On the Sunny Side of the ‘Street’

There’s a reason for the longevity of “42nd Street,” from Bradford Ropes’ novel, to the successful 1933 film and, 50 years later, to Gower Champion’s Broadway re-creation, his final work. It’s that theatrical staple, the Cinderella story.

Peggy Sawyer is a green hoofer from Allentown, Pa., who hits New York and gets into the chorus of a new show called “Pretty Lady,” directed by a Broadway veteran. When the star, Dorothy Brock, breaks her ankle, Peggy goes on in the lead and finds her own place in the theater firmament.

The vibrant score by the legendary team of Harry Warren and Al Dubin is a part of the show’s magic. So is the innocent period feel and the enthusiasm the show engenders in most of its performers.

In this delightful revival by Saddleback Civic Light Opera, director Beth Hansen shows her affinity for musical theater. She makes it look fresh and sparkling, keeps the tempos energetic and has a cast that seems at home in the tinsel world of Broadway during the Depression.

Musical director Lee Kreter again proves he knows how to make an orchestra sound like a Broadway pit band, and when it sticks to Champion’s original, the choreography by DJ Gray is pretty snazzy.

What makes this staging shine are some of the performances.

Rich Goldstein is stylish and likable as Julian Marsh, the egocentric director, a role that isn’t always played likable, and it works beautifully. D.C. Anderson also scores as Bert Barry, one of the show’s writers, and his comic sense, particularly a couple of surprising double takes, bring the role to life.

Mark Wickham as Pat Denning, Brock’s true love, doesn’t come up to the level of the others but is right for the role and a good match for Lisa Hale’s temperamental star. Hale manages an authentic bitchiness, and her turnaround, after breaking her ankle, to sweet encouragement for Peggy is flawless. Hale’s laid-back, honeyed vocal style is just right for her songs.

*

The real sparks in this production are Cathy Gene Greenwood as Maggie Jones, the show’s other writer, Andrea Chamberlain’s Peggy Sawyer and Danny Bergold as Billy Lawlor, Broadway’s most successful juvenile.

Greenwood really knows her way around a comedy line and how to belt out a lyric with panache. Chamberlain’s Peggy is a star from the moment she wanders, late, into the chorus audition and adds shine to the image with every tap and tune. Bergold creates the same effect with his jubilant grin and his outright joyousness, a young master of that almost lost art of being a song-and-dance man.

If the production isn’t as large and splashy as some, there’s enough size and splash to make the show’s point and to keep an audience’s feet tapping and its hearts throbbing.

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* “42nd Street,” Saddleback Civic Light Opera, McKinney Theatre, Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo. Wednesday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 3 p.m. Ends July 20. $19. (714) 582-4656. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Andrea Chamberlain: Peggy Sawyer

Danny Bergold: Billy Lawlor

Rich Goldstein: Julian Marsh

Lisa Hale: Dorothy Brock

Cathy Gene Greenwood: Maggie Jones

D.C. Anderson: Bert Barry

Mark Wickham: Pat Denning

A Saddleback Civic Light Opera production of the Harry Warren-Al Dubin musical, re-created for Broadway by Gower Champion, with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble based on the novel by Bradford Ropes. Directed by Beth Hansen. Musical direction by Lee Kreter. Choreography: DJ Gray, based on Gower Champion’s original. Scenic design: Wally Huntoon. Costume design: Diane Lewis. Lighting design: Kevin Cook. Sound design: Stephan Jonas. Stage manager: Marya Slater.