Shuffle off to Queanbeyan
42nd St
Music by Harry Warren, Lyrics By Al Dubin, Book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble
Free Rain Theatre Company, the Q
Directed by Chris Baldock
Choreographed by Michelle Heine
Musically Directed by Nicholas Griffin
28 March – 15 April 2018
Book tickets
42nd St isn’t exactly a show for deep thinkers; the theatrical equivalent of fairy floss, it’s an inconsequential if fleeting sugar hit, but hey, not all theatre needs to be fine dining.
The plot? Small town girl dreams of being in a Broadway show. Difficult leading lady breaks her ankle. Famous director inexplicably takes a chance on small town girl responsible for said broken ankle. Much reminding us that small town girl is in fact from small town. Much singing and dancing. The end.
But don’t be fooled. Shows like 42nd St make difficult demands of unsuspecting companies who choose to stage them. Happily, on several key fronts Free Rain have filled the brief. And although there’s a few stumbles, there’s more on the positive side of the ledger in a show which is definitely a move in the right direction from their Les Mis departure.
To get the main negative out of the way – let’s be clear – the Q is not the right space to stage 42nd St – it’s a show that needs to zip, and the constraints of not having a flight tower are plain to see. Attempts to accomodate this difficulty, although valiant, sometimes unintentionally emphasise it. For instance the frequent staging of scenes in front of the world’s slowest closing curtain proved more jarring than theatrically effective.
Design could have gone a considerable way in bridging the gap but unfortunately design is not a strong suit of this production. In particular I am yet to see a Canberra show where use of a LED screen as a key set piece has been a good choice. Theatre is all about imagination – clipart projections destroy atmosphere and are lazy – especially for an ‘old school’ show. The box part of the set is incongruent with the LED screen, and the few scenes on the second storey are set too far back. Set changes can be laboured and the choice to perform them in twilight has the potential to sap us from the moment, for instance when Peggy breaks character and takes off her own dressing room chair at lights down.
Getting the tap dancing right is key to the success of this show and it has been appropriately prioritised. By and large the dance sequences are interesting, well performed and suitably delight the audience. Some of the non-tap sequences such as Lullaby of Broadway and Shuffle off to Buffalo lacked a bit of vitality in comparison but these are offset by showstoppers such as We’re in the Money and Dames. Dance is often a challenge for Canberra companies and on this occasion the dance ensemble is tight and well drilled which is highly commendable.
The casting is also a strength, and it’s a big plus. Sophie Highmore checks all the boxes as Peggy Sawyer. She dances like a trouper, sings sweetly and looks great as the chorus girl who saves the day. Jarrad West as notorious director Julian Marsh also gives an assured performance that finds unexpected humour and pathos. The unrequited attraction between the pair never truly lands, but I’m not exactly sure it is meant to.
Interstate ring-in Sam Ward has a great voice and convinces as leading man Billy Lawlor. Louiza Blomfield as Dorothy Brock and Debra Byrne as Maggie also deliver solid performances.
Musically speaking, the excellent band, conducted by Ian MacLean are confident and bright, with a particular shout out to the on point brass section. Vocally, the leads sing well, and the sound balance is pleasing to the ear.
Costumes are colourful and effective with the right amount of bling where it counts. Some crowd scenes and minor character moments are a bit hammy but fortunately the style of 42nd St is broadly forgiving in that department. Scenes played with a straight but self-aware bat such as Shadow Waltz are particularly effective.
Usually lighting in Canberra is overdone but in this instance the lighting could have done with less restraint – there are far too many moments with full stage drab light which would have benefited from some theatrical interest. For instance long rehearsal room scenes with the one lighting state would have been transformed by using specials to create focus. However, the synchronised dressing room lighting at the start of Act 2 is very well done.
For what is essentially a dancical – it’s bizarre that the writers of 42nd St curiously eschew a dance finale for a subdued reprise solo (although it was performed and staged well in its own right). But at the end of the day, it’s really all just a vehicle for the tap dancing – somewhat a dying art in contemporary musical theatre – and on that measure Free Rain have delivered a pleasing evening of family entertainment. Tappa tappa tappa.
Cheese.
Chalk & Cheese 