42nd Street, Summer 1990

42nd Street, Summer 1990

42nd Street, TD and Lighting Designer, 1990

42nd Street is a big, fun musical based on the 1933 movie with songs added from other movies of the period.

Of course it was hard for me to jump right back into the swing of things when I returned from my mother's funeral, but once I did get back to work there was something comforting about being back in the Theatre.

Drew had design a nice set that was a mixture of all new construction with a few pieces re-used from other shows.

We had a good crew including a former student who that I was able to hire as my assistant who  had come back home to Brockport after finishing Grad School.

Like most sets we re-used some pieces, altered some stock pieces and made some from scratch.

For one scene we re-used some of the mirrors from A Chorus Line from the year before.

The mirrors were hung in a semi-circle for one song in  42nd Street.

We also re-used some of the Rosco silver slit drape that I had used in Anything Goes a few summers before.

We did some welding of several step units, which yes we still have and I just used in our last production.

In building the train for the Shuffle Off to Buffalo number my assistant Jim suggested using stress-skin platforms something I knew about but never used before.

The platforms worked out well and I have used stress-skin platforms many time since then.

As with many productions there are always a few small set pieces that are difficult to construct.

For this show it was large coins that are carried in and then danced on.

After several tries the finished coins were made of several layers of foam with 1/8" Masonite on the tops and bottoms, or should I say the heads and tails.

We're in the Money!

My crew, especially the guys, enjoy this shows as there was lots of naked girls running around back stage.

Sitting out front setting the lighting for the show I did not get to enjoy the view but I heard all about it.

As there were many quick changes the chorus girls would run off stage and into the back cross-over hall where they would disrobe, many time just wearing their panties.

As they ran along the hall they would pick up the next costume and run back onstage.

This happened mostly in the sequence starting in the train station with the Lullaby of Broadway and ending on the train for Shuffle Off to Buffalo.

As I was told the girls would run off stage and strip off most of their clothes and just put on a trench coats, go back onstage and do a number, again run off stage, drop the coats and this time put on 1930's nightgowns and underwear and then run back onstage and sing again.

My crew, always trying to be helpful, were always at the door to hold it open as the girls ran through.

Playing a smaller part in the show was the college-age son of one of our talented students.

Back then he was Scott L. Diggs but today he is Taye Diggs.

I remember a bit he did with an older character actor in the show.

We needed more time for a set change and the tow of them did a few minutes of improv about miss-matched socks or other earth shaking stuff.

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