The number evolves into an audition for Peggy, who impresses Julian and lands a job in the chorus.ĭorothy and Billy begin rehearsing their big love scene. They amusingly explain the Broadway facts of life, and dance back to the theater (“Go into Your Dance”). As they settle in at the Gypsy Tea Kettle, the girls are astonished by Peggy’s naïveté. Maggie invites her to lunch with three of the girls, and the five women dance off stage. Realizing she has forgotten her purse, Peggy returns to the stage. Abner defends Dorothy and reminds Julian that Dorothy does not have to try out for anyone (“Shadow Waltz”).

Just then Dorothy and Abner arrive, and Julian suggests that Dorothy audition. Her last hit was ten years earlier, but her sugar daddy, Abner Dillon, is backing the show. Julian tells Bert and Maggie he’s worried about some of the cast, especially Dorothy Brock, the leading lady. The producer, Julian Marsh, has no patience for latecomers, and Peggy rushes off the stage. Young hopeful Peggy Sawyer just misses the audition, but Billy – the show’s romantic lead – helps her see the producer (“Young and Healthy”). The show’s writers, Bert and Maggie, are pleased with what they see on stage, but they warn the dancers that at $4.40 per seat, the audience will demand some spectacular dancing. In New York City in 1933, dance director Andy Lee is auditioning kids for the chorus of a new show called Pretty Lady (“Audition”).

42nd street characters