42nd Street Moon to Present 'Girl Crazy' Starting 10/23

42nd Street Moon gears up for its second production of the season: George and Ira Gershwin’s great musical romp of 1930, Girl Crazy, the slam-bang hit that boasts one of the greatest Broadway scores including the songs “I Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You,” “But Not for Me,” and “Sam and Delilah.” The show previews on October 23 and 24, and opens on Saturday, October 25 and runs through November 16.  
 
Girl Crazy opened in October, 1930 – and was one of the most sensational hits of the decade.  The outstanding Gershwin score was to be one of the greatest written during the “Golden Age” of Broadway musical theatre.
 
 Two stars on the rise appeared in the show.  Ethel Merman created a sensation in her New York musical comedy debut; it was the launch of one of the brightest careers in Broadway history. And Ginger Rogers – nineteen years old and with one Broadway supporting role already under her belt – was the actress who got to introduce the two big ballads. 
 
The orchestra pit itself was star-studded:  George Gershwin himself conducted the opening performance, and the orchestra members included Benny Goodman on clarinet, Jimmy Dorsey on saxophone, Glenn Miller and Jack Teagarden on trombone, and Gene Krupa on drums.
 
The story revolves around New York playboy Danny Churchill, who relocates to an Arizona dude ranch where he meets a wild band of characters.  Jeff Horst makes his 42nd Street Moon debut in the leading role of Danny.   Meghann Reynolds, last seen in Oh, Lady! Lady!! plays Molly Gray, the role played by Ginger Rogers in her second Broadway appearance.  Cami Thompson appears as Kate, the role in which Ethel Merman made her auspicious Broadway debut.
 
Taxi driver turned sheriff, Glieber Goldfarb, is played by 42nd Street Moon regular Kalon Thibodeaux, with Peter Sroka as Slick Fotherington.  Others in the cast are Gabriel Grilli, Lisa Hensley, Peter Budinger, Andrew Willis-Woodward, Benjamin Pither, Nicholas Yenson, Jessica Payne and Justin Torres.

Girl Crazy will be directed by Dyan McBride, who played Molly Gray herself some ten years ago, and was seen in 42nd Street Moon’s productions of  A Touch of Venus and Flora the Red Menace.  David Dobrusky will serve as Musical Director, with choreography by Staci Arriaga, and costumes by Louisa Jarfmilowicz.  

The 2008-09 season continues with delightful musical Ben Franklin in Paris, opening November 29.  A forgotten gem from the richly prolific 1965-66 Broadway season, it chronicles Franklin’s efforts to get King Louis of France to recognize the United States as a sovereign nation, and starred Robert Preston in the original cast.

The New Year sees another return to France with The Baker’s Wife an enchanting version of Marcel Pagnol’s classic film set in Provence.  Broadway dynamos Joseph Stein and Stephen Schwartz created a beautiful score for this story of a baker whose wife leaves him for a younger man. Gordon Greenberg, who has guided three prior productions of The Baker’s Wife in New York and New Jersey, joins 42nd Street Moon for this production that opens March 21.

42nd Street Moon next focuses on the Great White Way for a revue celebrating a lost Broadway Art in The Great Revue, featuring the songs of DeSylva, Brown and Henderson, Cole Porter, Dorothy Fields, Arthur Schwartz and Vernon Duke, Harold Arlen, and many, many more.  This revue will run April 16-26, and is not included in the subscription package, but subscribers are offered a discount ticket price.

The 2008/09 season draws to a close with the highly acclaimed Maureen McVerry in Cy Coleman’s rip-roaring musical treat, Wildcat, the show that starred Lucille Ball in her only Broadway appearance ever, and provided her signature song “Hey Look me Over.”   It opens May 9.

Tickets to all performances ranging in price from $24 - $42 are available through the 42nd Street Moon Box Office at 415/255-8207 (Open Tues. – Fri. from noon to 5 p.m.), or through the website www.42ndstmoon.org.   A special $25 Childrens’ Subscription Series is available for a 1 p.m. matinee on the 2nd Saturday of each production for those under 18 years-of-age.  All performances are presented at San Francisco’s intimate Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson St.

2nd Street Moon celebrates and preserves the art and spirit of the American Musical Theatre, contributing to its evolution and continuing vitality by presenting staged concert performances of classic and rarely performed musical works. Through productions, educational programs, and community outreach, the company is committed to increasing the awareness and appreciation of the rich heritage and cultural perspective of the musical theatre and its vast influence on the world stage. Since 1993 the company has staged more than 90 musicals, as well as several revues celebrating the dazzling legacy of the 20th Century’s greatest musical theater composers and lyricists.

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