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Arts & Entertainment

Tapping Feet and Spinning Bowls

Coronado School of the Arts presents "42nd Street"—and participates in the Empty Bowls project.

Hear the beat of dancing feet?

That’s a lyric from the title tune in the 1980 musical, (music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Al Dubin), which is getting a captivating production at the . And there are plenty of tapping feet, in the program’s largest production to date.

The dancing and costumes actually steal the show, thanks to the energetic choreography of dance instructors Tiffany Bagg and Gina Bolles Sorensen and the dazzling array of ever-changing outfits created by Valerie Henderson, a very busy costumer about town.

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The show is directed by Dr. Barbara Wolf, chair of CoSA’s Musical Theater & Drama Department. She keeps things pretty lively, telling the timeworn tale of a wide-eyed ingenue fresh off the bus from Allentown, PA, who comes to New York to be a hoofer in a Broadway show. After a few trials and tribulations, Peggy Sawyer winds up stepping in for the leading lady at the last moment and becoming a star.

It would be ridiculously far-fetched, if we hadn’t seen it happen right here at home. When the La Jolla Playhouse was mounting the pre-Broadway premiere of the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2000, late in the rehearsal process, the lead was out and the understudy, Sutton Foster, was in, going on to captivate Broadway and snag a Tony Award. It may be a one-in-a-zillion pipe dream, but sometimes dreams come true.

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CoSA senior Michelle Pigott is pitch-perfect as Peggy. She has just the right look of credulous naiveté, and she taps and sings with flair. Her voice, in fact, is one of the strongest in the cast. The one disappointment of the production is that she never gets to show that she’s a star. Her final costume isn’t a knockout. She doesn’t have enough time to strut her stuff or prove to the audience—or the tough-as-nails director, Julian Marsh (tall and imposing Jack Gomrick)—that she has what it takes. And Pigott definitely does.

A few of the scene changes are protracted, and live music (especially in an arts school) would have been welcome. But there are many delights in this production, including Elise Napier’s Anytime Annie, backed by her bubbly buddies, Cierra Bartelt and Molly Moreau (all graduating seniors except sophomore Moreau). Kathleen Dugas (a junior transfer from San Francisco’s A.C.T. Conservatory) does a few vocal and dramatic star-turns as the haughty, aging lead, Dorothy Brock.

In general, the acting is stronger than the singing in the central roles, but the chorus numbers sound great and the harmonies are extremely well executed, under the musical direction of Shane Simmons. From the signature songs (“You’re Getting to Be a Habit With Me,” “We’re in the Money,” “Lullaby of Broadway”) to curtain calls, this seems to be more of an ensemble piece than a show with many juicy character roles. No one really gets enough of a chance to shine. Still, the overall effect is delightful and dynamic.

A special Benefit Performance of the show has been added, as part of the project at the high school. Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort aimed at fighting hunger. The basic premise is this: potters, educators and others create handcrafted bowls. In exchange for a cash donation, guests receive a bowl of soup and a hunk of bread, and they get to keep the bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls the world over. The money raised is donated to an organization working to end hunger.

Four years ago, Eric Rempe, who teaches ceramics at Coronado High, decided to bring the Empty Bowls project to Coronado. After all, it was a high school teacher who’d initiated the program in the first place. For the past five weeks, some 175 students in his classes have created 1,000 bowls. About 10 local restaurants have contributed the bread and soup. There will be 40-gallon tureens going on eight burners, to serve the entire crowd, which last year numbered about 400.

Musical entertainment will be provided by the CoSA Jazz Ensemble, and a silent auction will include high-end items, such as a condo for a week in Cabo San Lucas; a $1,000 gift card for a first-time orthodontic patient; a fishing trip out of San Diego Bay; or intricate, high-quality bowls donated by professional artists. All proceeds go to the Hunger Project in San Diego.

For just $20, you can select a handmade bowl and get the soup and bread to go with it. For $30, you can follow the Empty Bowls event with a Benefit Performance of 42nd Street.

It’s a meal, a deal and a kicked-up heel!

continues through April 16 at the Coronado High Performing Arts Center.

The final performances are Friday and Saturday, April 15 and 16, at 7 p.m., with a special Benefit Performance on April 14 at 7 p.m., as part of the Empty Bowls project.

Tickets ($6-16) are available at the box office or at www.cosafoundation.org.

The Empty Bowls event is Thursday, April 14, 5-7 p.m. in the Coronado High School multipurpose room. $20 per person includes a handmade bowl, soup, bread and water ($10 for just the soup, or $10 for just a bowl). For $30, you get a Benefit Performance of “42nd Street,” too (7 p.m. curtain). All proceeds go to the Hunger Project in San Diego.

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