Review: 42nd Street, UK Tour, at the Opera House, Manchester

When someone says "toe-tapping" or "tap dancing" to you, I bet that this is the first show you think of: set in the 1930s, classic Broadway, the classic stories of the underdog and putting on a show.

This year, the classic 42nd Street embarked on a new production at Leicester Curve before a season in London, directed by Jonathan Church and choreographed by Bill Deamer. It is now touring the UK, and I was lucky enough to catch it at Manchester's Opera House last week. 

It's the 1930s, the Great Depression has hit; so it is no wonder that when Broadway director Julian Marsh announces he's doing a new show, that there is a huge hubbub about it and loads of kids audition to be in the chorus line. One of them, wide-eyed Peggy Sawyer, goes on a journey from unsure chorus girl, to being thrust into the spotlight. 

If there is one thing 42nd Street is known for, it is tap 

And oh boy is this one of the hardest working ensembles you will see. Most of the songs in 42nd Street are a part of "Pretty Lady", the show-with-a-show, rather than be tied into the plot of the show itself; and as a classic 30s pastiche with little-to-no-plot, there is one big tap number (almost) after another; you wonder if anyone gets a chance to breathe! There is lots of very energetic, showy, and difficult routines, with flashy costumes. 

And I mean flashy. Sequined suits for the guys in some numbers, with something skimpy for the, as the song goes, Those Beautiful Dames. 

It's what you expect, but that doesn't mean you can stop your jaw from touching the floor at the spectacle this ensemble delivers - and to do that eight times a week! 

It's all the glitz and glamour of the Golden Age of Broadway.

But there is a darker side to the street too 

This comes from some of the men in the story. You get hints at casting couches; there's a sugar daddy funding the show; the leading tenor of the show Billy Lawlor has as an out-and-proud reputation of being a ladies man; and most of all, Julian Marsh himself (played by Michael Praed (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)) has a very dark side that comes out when there's any kind of "threat" or "hindrance" to his show not being a success. 

(I want to say though, that not all the men in this story are bad eggs: Pat Denning for example (played wonderfully by Oliver Farnworth), is a VERY good boy)

This is highlighted more by Peggy being played SO naïvely and innocently by Nicole-Lily Baisden (Anything Goes). She has this huge smile and natural sweetness about her which suits the part perfectly, and she dances an absolute storm! But in her moments with say Julian, or Billy; there is to me a disturbing unease in their dynamic brought to the service, which you don't expect in a show like this - or it's shoved to the background as a "possible romance". 

It makes me want to see a sequel when Peggy is the seasoned but perhaps bitter Broadway star, similar to how Dorothy Brock is in this show (played brilliantly by Samantha Womack - I was surprised by how much her voice has improved since The Addams Family!). 

Luckily for Peggy, there is a support system in the women in the company, especially Anytime Annie (Sarah Marie Maxwell), and Maggie Jones (Faye Tozer), who always encourage her when she's been struggling with the pressure put on her. 

42nd Street through is ultimately an uplifting show 

The ending feels triumphant (despite the possible sequel questions); the big dance numbers leave you with a big smile on their face. It's glitzy, it's glamourous, and it's naughty, bawdy... Just like New York itself. It has finished the run in Manchester, but it is continuing its tour across the UK. I definitely recommend this as the autumn nights start to draw in.