By KEN KLINGENMEIER
Civic Theatre’s Young Artists Program presents 42nd Street (book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin and Johnny Mercer and music by Harry Warren) on The Tarkington stage with an extraordinary cast of young performers.
Keenly directed by Emily Rogge Tzucker and bolstered by Anne Beck’s amazing choreography (offered by a stage full of surprisingly proficient tappers) the show is a perfectly balanced triple-threat of a production – with superb dancing, professional-level singing and some wonderful acting scenes.
The cast is stellar. Mary Kate Tanselle is an inspired Peggy Sawyer. Graced with a strong belting voice and impressive tap skills, she plays the chorus girl to Broadway star journey to a T. Joining her lead are Charlie Steiner and Daimon Anderson as Peggy’s partner Billy Lawlor and her director Julian Marsh, respectively. These two young gentlemen both give excellent performances – with top level vocal talents, and Steiner’s dancing abilities stand out in his many numbers.
Jilayne Kistner takes the role of Broadway diva Dorothy Brock and makes it her own with superior voice skills and some wonderful acting. Luke Boyce is comedic, and Natalie Marchal presents triple talents as song writers Bert Barry and Maggie Jones; Maddux Morrison amazes as choreographer Andy Lee; and Claire Kauffman is a plucky chorus girl Annie. Benjamin Dostalek as Dorothy’s “sugar daddy” Abner Dillon, and Austin Lizama as Dorothy’s true love Pat Denning, are both notable in their roles.
There’s certainly plenty of sparkle, soaring voices and amazing choreography to fill the stage and please the eye. The collection of costumes by Adrienne Conces are a wonder in and of themselves. They are countless and truly a spectacular part of the show. Ryan Koharchik’s scenic design is simple and meets all the show’s needs. And Musical Director Trevor Fanning’s fine work is evident in every scene and with the very excellent orchestra he leads.
Bottom line: With that stage filled with 30-plus enthusiastic and talented young performers, director Tzucker has made this an unforgettable summer for a lot of youths and their families by putting together a show experience full of good hard work and new friendships they won’t soon forget, which for some performers will be a launching pad for an interest in theatre they will enjoy for a lifetime. This is an outstanding show – very professionally done and very, very entertaining.
42nd Street continues for one last performance today at 2 p.m. at The Tarkington theatre in Carmel. Tickets are available by calling the box office at (317) 843-3800 or by going online to CivicTheatre.org.