Mark Jacoby to Headline 42nd Street at Walnut Street

Broadway veteran Mark Jacoby will play Julian Marsh in the Walnut Street Theatre’s production of the hit musical 42nd Street, November 7-Janaury 7. The show will be directed by Charles Abbott, with choreography by Mary Jane Houdina.

Based on the 1933 Busby Berkeley film of the same title, 42nd Street tells the story of chorus girl Peggy Sawyer, who becomes a Broadway star when she replaces the show’s leading lady. The musical has a score by Al Dubin and Harry Warren, and a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble. The original 1980 Broadway production ran for nine years, and the 2001 revival ran for more than three years.

The cast of the Walnut Street production also includes Susan Cella (Dorothy Brock), Cara Cooper (Peggy Sawyer), David Elder (Billy Lawlor), Katie O’Shaugnessy (Anytime Annie), Bill Bateman (Bert Barry), George Dvorsky (Pat Denning), and Diane J. Findlay (Maggie Jones). Elder, who starred in the theater’s recent production of Windy City, played Billy in the 2001 Broadway revival; Jacoby and Findlay are currently co-starring in Mame at Barrington Stage.

The creative team for 42nd Street includes Douglass G. Lutz (musical direction), Chuck Kading (set design), Coleen Grady (costume design), John Stephen Hoey (lighting design), and Ryk Lewis (sound design).

Jacoby was recently seen on Broadway as Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd. He received a Tony Award nomination for his performance in Harold Prince’s revival of Show Boat; his other Broadway credits include Ragtime, Grand Hotel, Man of La Mancha, Sweet Charity, and The Phantom of the Opera, in which he played the title role for three years.