‘42nd Street’ bringing glitz and glamour to Columbia this week

Big tap-dance numbers and glitzy costumes are in store when Broadway in Columbia’s “42nd Street” comes to town.

The Broadway play about a Broadway play tells the story of Peggy Sawyer, an aspiring actress from Allentown, Pennsylvania who comes to New York with a suitcase and a dream of performing. She lands a role in a Broadway chorus, but when the lead can’t go on, Sawyer takes her place and becomes an overnight star.

The play will be performed at the Koger Center for the Arts Tuesday and Wednesday.

Based on the 1932 Bradford Ropes novel of the same name – which was also the inspiration for a 1933 movie – “42nd Street” opened in 1980 and ran for 3,486 performances before being revived in 2001.

Mark Bramble, who co-wrote the play with Michael Stewart, directed the 2001 revival. As an original author of the show, Mark has been involved with the numerous productions worldwide, including directing the 2001 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Revival on Broadway.

Here, Bramble answers five questions about “42nd Street.”

Q: It’s been about a decade since 42nd Street last toured. Why do you think the time is right for another national tour?

MB: We’ve just been through a terrible recession that we seem to be coming out of, and 42nd Street speaks to that. When can you not use an optimistic message? It’s also an American Dream story, and people like that. They want that. The show makes you feel good. You root for this girl from Allentown to succeed, you root for all the people in the play to succeed. Everyone’s so desperate, and the audience gets behind them.

Q: How did the original production come about?

MB: Mike Stewart and I were working on a show with a score by Jerry Herman called The Grand Tour. The show was not a success, and it was not easy to work on. At the end of the work day, Mike and I would often go to the Carnegie Cinema. It was a revival cinema in the basement of Carnegie Hall, and it didn’t matter what was playing there; we would go to get away from The Grand Tour. One day they were showing 42nd Street, and at the end of the film, Mike and I said, “This makes a show. This makes a musical.” That’s where the idea was born.

Q: Is this national tour a re-creation of the 2001 Broadway revival, which you also directed?

MB: No. It’s based on that production, but it’s been rethought yet again. It has a new scenic design by Beowulf Boritt, and it’s mostly painted drops. Mr. Boritt has an original view of the Depression era, and the set is quite striking. So there are some adjustments to accommodate the new set, but basically it’s the same staging. I’ve taken out a few lines, and added a few more lines, a few more wisecracks. But we didn’t reinvent or deconstruct 42nd Street. We were determined to deliver the show with everything the title promises.

Q: You’ve directed the show many times. When you begin a new production with a new cast, is there room for them to find their characters and possibly give a new take on the material?

MB: They must do that. I never think I know what the performances are going to be when we begin. I start fresh, and try to make it right for the group of actors that we’ve selected. The one thing that’s true of all productions is that we always play it for absolute truth. People sometimes have the idea that it’s campy, that it’s done with a wink to the audience. Both those notions are wrong. The dancers are not dancing to show off time steps. They are dancing to survive.

Q: Both Caitlin Ehlinger, who plays Peggy Sawyer, and Blake Standik, who plays the juvenile lead, Billy Lawlor, are making their professional debuts. Talk about what they bring to their roles.

MB: Charisma is something that is hard to put into words. But when you see it you know it right away. It takes two seconds to realize if a person has it or not. And both Caitlin and Blake have it. When Caitlin auditioned, she stood out in the room, far above any of the other girls, and she’s brought that into her performance.

The same is true for Blake. He stood out in the lineup of boys when they were dancing during auditions, and we all said, “Who is that?”

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 1:33 PM with the headline "‘42nd Street’ bringing glitz and glamour to Columbia this week."