42nd Street (musical)

In June 1980, the musical premiered in out-of-town tryouts at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.[4] The musical opened on Broadway on August 25, 1980, at the Winter Garden Theatre,[5] and then moved to the Majestic and finally to the St. James, closing on January 8, 1989, after 3,486 performances and 6 previews.[6] (Frank Rich called this a sign of the "shift of power" on Broadway, as the show had to leave the Winter Garden to make way for Cats and the Majestic to accommodate The Phantom of the Opera.) The original cast included Jerry Orbach as Julian Marsh, Tammy Grimes as Dorothy Brock, Wanda Richert as Peggy Sawyer, and Lee Roy Reams as Billy Lawlor.[5] Replacements later in the run included Barry Nelson and Don Chastain and Jamie Ross who played Julian for the last three years of its Broadway run,[7] Elizabeth Allen, Dolores Gray and Millicent Martin as Dorothy,[8] and Lisa Brown and Karen Ziemba as Peggy. (Karen Prunzik, who originated the role of Anytime Annie, briefly played the role of Peggy when Wanda Richert became ill and her understudy abruptly quit the show.)[9] The show's designers, Robin Wagner (sets), Theoni V. Aldredge (costumes), and Tharon Musser (lights) were the same team who had designed the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line.[10] The original Broadway production is the 15th longest running show in Broadway history, as of July 28, 2019.[11]

However, the opening night triumph was overshadowed by tragedy. Following a lengthy standing ovation, Merrick went onstage and stated, "This is tragic...Gower Champion died this afternoon." He went on to explain that Champion died hours before the performance, "when he said that Mr. Champion had died, there were gasps and screams."[12] The producer had told only Bramble of Champion's death and managed to keep the news a secret from the cast (including Richert, the director's girlfriend), crew, and the public prior to his announcement.[2]

42nd Street proved to be not only Champion's last show but Merrick's final success. Merrick lived until 2000, but, as described by Anthony Bianco, 42nd Street "was his last big hit, his swan song."[13]

This Tony–nominated wardrobe, designed by Theoni V. Aldredge, is on rotating display at the Wick Theatre and Costume Museum in Boca Raton, Florida.[14]

The West End production opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on August 8, 1984, starring James Laurenson as Julian Marsh, Georgia Brown as Dorothy Brock, Clare Leach as Peggy Sawyer, Michael Howe as Billy Lawler and Margaret Courtenay as Maggie Jones.[15][16][17] Frankie Vaughn later took over as Julian Marsh, with Shani Wallis as Dorothy Brock and Maxine Audley as Maggie Jones. The career of teenaged Catherine Zeta-Jones, a chorus member in the 1984 West End production, was launched when a vacation and an illness felled both the actress portraying Peggy Sawyer and her understudy when one of the producers happened to be in the audience. Zeta-Jones filled in and was impressive enough to be cast permanently in the role shortly afterward.[18]

A San Francisco production opened at the Golden Gate Theatre on February 19, 1985, and ran through July 20, concurrently with the original Broadway production.[19]

The Sydney production of 42nd Street opened on June 2, 1989 at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney. It closed July 28, 1990. The show starred Barry Quin as Julian Marsh, Nancye Hayes as Dorothy Brock, Leonie Paige as Peggy Sawyer, Todd McKenney as Billy Lawler and Toni Lamond as Maggie Jones, with Dein Perry as Andy Lee.[20]

Bramble revised the book for and directed the Broadway revival, with choreography by Randy Skinner (dance assistant for the original production). It opened, after 31 previews, on May 2, 2001, at the Foxwoods Theatre (formerly the Ford Center for the Performing Arts),[21] where it ran for 1,524 performances. The cast included Michael Cumpsty as Julian, Christine Ebersole as Dorothy, Kate Levering as Peggy, and David Elder as Billy.[21] Meredith Patterson, who made her Broadway musical debut in the chorus and was the understudy for the role of Peggy Sawyer, took over the role in August 2001.[22] Todd Lattimore, who had been a swing and understudy, took the role of Billy. Other notable replacements included Patrick Cassidy[23] and Tom Wopat as Julian[24] and Shirley Jones[23] and Beth Leavel as Dorothy.

