Broadway Theatre League of Northeastern Pennsylvania closes out its 2015-16 season with some good, old-fashioned song-and-dance razzmatazz.
The touring production of the iconic musical “42nd Street” comes to Scranton Cultural Center at The Masonic Temple this weekend for a three-day, four-performance engagement.
This production of the show features direction by Mark Bramble and choreography by Randy Skinner, the team responsible for the 2001 Tony-winning revival of the musical.
Performances are 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $35 to $57.
Broadway staple
“42nd Street” sits in the canon of Broadway musicals. Based on a novel by Bradford Ropes, as well as Busby Berkeley’s 1933 movie of the same name, the show originally was mounted on Broadway in 1980 by legendary producer David Merrick, with direction and dances by Gower Champion. The production lasted 3,486 performances and won the 1981 Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Choreography.
Twenty years later, the show returned to Broadway, running 1,524 times and winning the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical.
The soundtrack includes one standard after another, from “We’re in the Money,” “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” and “Lullaby of Broadway” to “Dames,” “I Only Have Eyes For You” and the title song.
A classic showbiz tale, “42nd Street” tells the story of naive young dancer Peggy Sawyer, who leaves her hometown of Allentown for New York City to audition for the Broadway musical, “Pretty Lady.” When the show’s star breaks her ankle, Peggy steps in and becomes an overnight sensation.
New leading lady
Speaking of newcomers, 19-year-old Caitlin Ehlinger makes her national tour debut as Peggy in the production.
The Houston native tried out for the role halfway through her senior year of high school. She had taken master classes with Skinner in New York, and after seeing he was the choreographer for the show, she jumped at the chance to dance for him professionally.
Ehlinger didn’t know a whole lot about the show going in, and found herself watching “YouTube video after YouTube video after YouTube video” to bone up on it, she said.
“It’s just been a crazy ride,” Ehlinger said during a phone interview from a tour stop in Akron, Ohio. “It helps me because I connect so much with Peggy’s story. She comes in naive and not knowing, and has to step up to the plate. ... Every emotion she goes through during the show I’ve gone through.”
“It’s been an incredible experience,” she added. “It’s been pretty surreal, just getting this job and not expecting it, and the role I’m in. And just getting to take this show across the country is an experience in itself. ... It’s a dream come true.”
Matthew J. Taylor, who plays gruff Broadway impresario Julian Marsh in the production, said “42nd Street” is different from other shows he’s been a part of.
“It’s got a great book and it’s just sort of this timeless story,” he said. “You know, young girl comes to town and becomes a star overnight. It has that timeless quality to it.”
Beyond the story and songs, the dance numbers are simply phenomenal, some with as many as 30 performers on stage at once, Taylor said.
“It’s got so many of those iconic, quintessential moments that make the 1930s style so effervescent,” he said. “It’s a whole lot of fun to do, and a whole lot of fun to watch. Because you don’t see a lot of that these days.
“We’re so lucky to be out here presenting not only a great piece of theater, but an iconic piece of theater. Not many people get to say that.”