Theater of the Stars brings '42nd Street' to Wolf Trap

If you go

Theater of the Stars presents the Tony and Drama Desk Awards winner '42nd Street'

Where: Wolf Trap Filene Center

When: 8 p.m. July 17 to 19; 2 p.m. July 18 and 19

Info: $20 lawn, $40 to $70 in-house; 877-965-3872; wolftrap.org

Tapping into every Broadway cliché that drives young hopefuls to open auditions in quest of fame, "42nd Street" succeeds through sheer zest, infectious music and the incessant tap, tap, tapping of vivacious dancers.

The winner of multiple Tony and Drama Desk Awards for both the original 1980 Broadway production and the 2001 revival, it also captured London's prestigious Laurence Olivier and Evening Standard Best Musical Awards for the 1984 West End production. For three days only, Wolf Trap showcases the musical adored worldwide for enduring songs by Harry Warren niftily incorporated into a quintessential backstage Depression-era plot.

Shannon M. O'Bryan plays Peggy Sawyer, the ingénue from Allentown, Penn., who enters the chorus wide-eyed, gets knocked down and bounces back a star. The favorite role in her repertoire, it represents her first professional appearance fresh out of Louisville, Ky., and uplifts her spirits each time she revisits it.

"I'm so happy to be doing this show again because it brings out the best in everybody," she says. "My favorite numbers are 'Go Into Your Dance,' Peggy's first chance to show her talent, and Gower Champion's ballet of the title number. It's exciting to do his original choreography."

She refers to the show-stopping finale that drew the opening-night audience to its feet for 11 curtain calls until producer David Merrick walked onstage to announce that Champion had died four hours earlier.

O'Bryan describes herself as a tomboy until her mother entered her in a dance class and she discovered the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films of the 1930s. Although dancing was her forte, she didn't sing until encouraged by her high school mentor, Gail Benedict, who had played Peggy during the 1980s.

"I simply opened my mouth and decided 'I can do this,' " O'Bryan says. "After graduating from Roosevelt University in 2002, my first audition was for a tour of '42nd Street' to Russia. We used earpieces for translation and everything went well until the Chechnyans took over the Moscow Theatre and captured hostages."

Rushed home from the tinderbox situation, O'Bryan settled in as understudy to Peggy in the Broadway company and remained for two years, often replacing the lead. Her many credits since then include Sandy in "Grease," Dainty June in "Gypsy," Tiger Lily in "Peter Pan" and most recently as Judy in Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" on Broadway.

O'Bryan's co-star, tenor Austin Miller, comes to his role as Billy Lawler direct from Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, where its production of "42nd Street" closed last week. A veteran performer both on and off Broadway, on TV and film, and in numerous national touring companies of such hits as "Hairspray," "Grease," "Smokey Joe's Café" and "Cats," Miller entered dance school at 7 to compete with an older cousin. He credits his singing voice to his musical household and choir director mother.

"There's a little bit of me in Billy," he says. "He's pretty confident and headstrong, but underneath he's still a little boy. When Peggy comes into his life, he loses his heart to her even though he's a wolf always looking for the next conquest. However, the audience is never exactly certain if they get together at the end."

Like O'Bryan, Miller is especially fond of the "Go Into Your Dance" number, even though he isn't in it, and the Champion finale.

"It's such a gift to learn his original choreography," he says. "Shannon and I didn't know each other when we first performed the ballet interlude together, but we discovered immediately that we speak the same language.

"I hope this show provides the Wolf Trap audience an escape from today's problems and lets them become part of the backstage world through the story and the great numbers."