IU Auditorium hosts 42nd Street musical

The story that began the musical genre of "a star is born" and spawned a slew of movie musicals during Hollywood's depression era comes to the IU Auditorium Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. Although "42nd Street" originally was a 1929 film, Warner Brothers remade it as a musical in 1933 with choreography by Busby Berkeley and introduced a number of classic Hollywood stars. In 1980, the film version was adapted into a long-running Broadway musical, and it was revived in 2001, earning a Tony for best revived musical. With that revival closing this year, the national tour of "42nd Street" is the only place you can see the show live, said Jennifer Sims of Big League Productions.\nSparking the whole idea of "a star is born," which forms the basis of its plot, "42nd Street" tells the story of a young girl named Peggy Sawyer who goes to New York and makes it into the chorus of the latest Broadway production by producer/director Julian Marsh. While in the chorus, she doubles as an understudy for the star of the show, Dorothy Brock. During the course of the show, Brock takes the saying "Break a Leg" a little too literally and proceeds to do just that. \nHarvey Cocks has a special relationship with "42nd Street," and he recounted the production's tremendous influence on future films. He worked in New York for 30 years and now serves as managing director of the Fort Wayne Youtheatre. He knew many of the actors in the 1933 film and saw the 1980 stage version and the 2001 revival.\n"I thought it was a great show with the most exciting tap dancing I have ever seen on a stage," said Cocks. "Some of the choreography is original, with some of it taken from Gower Champion's original staging from the 1980 production." \nCocks also said the 1933 film managed to revolutionize the \nmovie musical. \n"42nd Street" is about a bunch of artists trying to put together a show, Cocks said. A young chorus girl gets to be the understudy for the original leading lady. Then chorus girl and the leading man fall in love. This formula took off and led to a chain of movie musicals from 1933 until the mid- to late-1940s. Many people who have seen a version of the show liked its one-time revolutionary trend. \nLinda Rolfe, a long-time IU employee, saw "42nd Street" in a scaled-down production a few years ago at Indianapolis' Beef and Boards. It was the dance that sold the show to Rolfe, just as it did film audiences during the Depression and Harvey Cocks during his two trips to New York. But overall she said she liked its fun atmosphere.\n"This musical is light and fun, (you don't have to think a lot), and it has a happy ending -- that's why I liked it," said Rolfe. "It's not powerful like 'Les Miserables' or 'Miss Saigon,' but you don't always need that."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Brandon S. Morley at bmorley@indiana.edu.