Moonlight Sings A Lullaby of Broadway With “42nd Street”

The curtain of Moonlight Amphitheatre’s new stage house is set to rise on 42nd Street, which opens Moonlight Stage Productions’ 2009 Summer Season of musicals under the stars. Performances of the show run July 15 through Aug. 1.

42nd Street is an unforgettable tap-dancing extravaganza. Based on the novel by Bradford Ropes and the subsequent 1933 film adaptation, 42nd Street is the classic story of the young dancer, Peggy Sawyer, who arrives in New York to audition for a Broadway show with little money in her pocket and a big dream. The 1980 Broadway production won the Tony Award for Best Musical as did the 2001 Broadway revival for Best Revival. It’s a delightful backstage story, which features talented tappers and hoofers bringing to life the show’s legendary songs like “We’re in the Money,” “Shuffle Off to Buffalo,” and “Lullaby of Broadway.”

Director and choreographer Jon Engstrom returns to the show which has a special place in his heart, since he was a featured dancer and dance captain in Gower Champion’s 1980 Broadway premiere of this quintessential backstage musical. He has helmed many productions of it since then, including this past spring at Cabrillo Music Theatre.

Not only is this show the first of the 2009 summer season, it is also the first show performed in the newly completed stage. The new space replaces the original stage and temporary backstage facilities with an enclosed stage house that includes a 60-foot-tall ceiling to fly scenery up into the rafters. It also features dressing rooms, a sunken orchestra pit, rehearsal room, scene workshop, costume room, and backstage restrooms.

“Having a safe, efficient stage house, and the tremendous possibilities for expanded usage of the amphitheatre, is truly thrilling,” said Moonlight Artistic Director Kathy Brombacher, who is one of the founders of the theatre.

42nd Street
Presented by Moonlight Stage Productions
July 15 – Aug. 1
Tickets: $22-$44

At the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Brengle Terrace Park, 1200 Vale Terrace Drive (In Vista)
Box office: (760) 724-2110
Online: vistixonline.com or moonlightstage.com

• Pictured: Jeffery Scott Parsons as Billy Lowlor and Cassie Silva as Peggy Sawyer. (Photo by Ken Jacques).