Manatee Players open mainstage season with ‘42nd Street’

One of the more famous stories about “42nd Street” has to do with a Welsh teenager who was in the chorus in the 1984 production in London’s West End. One night, the actress who played the lead role was sick and unable to perform. So was her understudy. The unknown teenage chorus girl took over the lead and was so impressive that she took over the lead role, and kept it for years. Her name is Catherine Zeta-Jones.

It’s a great story, made even greater by its uncanny similarity to the storyline of the musical itself. The character, Peggy Sawyer, is a small-town girl with big-city dreams. She arrives in New York a little too late to audition for “Pretty Lady,” the big new show for 1933. But she lands in the chorus, gets tapped to take over when the leading lady is injured, and becomes a star.

“It’s ‘the star can’t do the show so what are we going to do?’ story, but it’s more than that,” said Sarah Cassidy, who plays Peggy in the Manatee Players production that opens tonight. “That’s one angle of the story. But there’s also a love story and a show within the show.”

Cassidy’s experience with “42nd Street” also has some parallels to the show’s story. She auditioned for the same role when she was in college, and was heartbroken when she didn’t get it. She ended up working in wardrobe for that production, and that led her to a career working in costumes for theaters around New York, including Off-Broadway.

That brought her circuitously to the Bradenton area, where she became one of the most popular performers in Manatee Players musicals, and eventually gave her the chance to do that role she had missed out on when she was in college, and that she knew so well from working on the show.

“I’ve never done ‘42nd Street’ before and I’ve always wanted to,” she said. “So when Rick said he thought I was right for the role I said ‘OK!’ ”

The “Rick” she’s referring to is Rick Kerby, the producing artistic director for Manatee Players and the director of “42nd Street.” He also directed it more than a decade ago, in the Manatee Players’ old Riverfront Theater.

“It’s a show that I know our audience will love,” Kerby said. “It’s tap dancing, tap dancing and more tap dancing. It’s kind of an old-fashioned, feel-good musical.”

The show’s form and story may be familiar, but its history is unusual. It started as a 1933 movie musical starring Ruby Keeler. It wasn’t until 47 years later that it was turned into a stage musical. There weren’t many songs in the movie, so more songs by the same songwriting team, Al Durbin and Harry Warren, were added. Some of the show’s best-known songs, including “Lullaby of Broadway” and “We’re in the Money,” weren’t in the original movie.

The New York production was directed by Broadway legend Gower Champion, who died a few hours before curtain on opening night. The show went on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical.

“42nd Street” is the opening show of Manatee Players’ 2016-17 season. It’s deliberately nostalgic, and maybe not as technically flashy as shows such as “Cats” and “Miss Saigon” that have wowed audiences at the Manatee Performing Arts Center. But for the people who make the show happen, it’s just as challenging as those spectacular shows.

“In a way it’s even more challenging,” Kerby said. “Those shows have one main set. We have lots of quick costume changes and quick set changes. We have huge sets that people only see for 30 seconds. You almost wish you could keep them on stage longer, because so much work went into them.”

Details: Aug. 11-28, Stone Hall at the Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $27-$37. 941-748-5875, manateeperformingartscenter.com.

This story was originally published August 10, 2016 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Manatee Players open mainstage season with ‘42nd Street’."