Venue: Ford Center in New York City
Address: 214 West 43rd Street
Length: 2 hours and 30 mins with one intermission
Opened: May 2, 2001
Closes: January 2, 2005
Category: Musical, Comedy, Revival, Broadway

Setting: 1933. New York City and Philadelphia.

"42nd Street" was a Broadway show about people putting on a Broadway show. The Grand Theatre production of "42nd Street" comes pretty close to being a Broadway show itself, an ambitious, energetic delight with dozens of backdrops, sets, and costume changes.

There is also dancing. Tons of it. I freely admit to being a sucker for a show with good dancing, and "42nd Street" stops working on its feeble plot about every two minutes in order to have a big song-and-dance number. Director/choreographer Jim Christian has created routines that are snappy and lively, and he's found a talented ensemble of dancers to carry them out.

The story is about the production of "Pretty Lady," a Busby Berkeley-type musical that is supposed to be one of the biggest in Broadway history, thanks to mega-director Julian Marsh (Gary Neilson) being behind it, and Broadway super-diva Dorothy Brock (Alisa Harris-Aguilar) being at center stage.

Auditioning for the chorus is Peggy Sawyer (Amy Oakeson), a pretty, naive gal just off the train from Allentown, Pa., who barely makes it into the show. Her love interest, for approximately two seconds, is fellow cast member Billy Lawlor (Peter Russell). Their relationship fails because "42nd Street" writers Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble forgot to keep working on it: This show thrives on its singing and dancing, not on its plot, which is full of little holes like that.

2001 Tony Awards: Two Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical

Creators
Music By: Harry Warren
Lyrics By: Al Dubin
Book By: Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble
DirBy: Mark Bramble
Choreographed By: Randy Skinner

Starring
Patrick Cassidy as Julian March
Shirley Jones as Dorothy Brock
Nadine Isengger as Peggy Sawyer
David Elder as Billy Lawlor
Karen Murphy as Maggie Jones
Bob Walton as Bert Barry
Greg Beck as Oscar