42nd Street at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

I was telling a friend about the monkey's fabulous site last week and how I'd once suggested he extend it the regional theatres, a suggestion which was politely declined  .

So my friend said why don't YOU do it instead. 
B..b...b...but what would I call it? I asked. 
THEATREBEAR.COM of course, he replied. 



Watch out @theatremonkey I am on your tail! 

I always like the Spanish way of making diminutives or babies of .. just add ITO. Hello Monkeyito!

Baby monkeys. They're just a chimp off the old block!!!

I genuinely hope that 42nd Street extends, then extends again, but if not, as an insurance policy, I've just booked to see it for a third time, in what could be the final week.

Back to A23, where it all began!

Have you considered the todaytix app? They do rush tickets every day at 10.00am for £23 always plenty on there throughout the day...

No, will need to have tickets booked for definite before then, because I won't be in the office on the day (I'm actually on leave!) and they'll need to be paid for on a company credit card by my manager.

Hmm, although maybe I can convince my colleagues - 'cos really if they're this easy to get on a Saturday night they should be fine on a Tuesday evening, and I don't mind paying for 'em then claiming them back. Or I could tell my colleague how to do it.

Ok, for eg I have just checked rush seats on the app right now..it brought up 2 seats stalls row o seats 9-10 £25.00 each for tonight..

I revisited this on Friday night with my 88 year old father. He loved it and I probably enjoyed it more the second time than the first (I've been Boring for England about to all my friends since then.) What struck me this time is what a well-structured musical it is; loads of great songs, of course, but the dialogue in between is pretty short, and your interest, and therefore engagement, is kept up all the way through, with no 'dead' spots. The plot, such as it is, is simple, but it is effectively put across; contrast that with the recent Prom performance of Oklahoma! - another simple plot but I think over laboured in the telling (too much poor-old-Judd.) I adore Oklahoma! but suffer the relatively stultifying plot because of the superb score.
42nd Street is direct and simple and no such allowances need be made.

This will be a stupid question with an obvious answer I'm sure, but does anyone have a clue what the actual show "Pretty Lady" is supposed to be about? Because both times I've been I've been all about the dazzle of the numbers, but I haven't been able to really put all of them together into knowing what the heck that show's plot is!

Who cares if there's a plot or not when you've got a lot of dames?

Oh dear! I fear people are looking for too much in '42nd Street'. The show 'Pretty Lady' is clearly meant to be one of those typical revues that appeared on Broadway in the 1920s and 30s with the flimsiest of plots, if any at all. The stage show '42nd Street' is based on a very successful Warner Brothers musical film of the same name directed by the legendary director of movie musicals Busby Berkley in 1933. And don't forget that the movie musical was still in its infancy, being no more than about six years old (The ground breaking first movie musical 'The Jazz Singer' with Al Jolson was only six years earlier and contained only a few sequences with sound.) Set in the height of the great depression, the film '42nd Street' is about a fictional Broadway director called Julian March who is staking his reputation in mounting a Broadway musical called 'Pretty Lady' which will help restore his fortunes and put into work a whole gang of Broadway hoofers who are otherwise struggling to find work. 'Pretty Lady' is simply escapist entertainment and an excuse to present a succession of songs and dances whose whole purpose is simply to help people forget the troubles of the time. The original movie contained only a handful of songs by Harry Warren and Al Dubin but the stage musical '42nd Street' also sweeps in a number of other songs by the same writers, mainly from other musical films of the 1930s directed by Busby Berkeley. As people have noted, it is a wonderful succession of magnificent song and dance production numbers with enough plot to get us from A to B so we can all have a great time enjoying the singing and the dancing. In its own way, this is rather similar to what 'Pretty Lady' was intended to be except with perhaps a slightly stronger plot! Not every musical needs to have a plot as good as 'My Fair Lady' or 'Guys and Dolls' or as intellectual as 'Sunday in the Park with George'. This is pure escapist entertainment for those people like me who respond to American songs of the 1930s, especially when sung and danced by a load of very talented and attractive guys and dames. If that is not your bag then so be it, but I thought it was sheer heaven and after seeing it three times I will be back there again tomorrow night in A23!

It's got tap, razzle dazzle, sequins, big staircases with lights, mirrors, fabulous costume,cute dancers and TAP!!!
This is what heaven will be like.
Who needs a story as well!!!!