchestra. I think it all depends on budget.<\/p>\n

Upcoming Theatre<\/b>: We have a bit of a break from theatre while I get ready for the CISSP exam. Immediately after the exam (that evening) our theatre resumes with \u201cMauritius<\/i>\u201d at the Pasadena Playhouse<\/a>. The weekend of April 25\/26 is set aside for the Southern California Renaissance Faire<\/a> and possibly the OERM Spring Railfestival<\/a>. May 2 or 3 (pending ticketing) will hopefully be \u201cDirty Rotten Scoundrels<\/a><\/i> at Theatre League Thousand Oaks<\/a> (this is their last weekend). May 10 (pending ticketing) should be \u201cIs He Dead?<\/a><\/i> at ICT Long Beach<\/a>. May 17 (again, pending ticketing) should be \u201cbig<\/a><\/i>\u201d at West Coast Ensemble<\/a>, to be followed by \u201cThe Green Room<\/a><\/i> at Hermosa Beach Playhouse<\/a> on May 24 (pending ticketing). The end of May (May 28, 29, 30) brings \u201cFiddler on the Roof<\/i>\u201d at Nobel Middle School, where nsshere<\/a> is doing the lighting design. On June 6 @ 8pm we\u2019re scheduled for \u201cI Love You, You\u2019re Perfect, Now Change<\/i>\u201d at Repertory East Playhouse<\/a>, but since we saw that when they did it two years ago<\/a>, we\u2019re likely to switch to \u201cFat Pig<\/i>\u201d in their \u201c81 series\u201d. Lastly, June 20 @ 8pm is \u201cThe Little Foxes<\/i>\u201d at The Pasadena Playhouse<\/a>. We might also explore \u201cLittle Woman: The Musical<\/a><\/i>\u201d at the Lyric Theatre<\/a> (3\/19 – 4\/26), depending on whether it fits into the schedule (and I note they are doing \u201cOnce Upon a Mattress<\/a><\/i> afterwards (5\/14-6\/21)). Quite an ambitious theatrical spring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m always a sucker for a good tap dance. I\u2019m even more a sucker for a tap dance when you have a stage full of girls and guys doing the tapping. Combine that with great music, and I\u2019m happy. I mention this because… I was happy last night. Perhaps I should clarify. Last night we Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,28,1],"tags":[454,320,301],"class_list":["post-4247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","category-theatre","category-lj-xfer","tag-cabrillo-music-theatre","tag-reviews-2009","tag-theatre-2009"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4247\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}