Wow.
Talk about a terrific night at the theatre. 42nd Street, which opened at the King's on Tuesday, is all-singing, all-dancing, all-wisecracking proof you don't need special effects and wizardry to make magic. A stage stuffed with top-notch dancers tapping in unison to the dramatic climax of the show-stopping 42nd Street number is every bit as thrilling as a flying car or an abseiling nanny.
The 42nd Street show is based on the glorious, still exhilarating, 1933 film of the same name, a film that is not only the grand-daddy of the Hollywood musical, but also the original "backstage" story, and one which didn't shy away from the grim realities of the Great Depression of the late 1920s. It ticks every box, from sparkling, one-liner-laden script to unforgettable songs by Harry Warren and Al Dubin (some from subsequent films).
Just as the film was very much an ensemble piece, so is this show. Marti Webb may be the big name but she's not the star – the chorus line of 14 "dames" is what you remember. It was a joy to see the homages to the iconic Busby Berkeley dance routines from the string of films he made at Warners. Some, such as the Shadow Waltz, in which Webb seemed to be wrestling with the shadows, were tongue-in-cheek. Others, such as We're In the Money and Shuffle off to Buffalo, were wonderfully authentic and great fun.
For I'm Young and Healthy a mirror was lowered and suspended at an angle so the audience could see the Berkeley-esque aerial view of the geometric formations being made by the dancers. It's good, old-fashioned Hollywood glamour come to life. Catch it while you can.
HHHHH
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article