42nd Street at the New Alexandra Theatre Birmingham Review
42nd Street
New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham
11-15 August 2015
Reviewed by Victoria Linney
We took a train into Birmingham New Street as were going to see the musical 42nd Street at the New Alexandra Theatre and the theatre was only a few minutes’ walk away and easy to find.
Once entering through the main entrance we found that our tickets were ready and waiting for us, along with an invite to interval drinks and post show drinks at the piano bar and a little bag of chocolate money for each of us with a 42nd Street Tag, we thought that this was a lovely touch.
This is a very clean theatre, with a lovely atmosphere and very friendly staff. The staff were all dressed in attire in keeping with the show with sparkly bowler hats and such like.
We had great seats in the stalls on comfortable seats (I was told that the theatre had recently replaced the seats and they looked lovely and clean).
The storyline is actually about Julian Marsh trying to put on yet another big production, this one being called Pretty Lady. It is funded by the owner of Kitty Cars on the condition that his younger girlfriend Dorothy is in the show (she is only with him for the roles and has a secret love Pat Denning). Although Dorothy is a looker and a good singer she is no dancer… So Julian is not too happy about this stipulation! The singing and dancing are excellent. It was lovely to see lots of Tap dancing too. The first half is quite a bit longer than the second (not that you want it to end), but they have chosen a good point to have the interval. Without trying to give too much away… Dorothy ends up being replaced by a young lady called Peggy who has only just joined the cast… Peggy is a great dancer. Caprice Lane plays the part very well.
During the interval we were able to go to the Piano Bar for Drinks and an ice cream. There was a lovely atmosphere with a great pianist and great service.
When the show resumed we were not disappointed. For the second half we were again treated to some great dancing and singing.
At the end of the show it was explained that this was actually a stage experience performance, which I was unaware of and the performance was so good you would think the cast had been doing it for quite a while and not just a few weeks! The cast was made up of 110 youngsters, they were all good but one of the stand outs for me was Matt Pidgeon who played the character Billy Lawlor. His tap dancing was brilliant. There were also another 10 youngsters working on the production team on lighting and sound etc… and they obviously did a good job as it all went smoothly. The wardrobe also did a fab job as there were so many in the cast and multiple costumer changes.
After the show we again went to the piano bar for drinks and were treated to a prosecco cocktail which was lovely, there were other options also available. There were also trays of canapes going round which included Mini burgers which were stunning, salmon and cream cheese rolls and pastrami and pickles on bread. They were disappearing fast so must have been a hit with most people.
I would highly recommend this theatre to others and loved the show so much would recommend anyone go and see it. Especially if you like tap dancing.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £16.90 to £24.90 (plus £4 transaction fee).
42nd Street is at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham until 15 August 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 871 3011.
New Alexandra Theatre, Suffolk Queensway, Birmingham, West Midlands, B5 4DS
