FORGET JAZZ HANDS, HERE COME MUSICAL THEATRE ARMS! A rehearsal of 42nd Street. Director Nancy Clark Scobie (who directed the same show in 1988) says of the cast, “I have a band of people who love to bring music and dialogue to life. You can look high and low for a group of people like this. … I am very, very lucky.”

Twenty-three years after its first debut at the Heyde Center for the Arts, the Tony Award-winning musical, 42nd Street is set to return to the stage, complete with the refreshing camaraderie of a familiar cast and crew.

Director of the 1988 production, Nancy Clark Scobie, is graciously reprising her role for the 2011 revival. Uniquely, Clark Scobie is also fortunate to be working with much of the same dedicated cast and crew of the original production. 

“I have a band of people who love to bring music and dialogue to life,” said Clark Scobie. “You can look high and low for a group of people like this. … I am very, very lucky.”

Set in 1933 amidst the economic strains of the Great Depression, 42nd Street brings hope to anyone who has ever had a dream. The musical tells the story of Peggy Sawyer, an aspiring chorus girl who misses a once-in-a-lifetime audition for a role in a Broadway musical. Fortunately, she attracts the attention of Julian Marsh, an acclaimed director, who places her in a chorus without the request of an audition. Eventually, when the leading actress, Dorothy Brock, breaks her foot, Peggy claims the role, ultimately stealing the show and rising to stardom.

The show embodies the same plot and thematic elements of the original book, written by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, yet Clark Scobie directs with an understanding that the once popular musical comedy genre has been lost on younger viewers, replaced by current musical trends. Thus, Clark Scobie takes a more family friendly approach, hoping to inspire a new generation of musical theater lovers. All the classic Broadway hits, such as Shuffle Off to Buffalo, Lullaby of Broadway, and Forty-Second Street, recognizable by older audiences, are sure to please both the young and young at heart. Clark Scobie promises the show will be equally entertaining for all.

“There is a lot of talent in the Chippewa Valley, said Clark-Scobie. “The singing and choreography are going to be really, really good. I never thought this would happen again.”

With its inspiring messages and feel-good musical numbers, 42nd Street is both a welcomed blast from the past and highly relevant production to today’s audiences. Clark-Scobie’s ultimate goal is to powerfully move and entertain theatergoers. 

“At the end of the show, I promise everyone will end up in tears,” said Clark Scobie. “If you have laughter and tears, you know you’ve touched the soul of the audience, and that is what performance is all about. You want to touch hearts.”