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The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Innocent Charm and Catchy Tunes Makes “42nd Street” a Show Worth Seeing

Nothing sweeps you off your feet quite like a company of tap-dancers dancing perfectly in sync to classic Broadway tunes. This is the type of experience the producers of “42nd Street” had in mind when they invited Salt Lake City audiences to come and meet those dancing feet at Capitol Theatre this week. The Tony Award-winning musical swept into town, to the delight of everyone in attendance.

The velvet curtain rose to a toe-tapping delirium at the show’s start as the cast “auditioned” for “42nd Street’s” show-within-a-show “Pretty Lady,” serving as an appetizer for the feast of song, dance and glamorous glitz to come.

“42nd Street” spins a classic narrative of a small-town girl, Peggy Sawyer (played by Caitlin Ehlinger), who arrives in the big city of New York with even bigger dreams. Despite a missed audition, a second chance and a near cancellation of the fictional show, she somehow finds herself rising to stardom.

Part of the show’s delight comes from its throwback to the early days of Broadway, in the 1930s, when song and dance ruled the stage. The show relies on catchy show tunes and magnificent dance numbers to tell the story of achieving the American dream at the height of the Great Depression. The cast’s renditions of the show’s classic tunes, like “Go Into Your Dance” and “Dames,” could inspire even the laziest of slugs to leap out of their seats and dance along in the aisles.

Ehlinger dazzles as a Shirley Temple-esque Peggy Sawyer, complete with an innocent doe-eyed charm and impeccable tap dancing skills. Her effortless toe-tapping magic, however, was only amplified when she danced in front of a chorus line of talent that was every bit as good as she was. Blake Stadnik played Billy Lawlor in a dazzling performance as he perfectly belted out show tunes while tap dancing all around the stage. Matthew J. Taylor, who plays “Pretty Lady’s” director, Julian Marsh, rounds out a stellar cast by creating a character who is just as inspiring to the audience as he is to Peggy Sawyer.

One of the highlights of the show was Taylor’s performance of the reprise of its most well known song, “42nd Street,” when the forlorn but introspective Marsh passionately implores the audience to “Come and meet those dancing feet. On the avenue I’m taking you to, Forty-Second Street.”

The show closed to a standing ovation, a testament to the power of the spectacle and the talent of the impressive cast. “42nd Street” will end its brief Salt Lake City run on Sept. 27. Tickets are on sale at the Capitol Theatre box office and online at arttix.artsaltlake.org/.

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