Sooner Theatre’s production of “42nd Street,” featuring two casts of eighth through 12th graders, opens Thursday.
This is the Sooner Theatre’s first production of “42nd Street” in the 23-year history of its spring junior shows. Putting on a show of its size comes with expected challenges, according to Sooner Theatre Executive Director Jennifer Baker.
“It is a hard show,” Baker said. “It’s not a huge set show. It’s not a huge technical show compared to other shows we do. The ‘technical’ is actually in the performance. It’s in the style.”
Baker said the performing arts community in Norman is growing exponentially, so fitting all those that want to be on stage is the biggest dilemma on her plate.
“We just can’t fit everyone in. It wouldn’t be safe. It wouldn’t be quality,” Baker said.
But Baker is appreciative of the community Sooner Theatre has fostered.
“It's just a small, wonderful community that we have at Sooner Theatre … ,” Baker said. “I pinch myself sometimes that I get to be a part of it.”
The cast also has a great time despite what challenges the production may bring.
“‘42nd Street’ is a spectacle,” senior Maitreya LaMoreaux, who plays Billy Lawlor wrote in a text to the Daily. “Keeping track of this many elements during the run of the show has been a super fun challenge for me as a performer.”
The show is a classic old-Broadway-style plot, according to Baker. It follows a small town girl, Peggy Sawyer, with dreams of being a Broadway star in the 1930s. She gets her big break when big time producer Julian Marsh casts Sawyer in his new show, much to the dismay of diva showgirl Dorothy Brock.
Performances start at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available online.
This story was edited by Madisson Cameron. Andrew Higgins and Gretchen Schultz copy edited this story.
