Sadler’s Wells, London
This classic song-and-dancer directed by Jonathan Church has a tight ensemble cast and sunny vibes throughout
There’s a seam of bright positivity running through 42nd Street, originally a book and film dating from the midst of the Great Depression. It says buck up, lace up your dancing shoes, get out there and put on a show. And also, be young, pretty and ever so nice, and good fortune will come your way.
While some 20th-century musicals are being revised for modern times (Oklahoma!, Carousel), director Jonathan Church has kept this one firmly in place, with period detail from mild sexism to the nasally twangs of those high female voices, deco sparkle channelling Erté glamour (from designer Robert Jones) and black and white news footage of the desperate unemployed.
At Sadler’s Wells, London, until 2 July. Then touring until 28 October.
