Interview with Artistic Directors John and Katie Plews on producing and directing musical theatre
 
It’s a hive of activity in the green room next door, now covered in costumes and full of the lively voices of the performers, having just come out of a rehearsal. There’s a glass window from the office where we are sitting through to this room. The feeling is that John and Katie Plews always know what’s going on and keep on top of everything.   
 
Right now, Katie is trying to find a piano suitable for 42nd STREET. It’s integral to the show so it’s got to be an old fashioned upright to fit with the 1930s period but not too high because the audience needs to be able to see the pianist. She’s found one but it’s got a faulty key, so the hunt is still ongoing.  
 
John and Katie and their production company, Ovation have been running Upstairs at the Gatehouse since 1997. They have produced many musicals but 42nd Street has never been done on the fringe before mainly because the rights were not available. “The show is very popular with amateur companies but for professional companies it’s a whole different process” says John. Many years ago, when John and Katie first tried securing rights to a musical by email, it resulted in a one-line rejection, so they suggested going to NY to meet the publishers in person. It worked, and over the years John and Katie have established an ongoing relationship with the American rights holders. Like many industries, the companies are now world-wide and most US publishers have London offices. 
 
“The works of the classic composers like Gershwin, Porter and Berlin have become almost like a brand” explains John. “The publishers who own the rights want to know that the words and music of these great composers are going to be produced properly.”  
 
42nd STREET has only become available because it’s no longer playing in the West End. Its Drury lane home closed for refurbishment last January. John grabbed at the chance, but he also felt a little hesitant. “It has reputation of being a very big show and our staging is on a much smaller scale. At Drury Lane there were 58 in the cast.” John has reduced the cast to 13 with a six-piece band. The original Broadway production in the 1980s had a twenty-two- piece orchestra. 
 
John saw the show once and Katie twice at Drury lane. “We’re doing our own version” says Katie. “One reason The Theatre Royal worked so well is that it’s one of the largest stages in London. We can’t have 30 girls walking down steps in perfect unison. It looks spectacular but no way can we copy that.” John explains that in their version they will bring out the story a little more. With 128 seats the audience can feel close to the action. “Rather than sitting back and looking at a spectacle, we’re hoping the audience will love our show for the intimacy of a ‘grand’ musical on a small stage”. 
 
42nd Street tells the story of Peggy Sawyer, a talented young performer with stars in her eyes. She arrives in New York City from Pennsylvania, armed with her tap shoes and big dreams. When the leading lady breaks her ankle and can’t perform, Peggy gets her big break on Broadway. The story itself has been repeated in real life over and over again. It’s how Catherine Zeta-Jones got her big break and on a smaller scale it also happened last year at the Gatehouse. Zeta-Jones was a second understudy on the original London production when she got her chance to perform after both the leading lady and the first understudy were indisposed. 
In the Gatehouse production of NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT last year Amy Perry was the assistant choreographer when she got her chance to perform. One of the actresses was ill and Amy was the first choice because she knew the show. “Most assistants are also performers” says John. His assistant director for 42nd Street, Adam Crossley, has been in two shows at the Gatehouse. “It’s a well-worn route” explains John. “You’ve got to have a good understanding of all aspects of a show.” Musical theatre performers must be ‘triple threats’ ….acting, singing and dancing, and these days sometimes even quadruple threats, adding the ability to play an instrument.  

The cast is a mixture of graduates and much more experienced performers in the leading roles. The leading lady, Tamsin Dowsett playing Dorothy Brock, is currently in Les Misérables. After each rehearsal she dashes off to perform at The Gielgud Theatre. It’s the same mix with the creative team, choreographer Simon Adkins was the Gatehouse’s leading man in “Singin’ in the Rain” and he also worked extensively on the Drury Lane version of 42nd Street. Musical Director John Reddel and assistant choreographer Christina Shand are both newcomers to The Gatehouse.  

