Review: 42nd Street (West End)

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of 42nd Street.
As some of you may remember, last year I went to see an amateur production of 42nd Street which, to put it kindly, was not the greatest. It tarnished my view of the show a little bit, but I was keen to see the brand new West End production, as it looked like it was going to be a stunner. Very kindly, my good friend Broadway Bob (@BroadwayBobNYC on Twitter) booked tickets for me to go and see it on my Birthday. Luckily, I adored this revival of 42nd Street. It has shown me that, when done properly, it can be a great show. The show came across as being a big Broadway production. It was clear that a vast amount of money has been put into this production (as evidenced by the extremely large cast and ginormous sets), which is somewhat rare for West End productions. The West End have not had a production like this in a long, long time. The first big production like this that springs to mind is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (which, funnily enough, was in the same theatre). The aspect of the show that stunned me the most was the set design. The set design is glorious; it is one of the best I have ever seen. Multiple set changes are carried out and each new set that came out was even better than the last. I was seriously impressed by how much effort had been put into the set; nothing was done second rate. The costumes absolutely dazzle and are excellently designed. The lighting design was also done nicely. Everything about this show was wonderfully designed, I cannot fault a single part of any of these areas. As I previously mentioned, 42nd Street has an extremely large cast. This is very ambitious for a West End show. Such ambition can also be rare in the West End, and it is nice to see something so different to the norm. Cast members who stood out were Clare Halse as Peggy Sawyer, Tom Lister as Julian Marsh, Stuart Neal as Billy Lawlor, Jasna Ivir as Maggie Jones, Christopher Howell as Bert Barry and Graeme Henderson as Andy Lee. All of these actors had brilliant characterisation, plus amazing singing and dancing. Phenomenal doesn't even begin to describe the choreography, which was created by Randy Skinner. It was truly dazzling. My favourite choreography was the tap dance numbers; those were certainly very memorable. There are only two pieces of criticism I have. The first being: in the show there are a few cheesy moments which are a little cringey. That is why I think the book could be edited in certain places, to avoid any cringeyness throughout the show. The second being: the sound design had a few issues. This may have just been at the performance I was at , but there were a few microphone issues. Luckily, that can be easily fixed.

The featured star of 42nd Street is, drum roll please... CLARE HALSE!

I had previously seen Clare in the ensemble of three different shows (Shrek, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Gyspy, however I have never realised what a star she is. Clare is exceptional as Peggy; she is remarkable at acting, signing and dancing. A triple threat! 

Now for my final verdict on 42nd Street. I give 42nd Street...

I struggled with this decision, as it's a show I would rank 4 and a half stars (if I had half stars, that is), but decided to go with 4 stars. It's a brilliant production and I know that any musical lover will adore this.

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer