Lullaby of Broadway!

I am SO behind talking about this - I've had a VERY busy couple of weeks, particularly with work; including an awards event on Tuesday! Yours truly is now officially part of the Events Team of the Year in the North West at the Wedding Industry Awards!! 😁🎉🍻
So as a result, this screening, which I am now FINALLY going to talk about got pushed and is now a week behind.... Ooops.

Last week, I popped along to my local cinema to catch the screening of 42nd Street, filmed during its run at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in Covent Garden. The run itself has now finished, and the theatre is undergoing renovations ahead of reopening for Frozen next year.

With music and lyrics by Al Dubin, Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren, the stage version is based off the 1932 book and 1933 screenplay of the same name, premiering in the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway in August 1980.
It is as classic a musical as you can get, with big numbers, lots of tap, glitzy and glamourous sets and costumes, white lights etc etc etc.

It follows Peggy Sawyer, arriving in NYC for a big chorus girl audition for Julian Marsh's next musical; but when leading lady Dorothy Brock breaks her leg, Peggy is thrust into the spotlight.
During the screening, Brock was played West End legend Bonnie Langford (currently in the West End company of 9 to 5), Tom Lister (Calamity Jane) as Marsh and Claire Halse as Sawyer, all of whom I enjoyed.

I don't think there was 1 person who really stood out for me, but I do need to mention the HUGE ensemble. To be a part of that chorus, you must have to have A LOT of stamina as there is A LOT of tap! Heck, it famously starts with a huge tap number for the audition. I struggle somehow through a Zumba class, but I don't think I will be anything other than in a state of collapse if I tried any of those routines...!

To be honest, I thought it would be a fun farce, just like Anything Goes - but it does actually have a bit of a backbone! True, the plot is not perfect, and there are some creases that need ironing out, but it is incredibly feel-good. Maybe I'll see it on stage if it comes near me - I will repeat: IF IT COMES NEAR ME. It's not one I would travel miles and miles to see, but still enjoyable.