Dancers are the stars of TBTS’s ‘42nd Street’

Theatre By The Sea’s final show of the summer season fills the stage with some of the best toe-tapping ensemble dancing you will ever see.

The lights dim. The curtain opens. And the to-a-person talented ensemble sets the bar high dancing to the title song.

You know the corny story: Young and naïve dancer from Allentown comes to Broadway to be a star. She barely makes it to the chorus line, bumps into the star during final rehearsals, breaks the star’s ankle and takes her place on opening night.

This all takes place in the 1930s and is filled with corny jokes and a cornier story that you tolerate to get to see those “dancin’ feet” perform wonders to the fabulous dance numbers.

Laura Guley is very good as Peggy Sawyer, a talented dancer and actress, and Patrick Ryan Sullivan fits the bill as show producer Julian Marsh.

It was good to see Trinity and Gamm actor Taavon Gamble as an integral part of the ensemble. It is the ensemble of dancers who are the stars of this show, and after they perform their final routine and take their bows, they come back to again wow the audience with a spectacular encore.

The costumes, sets and Theatre By The Sea’s house orchestra all add to the glamour of the production.

The songs run from the powerful “42nd Street” and “Lullaby of Broadway” to the silly “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” and “We’re in the Money.”

Some of them are done in the screeching and nasal style of the ’30s, which can be a bit irritating, but you get shivers when Sullivan does his solo with “42nd Street.”

So, tolerate the old-fashioned book and enjoy those dancin’ feet that carry this show to great heights. “42nd Street” is at Theatre By The Sea through Sept. 15. Call 782-8587 or visit www.theatrebythesea.com for tickets.