By Kimberly Harper
The classic musical “42nd Street” is at PPAC this weekend on a non-equity tour stop, and if you’re a fan of old musicals or looking for something the whole family can enjoy, this is the show for you.
In a nutshell, the play, which is mostly set in Depression-era New York, follows a young dancer named Peggy Sawyer, who leaves her small-town Pennsylvania home to try and make it as a chorus girl on Broadway. After literally running into director Julian Marsh, she earns a spot for herself on the stage, and winds up stealing the show – and later saving it, when aging starlet Dorothy Brock finds herself injured and unable to perform the lead role.
It’s cheesy, but it’s fun, and it’s a tap musical, which means it’s incredibly visually entertaining. The show does drag at times – the second act especially feels really long in spots – but the dancing more than makes up for it. And there are a host of familiar numbers, from “I Only Have Eyes for You” to “We’re In the Money.”
This cast features a strong dance ensemble and some pretty great leads. Kara Gibson Slocum does well as Dorothy Brock. Her melodrama is just enough without taking things into the ridiculous, and she has a strong, beautiful voice. We don’t really get to see her dance, unfortunately, because the character is supposed to be terrible at it. For that, we have Clara Cox, who plays Peggy Sawyer and is the kind of triple threat no actress wants to audition after. Her voice is beautiful and her tap dancing is some of the best I’ve ever seen. And Matthew Taylor as the hard-nosed director Julian Marsh is well cast and also has an excellent voice. I would have liked to see more character development from Connor Coughlin, who plays a pretty one dimensional Billy Lawlor, but his voice and dancing more than make up for that.
If you’re only into modern musicals, this may not be the show to see this weekend, but if you like old fashioned tunes and fantastic, flashy tap dance numbers, then make your way to PPAC before the cast shuffles off on Sunday night.
“42nd Street” runs through Sunday, March 26, at the Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset Street, Providence. Tickets may be obtained online at www.ppacri.org, at the box office or by calling 401-421-2997