Review: 42nd Street

“Kid, you’re going out there just a girl from the chorus, but you’re coming back a star!”

It’s shows like 42nd Street, now at the Davis Musical Theater Company, under direction of John Ewing, which still have young kids flocking to Hollywood or Broadway, certain that they will be the one who will steps from obscurity into the spotlight to become the next overnight sensation.

The plot is hokey and predictable and, sadly, DMTC does not have the budget to give this show the glitzy set that it deserves, but it’s the performances that make this production a standout nonetheless. As Peggy Sawyer, the girl from Allentown, Penn., who arrives in New York with a big smile and bigger dreams, Ernestine Balisi could not be better.

Likewise DMTC veteran Wendy Carey stands out as the Ethel Merman-like diva Dorothy Brock, once the toast of Broadway, but now aging and not quite up to the starring role but still demanding diva treatment.

But it’s Nathan Lacy, as producer Julian Marsh, who steals the show. His command of the stage and his magnificent “Lullaby of Broadway” lift this production to new heights.

The cast of roughly 30 performers are excellent and tap dance their way from start to finish of the show; similarly, Terri Taylor’s choreography is outstanding.