Tamsin Dowsett is playing the role of leading lady Dorothy Brock
42nd Street was originally a movie based on a novel by BRADFORD ROPES written in 1933, four years after the Wall Street crash. At that time musical theatre was in its infancy. “The genre really came into existence in 1927 with Show Boat” explains John. “It was the first show that used music to progress the story. Before that on Broadway, it was mainly vaudeville. There’s a couple of references to the Wall Street crash in the script. It was also the period of prohibition, so it’s an interesting time to set a show.” 
 
It’s not the most ambitious production that John has directed. Past shows Singin’ in the Rain and jukebox musical Return to the Forbidden Planet caused quite a stir. “We flooded the stage every night for Singin’ in the Rain - that was quite ambitious and surprised everyone” says John. “In Return to the Forbidden Planet, we were flying off into space, got attacked by an evil monster, had a roller-skating robot and a battery powered piano moving around on stage.” But, whatever the show, the most exciting thing for John and Katie is the audience reaction. “That’s why I do it” says John. “If we produced a show and there was no audience, we’d look pretty daft. Katie and I are here every night. We love watching the audience and listening to their comments as they come out.”   

“My feeling about theatre is that it should be entertaining. Theatre can be lots of other things; theatre can be serious drama, modern politics, history and you appreciate it in a very different way to what we’re putting on. There’s no message. It’s purely entertainment, with a capital E.”   
 
“Some people only go to a theatre once a year, often at  Christmas, and they take their family. 42nd Street isn’t a children’s show, but we don’t mind if we have family groups. Some of the youngsters have never been to a theatre before and suddenly they’re sitting close, the dancers and singers are right in front of them, and the look on the kid’s faces is amazing.”  

As well as the proximity to the performers, there is something else that is a big surprise. A family of four can come to the Gatehouse, watch the show, have drinks and an ice cream and still have change out of £100. They can even add dinner at the pub’s restaurant downstairs! 
 
@December 2019 London Pub Theatres Magazine Ltd
All Rights Reserved

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42ND STREET … the all-singing, all-dancing Broadway musical was presented by Ovation
Upstairs at the Gatehouse Highgate, N6,11 Dec 2019 – 26 Jan 2020

Music by HARRY WARREN   
Lyrics by AL DUBIN Book by MICHAEL STEWART & MARK BRAMBLE 
Based on the Novel by BRADFORD ROPES 
Original Direction and Dances by GOWER CHAMPION 
Originally Produced on Broadway by DAVID MERRICK   

One of show business's most classic and beloved tales, 42nd Street tells the story of Peggy Sawyer, a talented young performer with stars in her eyes. She arrives in New York City from Allentown, Pennsylvania, armed with her tap shoes and big dreams. When the leading lady drops out of the show, Peggy gets her big break on Broadway. Musical numbers include: ‘We’re in the Money’, ‘Lullaby of Broadway’, ‘You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me’ and the title song, ‘42nd Street’. presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd on behalf of Tams-Witmark   

Director - John Plews                             
Choreographer – Simon Adkins                                       
Musical Director – John Reddel           
Designer – Emily Bestow Lighting - Sam Waddington                  
Casting – Pearson Casting 
PRODUCED by Katie Plews for OVATION CASTING 

CAST
Dorothy Brock TAMSIN DOWSETT 
Julian Marsh is ALEX WADHAM 
Peggy Sawyer is KATE-ANNE FENTON
Billy is RORY SHAFFORD 
Anytime Annie is SAMANTHA NOËL 
Maggie (the writer of the ‘show within a show’) is CHARLIE BURT 
co-writer Bert is TOM LOWE  
Oscar and the on stage pianist is JOSEF PITURA-RILEY
Dorothy’s ex dance partner Pat is CHRISTOPHER FOLEY  
Andy is ETHAN TANNER 
Playing Abner and other roles will be CHRISTOPHER HEWITT   
Also in the cast are HELEN ROSE who will play Phyllis (featured dancer in the movies Last Night in Soho & Tap House) and recent graduate JESSICA WRIGHT who will play Lorraine

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