PlanetVerocom subcontracts Mr. Putzke for his unbiased reviews of local theater happenings. Jon casts a watchful eye on the local theater "stars" and their productions. From stellar performances rivaling a "supernova" to those aptly described as "black holes of mediocrity", Jon will let you know the hits and burn-outs in the local theater scene!  Below his review, you'll find Jon's "About The Reviewer" bio.

Show in Review: 42nd Street

BY BARBARA YORESH      

Allen Cornell, Riverside Theatre’s producing artistic director, is actually a wizard.

No, he is not another Harry Potter. Mr. Cornell’s magic is much more powerful: he turned Riverside’s Stark Stage into the Great White Way via the dazzling Broadway musical 42nd Street which opened Feb. 4. The show runs through March 7.

Based on a 1933 film, the show debuted on Broadway in 1980 and ran for nearly 3,500 award-winning performances. Set during the Great Depression, 42nd Street tells the story of a young, inexperienced actress named Peggy Sawyer who comes to New York City to audition for a musical. Although she arrived too late to audition, some fortunate twists of fate enable her to join the chorus line and later become the star and savior of the show.

With record-setting advance ticket sales and the generosity of 16 patron sponsors who each gave $10,000 to help underwrite the lavish show, Riverside Theatre presents a theatrical grand slam with this block-buster that is a sensory feast from its overture.

With more than 6,000 lights, a flashingly brilliant array of gorgeous sequined costumes, 120 taps on shoes and a dance line that evokes the best of Broadway, 42nd Street is the most ambitious undertaking in Riverside Theatre’s 27-year history. The musical numbers include classics such as “42nd Street,” “Lullaby of Broadway” and “We’re in the Money.”

Mr. Cornell cast, directed and designed the sets and lighting for this backstage musical (a type of musical whose plot involves putting on a show) featuring a huge cast of 30 gifted dancers/singers/actors including his own wife Judy. From the moment the curtain begins to rise, the audience hears the rhythmic, staccato tapping of the full company of dancers who fill the stage to its dimensional limits.

Choreographed by Patrick Boyd, the show and its dancers evoke the tap dancing genius of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Gregory Hines, Ann Miller and even young Shirley Temple. The degree of difficulty of the dance routines is stunning. There is simply nothing like the thunderously rhythmic sound of tapping done by a dance line.

With such a large cast, space limitations preclude mentioning individual performers. They will, very simply, take your breath away as they did opening night to thunderous applause and a prolonged standing ovation.

Kudos to Ken Clifton as musical director; Craig Beyrooti as sound designer and Randi dell’Acqua for the most glorious costumes since those worn by Busby Berkeley’s chorines. My husband, a native New Yorker who has attended Broadway shows since his teens, declared this show is as incredible as anything he ever saw on Broadway.

Riverside Theatre is located at 3250 Riverside Park Drive in Vero Beach. For show times and ticket information, call the box office at (772) 231-6990.

Barbara is a stand-in reviewer for Mr. Putzke.

About the Reviewer: 

Jon Putzke

             Jon A. Putzke began his theatrical career as a child actor in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” in 1955 at the Dunes Summer Theatre in Michigan City, Indiana.  Bitten by the bug, he continued to pursue his ambitious dream to one day own his own theatre.   In 1965 the dream became a reality when he opened the Gateway Playhouse, a summer stock theatre on the shores of Lake Michigan.  Three seasons later a tornado ravaged his dream and Putzke moved his troupe lock, stock and barrel into a local restaurant where he produced and directed over 40 productions at Scotty’s Dinner Playhouse.

              At the same time Jon attended Indiana University, South Bend as a theatre major, married his childhood sweetheart Marg and together they continued to produce, design and direct major productions throughout the Midwest at such notable theatres as The Red Barn, Footlight Playhouse, The Tin Tree, and the Canterbury Theatre.  Putzke also spent 18 months as the theatre manager of the famed Drury Lane-Martinique Dinner Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.  He has worked with such notable stars as Dick Powell, Jr., academy award-winner Mercedes McCambridge, Debbie Reynolds, Lou Rawls,  Bobby Vinton and the Stars of Lawrence Welk.

              Throughout the southeast, Jon has directed award wining productions of “1776” at the Blue Grass Dinner Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky, “Hello, Dolly,” “South Pacific,” “Shenandoah,” and “The Front Page” at the Mountaineer Dinner Theatre in Hurricane, West Virginia as well as moving his family permanently to Vero Beach in 1980 to head what was then known as The Sheraton Showplace Dinner Theatre on A1A.  When the hotel was sold, Putzke Productions moved into the Riverside Theatre and produced a season of summer stock premiers including “Evita,” “A Chorus Line” and “Two By Two.”

              Then in 1986 Putzke once again owned his own theatre when he opened Encore Alley and brought dozens of top-notch quality productions and premier performances to Vero Beach on an Equity Guest Star system.

              Jon and Marg have traveled the world together aboard the cruise ship circuit for Peter Grey Truhune Presents.  As production manager, Jon oversaw the placement of new productions going out to sea while his wife Marg created the costuming. 

              He has directed a multitude of productions for the Vero Beach Theatre Guild, most recently “Titanic, A Night To Remember,” “Something’s Afoot,” “Our Town,” “Tenderloin” and “Oliver!” 

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