'42nd Street' tour cast includes legally blind dancer, Paramount vet
Local audiences will once again get to "meet those dancing feet" of "42nd Street," the quintessential backstage musical where an understudy goes on to become a star. The 1980 Broadway hit, inspired by splashy 1930s Busby Berkeley film musicals, returns to Chicago for a 16-performance run starting Tuesday at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.
Four of those "dancing feet" belong to two actors who are both making their national touring debuts. One is Pennsylvania native and visually impaired actor Blake Stadnik, who stars as the fresh-faced "leading juvenile" actor Billy Lawlor, while Chicago resident and Texas native Mandy Modic has the ensemble role of Gladys.
What makes this non-Equity tour of "42nd Street" special for Stadnik and Modic is that they were able to work with Randy Skinner, the show's original tap choreographer, and Mark Bramble, who co-authored the stage script (with Michael Stewart) and also directed the musical's Tony Award-winning Broadway revival in 2001.
"This is an opportunity that is invaluable," Modic said. "It's really incredible to work with people who have been with it so long and to have that information as an actor."
Stadnik, who is legally blind, was already known to Skinner through New York tap dance classes and a previous audition. Stadnik tried out for the tour with Skinner's encouragement, but he still had to win over Bramble after a series of callbacks and a one-on-one meeting.
"The meeting was actually about my vision," Stadnik said. "Mark was concerned if I could accomplish what he needed, but more so about my safety."
Once Stadnik assured Bramble about his many post-college theater credits and the safety measures he uses to navigate a variety of backstage spaces, he was hired.
Stadnik said his vision loss started at the age of 6, which prompted his parents to steer him away from sports and toward dance as a way to keep fit and active. Stadnik's glad he took to it, especially since the role of Billy requires plenty of choreographic virtuosity in tap.
"My first day of rehearsal was the 'dime dance' in the song 'We're in the Money.' It was me and Randy and he asked me what sort of things I could do and my specialties," Stadnik said. "Every Billy's dime dance is a little different because they model it for what their strong points are."
Billy's choreographic solo in "We're in the Money" was just one of many changes and additions that Skinner and Bramble instituted for the 2001 revival of "42nd Street." These included expanding the song score by Harry Warren and Al Dubin with the production numbers "Keep Young and Beautiful" and "With Plenty of Money and You," while replacing the number "I Know Now" with the better-known standard "I Only Have Eyes for You."
Though "42nd Street" was an instant smash that ran for more than eight years in New York, its origins were fraught. Unbeknown to many, original director/choreographer Gower Champion was ill with a rare blood cancer and frequently absent during rehearsals. Producer David Merrick generated headlines around the world when he broke the news that Champion had died at the opening night curtain call on Aug. 25, 1980.
Skinner and Bramble's 2001 changes weren't incorporated into licensed versions of "42nd Street," so the tour will differ from recent local productions at Lincolnshire's Marriott Theatre in 2011 and at Aurora's Paramount Theatre in 2014.
Modic is well-aware of the changes, since she appeared in Paramount's "42nd Street." Her other Aurora credits include "Annie" and "The Who's Tommy."
"The background we got from the director and choreographer - they know why everything was written," Modic said. "So we had all this information that in other productions, you just have to assume to your best ability as to why it's in the script."
“42nd Street”
Location: Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000,
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday (also Sunday, March 13), 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday (also March 16); from Tuesday, March 8, through Sunday, March 20
Tickets: $16-$82