Six dance students from the Orange County School of the Arts will be part of MTW’s adaptation of the Broadway classic “42nd Street,” beginning Feb. 9 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center.
Audiences will be enchanted by the “Lullaby of Broadway” during Musical Theatre West’s spirited production of Broadway favorite “42nd Street.”
Kicking off MTW’s 2024 season, this adaptation of the famed musical will premiere Friday at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, located on the Cal State Long Beach campus, and enjoy a two-week theatrical run through Feb. 25.
The Tony Award-winning Broadway production originates from the 1933 Hollywood musical film “42nd Street” — originally adapted from Bradford Ropes’ 1932 novel of the same name — and was brought to the theater in 1980.
The story of “42nd Street” is set in Great Depression-era New York and follows the behind-the-scenes making of the musical “Pretty Lady,” where wide-eyed chorus girl Peggy Sawyer is thrust into the lead role and forced to save the show. While highlighting the difficulty of bringing a theater production to life, “42nd Street” champions the magical star-making power of the Broadway stage.
MTW’s production of “42nd Street” boasts an extensive cast with several returning performers such as Ricky Bulda and Quintan Craig, and a number of new faces including Phillip Atmore, April Nixon, and Emma Nossal in the lead role of Peggy Sawyer.
The show will feature six dance students from the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA), a 7th through 12th grade public charter school based in Santa Ana with a focus on arts-based education.
The show’s choreographer, Cheryl Baxter, spearheaded the collaboration when she reached out to the Director of OCSA’s Commercial Dance Conservatory, Nicole Berger, to see if her dancers might have a place in the production.
“It’s really our goal to be able to create the beginnings of a partnership with OCSA that might be able to extend to other schools in the future. We can really create a pipeline for students to be able to have firsthand experience with professional theater and inspire them … and to cultivate the love of an artform that desperately needs people to be involved with it.”
Bren Thor, “42nd Street” Associate Producer
After getting the go-ahead from the Actors’ Equity labor union to include the students in the production, MTW auditioned them at OCSA near the end of 2023. All ten dancers were welcomed into the show with open arms.
With the show now on the cusp of its premiere, “42nd Street” Associate Producer Bren Thor said he sees this production as a stepping stone for future partnerships between the theater and student performers.
“It’s really our goal to be able to create the beginnings of a partnership with OCSA that might be able to extend to other schools in the future,” Thor said. “We can really create a pipeline for students to be able to have firsthand experience with professional theater and inspire them … and to cultivate the love of an artform that desperately needs people to be involved with it.”
OCSA Commercial Dance Conservatory students Olivia Liddi and Ariel Tello jumped at the opportunity to join the “42nd Street” cast. Liddi recalls listening to the musical’s soundtrack on the way home from her audition and feeling hopeful.
“I had never even heard of ‘42nd Street’ before, but when Cheryl started teaching the audition combo it really clicked and I could tell that it was going to be really fun,” Liddi said.
The heart of “42nd Street” lies in its dynamic tap dancing ensemble. OCSA dancers form this key part of the production, showcasing their skills and providing strength in numbers.
The student dancers, who typically spend a whole semester learning new choreography for a commercial dance performance, learned their tap dance-oriented parts for “42nd Street” in just nine days.
“The cornerstone thing about ‘42nd Street’ is that it’s a big old-fashioned tap dance show and the story is about a member of the ensemble who gets an opportunity to step into the leading role and saves the show,” Thor said. “So it is very much an ensemble show, and Olivia, Ariel and all of the kids are very integral to the process.”
Since its initial theatrical run, “42nd Street” has enjoyed national tours, a Broadway revival and worldwide theater adaptations as an intriguing hybrid of “backstage” and “jukebox” musical.
Thor notes that while MTW’s production will be a mostly faithful adaptation of “42nd Street,” director Cynthia Ferrer and Baxter, both of whom have a rich history with the show, are ensuring the production will remain as entertaining as ever.
“They have really been able to steer this path that stays true to the material while still breathing new life into it,” Thor said.
Liddi and Tello said that learning alongside their classmates was crucial in making the process more comfortable. Now, they look forward to showcasing what they’ve learned together with their peers and new theater family onstage.
“I’m excited to go on stage and feel what it’s like to see that many seats in the audience and dance with my friends,” Liddi said.
Musical Theatre West’s production of “42nd Street” begins Feb. 9 and will run for thirteen shows through Feb. 25 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, located at 6200 E. Atherton St.
Tickets for “42nd Street” can be purchased on Musical Theatre West’s website ranging from $23 to $114. There will be a special discount for OSCA students applied for the show’s Feb. 23 performance.
[A previous version of this article was published that incorrectly stated that there were ten OCSA students instead of six, that Berger initiated the student’s involvement in the production instead of Baxter and that Bren Thor’s name was Bren Joy and he was the casting director. The Signal Tribune regrets these errors.]
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