APA Tappers Turn Back the Clock in ‘42nd Street’

Tom Titus

More than 70 years ago, a young Ruby Keeler set America’s feet to

tapping under their movie seats in the showbiz musical “42nd Street.”

Musical aficionados have been dancing to that beat ever since.

Now, the Academy for the Performing Arts at Huntington Beach High

School invites you to “come and meet those dancing feet” in its

all-out, full-scale revival of this definitive showbiz musical.

Director Tim Nelson and choreographer Diane Makas-Weber have

fashioned a faithful rendition of this screen (and later, stage)

classic, filling the large stage at Huntington Beach High School with

52 pairs of dancing feet tapping up a storm, backed by a full

orchestra under the baton of Gregg Gilboe.

Few shows from the 1930s, with the notable exception of “The

Wizard of Oz,” occupy today’s musical theater practitioners quite so

much as “42nd Street,” in which a young girl fresh off the bus from

Allentown, Pa., taps her way to stardom when she’s called upon to

replace the leading lady in a do-or-die musical for its hard-shelled

director.

The curtain rises on some four dozen pairs of dancing feet

auditioning for a new Broadway show, and audiences will be instantly

aware that they’re in for a lively time. Makas-Weber’s troupe of

talented tootsies will recall, for the more seasoned playgoers, the

days of the Busby Berkeley movie musical.

Nelson’s Academy for the Performing Arts production showcases a

plethora of singing and dancing talent, topped off by some engaging

performances in the central roles.

Most prominent among the leads is the steely, egocentric but

fading Broadway star Dorothy Brock, beautifully interpreted by Elaine

Hayhurst.

There’s a hard and honest edge here that doesn’t often manifest

itself in other versions of this musical.

Alex Bartosch excels as the demanding director who needs one more

hit show to re-establish himself. And Katie Ulrich is bright and

perky as Peggy, the chorine just off the bus from Allentown whose

magic feet save the show, and the day, for the Broadway company.

Alex’s brother, Matt Bartosch, is his sibling’s polar opposite as

the easygoing lead dancer in the make-or-break show who takes a shine

to Peggy. Nicole Gerardi is engaging as the brassy chorine known as

“Anytime Annie,” while Gretchen Dawson particularly impresses as

Maggie, the songwriter-performer who creates the show numbers with

Greg Plunkett.

Others notable in support are Jonathan Dean as the rustic

zillionaire who’s backing the production and Josh Allton as his rival

for Hayhurst’s affections.

Gilboe’s full student orchestra enthusiastically punctuates the

show’s familiar score, which includes “You’re Getting to Be a Habit

With Me,” “Lullaby of Broadway” and the big, splashy number “We’re in

the Money,” set against a glittering backdrop costumed by Katie Timm.

“42nd Street” is a fully realized valentine to show business the

way it used to be, with the improbable transformation of ingenue into

star which has been borrowed in many a story since this show made its

debut in 1933. Come and meet these dancing feet before the show

closes this weekend.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.