‘42nd’ to none
Mark Bramble, co-writer of “42nd Street” and director of the show’s 2001 revival, would like you to know which songwriter has had the most No. 1 hits on the U.S. pop charts.
Not Irving Berlin.
Not George Gershwin.
Not Lennon-McCartney.
“Harry Warren had more No. 1 songs than any composer ever, including the Beatles and Mick Jagger,” says Bramble.
Warren also happens to be the guy who wrote all 16 of the songs in “42nd Street,” which arrives at the Spokane Opera House tonight. He and lyricist Al Dubin worked mostly in the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s, but most people would be surprised to discover just how many of his songs are instantly familiar today.
“When we were putting together ‘42nd Street’ (in 1980), we had access to 250 Harry Warren songs, and we didn’t know what to choose,” says Bramble, by phone from New York. “There were just too many.”
Eventually, they chose such hummable tunes as “We’re in the Money,” “Dames,” “Shuffle Off to Buffalo,” “Lullaby of Broadway” and the title song.
For the 2001 Broadway revival, they added three more, including “I Only Have Eyes for You.”
(Curious to know what else Warren wrote? “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” and “That’s Amore,” to name just three.)
Since its 1980 Broadway debut, “42nd Street” has turned into one of the staples of American musical theater. Something has made this show – and this music – in high demand a full 75 years after many of these Great Depression standards were written.
“I think it’s because we live in a world where melody has fallen out of favor in music, and the American dream has fallen out of favor in cinema and literature,” says Bramble. “This show celebrates all of those things.”
It’s a classic star-is-born story, in which the young singer-dancer Peggy Sawyer arrives in New York from hicksville and becomes a sensation when she takes over for Dorothy Brock, the famous but fading star.
The show celebrates more than just the American dream. It also celebrates the old-fashioned show-biz virtues of tap dancing, leggy chorus girls and feel-good production numbers.
According to Bramble, the 2001 Broadway revival (on which this tour is based) also added another old-style virtue: Technicolor-style sets and costumes.
“When we did it in 1980, (director) Gower Champion wanted it to look monochromatic, like a black-and-white Warner Bros. film,” says Bramble. “We explored that at great expense and it was not particularly interesting when we saw it. We kept adding more color, but it still had an overall monochromatic look.
“I thought we should really be doing an MGM-style ‘42nd Street,’ with color and beauty. So that’s what we did.”
The origins of “42nd Street” go back to a 1928 novel by Bradford Ropes, and then a 1933 Warner Bros. movie musical. No one had ever done a stage version; that changed when Bramble and his writing partner Michael Stewart happened upon the film in 1978.
“We said, ‘This makes a great musical,’ ” says Bramble. “We set about to acquire the rights.”
They talked David Merrick into producing, and Champion into directing.
The 1980 premiere will go down as one of the most dramatic Broadway openings in history. Bramble, who was standing at the back of the theater that night, described what happened at the closing curtain.
“We had 11 curtain calls and the audience was cheering and screaming,” he says. “Merrick walked out on stage and said, ‘This is tragic.’ And the audience roared with laughter – they thought it was a Merrick joke.
“He lifted his hands and said, ‘No, no, this is tragic. Gower Champion is dead.’ People screamed and literally fell back into their chairs. It was awful.”
Champion, who had been ill since the middle of rehearsals, died earlier that afternoon, but Merrick kept the news from the cast because he was sure they would not be able to perform the show if they knew.
It went on to run until 1989, putting it into the Top 10 of long-running Broadway shows. The 2001 revival was also a smash, closing in 2005.
It has also, of course, spawned tour after tour – of which this is the latest.