42nd Street (musical) - Plot

Plot

Act I

Auditions for 1933's newest show, Pretty Lady, are nearly over when Peggy Sawyer, fresh off the bus from Allentown, Pennsylvania, arrives in New York City with valise in hand. Billy Lawlor, already cast as one of the juvenile leads, notices Peggy and hopes to charm her into accepting a date with him. He informs her she has missed the audition but he can help her bypass that process, but choreographer Andy Lee has no time for Billy's latest conquest and tells her, "Amscray, toots." Embarrassed and flustered, Peggy rushes off, only to slam right into director Julian Marsh himself.

One-time star Dorothy Brock, indignant at being asked to audition for a role, is reassured by Julian that he merely wants to make sure the songs are in her key. Despite his feeling Dorothy is a prima donna past her prime, he agrees to cast her in order to get financial backing from her wealthy beau Abner Dillon. Outside of the theatre, writer Maggie and chorus girls Anytime Annie, Phyllis, and Lorraine take pity on Peggy and invite her to join them for lunch and some advice. They encourage her to show them a dance routine that is witnessed by a love-struck Julian, who decides there might be room for one more chorus girl after all.

At a pre-production party, Julian learns that Dorothy is seeing old boyfriend Pat Denning behind Abner's back. Knowing this could destroy the show's future, he decides to put an end to the affair. One phone call to an unsavory acquaintance and Denning is visited by a couple of thugs who convince him to break it off with Dorothy. Soon after the show's cast heads to Philadelphia for the out-of-town tryout.

On opening night, Peggy trips and crashes into Dorothy, knocking her to the stage. Julian fires the young chorine on the spot.

Act II

Dorothy's ankle is broken, and the show may close. The chorus kids, certain Peggy could fill the lead role, find Julian and tell him that Peggy's a fresh young face who can sing and dance circles around Brock. Julian decides it is worth a shot and rushes off to the train station to catch Peggy before she departs.

At Philadelphia's fictional Arch Street Station, Julian apologizes to Peggy and asks her to stay and star in Pretty Lady, but she responds that she has had enough of show business and wants to go home to Allentown. Dumbfounded, Julian tries to coax her with the words "Come on along and listen to the lullaby of Broadway...." After the cast joins him in the serenade, Peggy decides to accept his offer.

Forced to learn the part in two days, Peggy is on the verge of a nervous breakdown when she has an unexpected visit from Dorothy, who has been watching the rehearsals and realizes beneath her nervous exterior, Peggy is good, "maybe even better than I would have been." She even offers a little friendly advice on how to perform the last song, "About a Quarter to Nine."

The opening night curtain is about to rise when Julian, who is completely in love with Peggy at this point, stops by for a last minute lip-lock and pep talk in which he utters the now iconic line, "You're going out there a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!" The show is a huge success sure to catapult Peggy into stardom. In addition, even though she is invited to and expected to attend the official opening night party, Peggy decides to go to the chorus party instead. Julian is left alone on stage with only a single ghost light casting his huge shadow on the back wall. He quietly begins to sing, "Come and meet those dancing feet on the avenue I'm taking you to... 42nd Street."