Tony nominees Max von Essen (An American in Paris, Evita) and Kate Baldwin (Hello, Dolly!; Finian's Rainbow) star as, respectively, Julian Marsh and Dorothy Brock in Goodspeed Musicals' production of the Tony-winning musical 42nd Street beginning September 16.
Directed and choreographed by Randy Skinner, the toe-tapping crowd pleaser will play The Goodspeed in East Haddam, Connecticut, through November 6. Opening night is October 5. Two additional performances have been added to the limited engagement: 2 PM matinees October 11 and 25.
The cast also features Blake Stadnik (This is Us, 42nd Street national tour) as Billy Lawlor, Carina-Kay Louchiey (MJ The Musical, Hamilton national tour) as Peggy Sawyer with David Jennings (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical) as Abner Dillon, Patrick Oliver Jones (Anne of Green Gables) as Pat Denning, E. Clayton Cornelious (POTUS, Ain’t Too Proud) as Bert Barry, Lisa Howard (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) as Maggie Jones, Eloise Kropp (The Music Man, Cats) as Annie Reilly, and Lamont Brown (42nd Street national tour) as Andy Lee.
The ensemble includes Willie Clyde Beaton II, Sarah Dearstyne, Berklea Going, Candice Hatakeyama, Danielle Jackman, Edward Juvier, Taylor Lane, Brian Shimasaki Liebson, Brady Miller, Christian Probst, and Christopher Shin with swings Kirsty Fuller and Derek Luscutoff.
"I am very pleased to create a new version of the classic musical 42nd Street with the full cooperation and support of the estates,” said four-time Tony nominee Skinner in an earlier statement. "It will definitely be the musical that audiences have loved for 42 years but will have new elements and surprises. Before Mark Bramble’s untimely death in 2019, he made changes to the book that restored some ideas he and Michael Stewart had originally conceived for the 1980 production. Mark was very excited to include these in the next production, and I’m enthusiastic about this opportunity to do so at Goodspeed. It’s the perfect venue for this new production.”
The production also has music supervision by Rob Berman, music direction by Adam Souza, scenic design by Michael Carnahan, costume design by Kara Harmon, lighting design by Cory Pattak, projection design by Shawn Duan, sound design by Jay Hilton, and hair, wig, and makeup design by J. Jared Janas.
Bradley G. Spachman is the production stage manager with casting by Tara Rubin Casting's Peter Van Dam and Kevin Metzger-Timson.
Borrowing songs from old Warner Bros. movies, Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble wrote the book (based on the novel by Bradford Ropes and the film of the same name) for 42nd Street, Harry Warren wrote the music, and Al Dubin wrote the lyrics. The original Broadway production opened in August 1980, playing nearly 3,500 performances before closing January 8, 1989. The musical was nominated for eight 1981 Tony Awards, winning two, Best Musical and Best Choreography for Gower Champion.
42nd Street features such songs as “We’re in the Money,” “Lullaby of Broadway,” “Shuffle Off to Buffalo,” “I Only Have Eyes for You,” and the title tune.
42nd Street is produced by special arrangement with Richard Winkler/Red Hanger Productions.
