Counting Curbs: Easy-riding ‘42nd Street’still on the road

Friday, April 30, 2004 | 8:29 a.m.

In March the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts featured the dark musical " Rent," a story about young artists struggling to survive and succeed in New York City. This month's homage to surviving and succeeding in the Big Apple is the light-hearted musical "42nd Street," which is a remake of the 1980 Broadway production, which was a remake of the 1933 motion picture.

"'42nd Street' is the antithesis of 'Rent,'" Mark Bramble said during a recent telephone interview from his office in New York. "'42nd Street' is really a fairy tale with a happy ending. It is much more an American dream story than 'Rent.' "'Rent' is a cynical piece, a cynical view of the world we live in. '42nd Street' is a valentine to life."

Bramble is the director and the co-author of the most recent version of "42nd Street," for which he was nominated for a Tony Award in 2001.

"The musical took New York by storm," Bramble said. "It surprised the entire city. No one thought that anybody would care about '42nd Street' again - it originally ran on Broadway for 8 1/2 years. It's in the top 10 of long-running shows."

Gower Champion's original Broadway musical had a run of 3,486 performances. Champion died shortly before the production premiered.

The musical tells the story of an aspiring young actress, Peggy Sawyer, who becomes an understudy in a musical about to open on Broadway. Sawyer eventually replaces the aging leading lady, Dorothy Brock, and becomes a star.

The 1933 film, which featured such luminaries as Ruby Keeler, Ginger Rogers and Dick Powell, was based upon a novel by Bradford Ropes.

Bramble's version of the classic story debuted in May 2001.

He says 9-11 may have played a part in the show's success.

"'42nd Street' is as American as apple pie," he said. "It is life affirmative. After 9-11, we needed that message. We Americans had become so cynical and self-absorbed. The show took us someplace else - it's an American mythology." Bramble said fans loved what the show was saying about following your dreams.

"This speaks to America," he said.

Everyone seems to delight in the musical.

"From school kids to senior citizens," Bramble said. "Particularly seniors. This is a tribute to that era, the Golden Age of musical comedy. There are a lot of songs seniors will remember - but for many members of the younger generation, they will be hearing them for the first time."

The motion picture had four songs. The stage production has 18.

"It's an incredible catalogue of music," Bramble said.

Bramble's remake of the stage show differs slightly from the one created by Champion.

"In the new production, we kept the best numbers that Gower Champion staged, just as he staged them," Bramble said. "And then we added three numbers and additional staging."

Color scheme plays a more important role in Bramble's production than it did in Champion's.

"Gower's production was almost monochromatic," Bramble said. "His concept was to create the impression of a black-and-white movie, with occasional bursts of color.

"When I started to do the production again, I thought, 'This is now the 21st century.' We think of musicals as MGM productions, and MGM was color, so the new production is awash with color."

He said when the curtain rises the audience will see "dozens and dozens of feet, all in different color shoes -- purple, green, yellow, lollipop colors.

"Gower wanted to try the concept of a sparing use of color," Bramble said. "But when the show opened in 1980 we added the splashes of color. And in 2001, we started with the concept of doing a technicolor production."

The production is composed of a company of 52 onstage.

"It's the largest theatrical production currently playing in America," Bramble said.

In addition to the road tour, there is a production running on Broadway. In June another company will start touring.

There is also a production in Germany.

"The story speaks to all people," Bramble said. "It encourages everyone to dare to dream."

He said it is a message that is needed desperately.

"I believe musical comedy is a very important form of entertainment. It was created by Americans, and it is America's contribution to world theater."

Bramble said "The Producers," the current hit on Broadway, is the best example of the rebirth of musical comedy in this country. Marcy McGuigan, for one, is happy to be part of the re-birth.

McGuigan plays the role of Dorothy Brock, the aging star who comes into conflict with the aspiring understudy.

"When the revival of '42nd Street' took place, everybody needed something positive, uplifting," she said during a telephone interview from Rochester, N.Y., where the musical was playing. "Some people think the story is hokey, but it's like film 'The Natural' or the 'Rocky' movies.

"It's about a young person who has a dream that comes from the heart -- something everybody can relate to."

McGuigan says the country seems to be eager for the musical.

"Most towns on the tour are fairly well sold out," she said. "The dancing is unbelievable -- there are 48 tappers in the chorus. A lot of shows have shrunk down. You just don't see 48 dancers onstage tapping."

McGuigan has been with the production for eight months. She likes the travel.

"Every week we're in a different theater," she said. "It keeps it fresh and exciting."