The Broadway revival production, by UK Productions, toured the UK in 2007. The cast included Paul Nicholas as Julian for the first part of the tour, later replaced by Dave Willetts, Julia J. Nagle as Dorothy, Jessica Punch as Peggy, Graham Hoadly as Bert Barry, Shirley Jameson as Maggie Jones and Ashley Nottingham as Billy.[25]

An Asia tour of the Broadway revival played major venues throughout China and South Korea, with an English–speaking company directed by Mark Bramble.[26][27] The cast included Paul Gregory Nelson as Julian, Natalie Buster as Dorothy, Kristen Martin as Peggy, and Charles MacEachern as Billy.

A production directed by director/choreographer Randy Skinner made its debut at the Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford, New York, on September 24, 2009, through February 2010.[28] A one-act condensed version played for several months at the Reno Eldorado Hotel, Reno, Nevada, showroom using recorded music track, closing in October 2009.[29] A production directed by director/choreographer Jon Engstrom debuted at the Theatre Under The Stars in Houston under the Artistic Direction of Frank Young, and then moved to its second season at The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle. It starred Sylvia Brooks as Dorothy Brock, with musical direction by Bob Linder.

A new production was staged for the Chichester Festival at the Chichester Festival Theatre in summer 2011. It was directed by Paul Kerryson with new choreography by Andrew Wright and starred Kathryn Evans as Dorothy and Tim Flavin as Julian. This production transferred to Curve in Leicester for the Christmas 2011 season (breaking all previous box office records for the theatre). Tim Flavin reprised his role, Ria Jones played Dorothy and Daisy Maywood portrayed Peggy.

UK Productions mounted a provincial UK tour of the show in 2012 with Dave Willetts reprising the role of Julian, Marti Webb playing Dorothy, Graham Hoadly as Bert Barry, Carol Ball as Maggie Jones and Mark Bramble directing.[30]

A slightly updated version of the 2001 revival, revised and directed by Mark Bramble and choreographed by Randy Skinner, began a United States tour in September 2015, opening in Salt Lake City, Utah on September 22. Matthew J. Taylor played Julian Marsh, Caitlin Ehlinger played Peggy Sawyer, and Blake Standik played Billy Lawlor.[31]

A West End revival began previews on March 20, 2017, at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, where the show had its original London production, with an official opening night on April 4.[32] Mark Bramble once again directed and Randy Skinner choreographed. The cast included Sheena Easton in her West End debut as Dorothy Brock, Clare Halse as Peggy Sawyer, Stuart Neal as Billy Lawlor and Tom Lister as Julian Marsh.[33] The opening night was attended by The Duchess of Cambridge in her role as Royal Patron of the East Anglia Children's Hospices (EACH).[34] On March 19, 2018, Lulu took over from Easton as Dorothy Brock for a 16-week tenure, and Ashley Day took over from Neal as Billy Lawlor, with Lister and Halse remaining in the show.[35] Steph Parry - who in March 2018 joined 42nd Street as understudy for the roles of Dorothy Brock and Maggie Jones - took over from Lulu as Dorothy Brock on July 9, 2018.[36] Bonnie Langford took over as Dorothy Brock on September 3, 2018, until the show closed on January 5, 2019.[37]

The production was recorded at the end of its 2018 run and aired as part of PBS's Great Performances’ third annual “Broadway’s Best” lineup in November 2019.[38]

Ogunquit Playhouse's production began previews on June 19, 2019, with the official opening on June 21, 2019.[39] Randy Skinner directed and choreographed as it was the first major production since Bramble's passing in February 2019. The cast included Rachel York in a return to the Ogunquit Playhouse stage as Dorothy Brock, Sally Struthers as Maggie Jones, Jessica Wockenfuss as Peggy Sawyer, Steve Blanchard as Julian Marsh and Con O'Shea Creal as Billy Lawlor.[40] The production was assistant-choreographed by Sara Brians who made her Broadway debut with the 2001 revival, and utilized the set and costumes from the 2017 West End revival.