Santa Fe Christian Theatre presents ‘42nd Street’ now through March 19 at the Star Theater

Since March 2020, Santa Fe Christian (SFC) has had to limit productions due to the COVID-19 shutdown. So it is with excitement that Director Matt Corsaro recently announced the opening of “42nd Street” at the Star Theater in Oceanside, running March 11-19. Tickets, priced at $15-$20, are on sale online at sfcs.booktix.com.

“You’re gonna dance until your feet fall off, till you’re not able to stand up any longer, but five weeks from now, we’re going to have the best show this town has ever seen,” says the character Julian Marsh in 42nd Street. Since December of 2021, every single person involved in the production of 42nd Street has done just that–danced until their feet fell off! A vast community of cast and crew members, supported by the directing staff and a number of parent volunteers, have worked tirelessly to bring the Santa Fe Christian’s spring musical: 42nd Street. From painting enormous set pieces to learning how to tap dance, so much happens behind the scenes of every single production.

About 42nd Street

The story of 42nd Street takes us backstage, revealing the laborious process behind “Pretty Lady,” a brand new show directed by the legendary Julian Marsh. Peggy Sawyer, a young and hopeful performer out of Allentown, chases her dream to be a part of a major Broadway production- one like those of Marsh. As the audience follows Sawyer’s dreams to rise to the top of the theater world, they get a glimpse into what it means to be involved within the production: the audition process, tech aspects like lighting and stage management, and even cutthroat competition.

SFC creative through COVID

42nd Street has been the narrative of the Santa Fe Christian theater department since its last production in the Star Theater: Bye Bye Birdie. The spring production from 2020 was limited to a single, last-minute performance due to the COVID lockdown order, and the SFC theater department has had its fair share of adversity since. Corsaro, much like Julian Marsh, faced several challenges as a director, particularly finding a venue. Productions from 2020-2022 have been held at various places, sometimes even on Santa Fe Christian school grounds. For the fall musical, Little Women, Corsaro asked several different venues before The Mission Church in Carlsbad agreed to let them in. Just as in 42nd Street, Marsh’s “Pretty Lady” production had to travel to various venues, Santa Fe Christian has had to do the same.

The SFC theater department can finally make an emotional return to the Star Theater. Tech week has been an intense few days, yet, students continue to give it their all. On the final night of tech, senior student Sandy Cameron addressed the cast and crew: “If this were the year of Bye Bye Birdie, tonight would be our very last night of doing this. We can’t take things for granted because we never know when our last performance might be.”

Remaining 42nd Street show times: Thursday, March 17: 7 p,m; Friday, March 18: 7 p.m.; Saturday, March 19: 2 p.m., 7 p.m.