Photo from the Flickr stream of alancleaver_2000.

We live so close to Niagara Falls that it’s easy to take our natural wonder of the world for granted.  Oh, a 167-foot waterfall that drops 64,750 cubic feet of water per second?  Meh.  Yet Niagara Falls was—and is—one of our little planet’s most romantic destinations.  And if you’re taking a train to The Falls, you have to go through Buffalo.

The erotic nature of connubial locomotive visits to our mighty cascade is celebrated in the song “Shuffle Off To Buffalo” from the musical 42nd Street, with its myriad references to both sexy train trips and mutually approved impregnation right here in our own Queen City.  Guess all that banging at the Central Terminal back in the day wasn’t just the guys in the basement trying to fix the boiler!  Although they are entitled to their own lifestyle choices, free of judgement.

Anyhow: all of this pillow talk relates to the fact that the Kavinoky Theatre will open a month-long run of 42nd Street beginning on Friday, Sept. 9.  Here’s the Kavinoky’s write-up about the revival of the 1980 Broadway hit based on the 1933 film by contemporary writers Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyricist Al Dubin and composer Harry Warren:

“This is the ultimate backstage showbiz fairy tale in a big, bright and bold dance musical. Filled with toe-tapping songs like: “Lullaby of Broadway,” “We’re In The Money,” “Shuffle Off To Buffalo,” and, of course, “42nd Street.” A song and dance extravaganza! Directed by Norman Sham with choreography by Kelly Cammarata and music direction by Mark Vona, the production features a virtual who’s who of Buffalo theatre. Headed by the incomparable John Fredo, the cast of 20 includes Debbie Pappas, Kelli Bocock-Natale, Peter Palmisano, Daniel Hess, Charmagne Chi, Patrick O’Herron, and Kelly Jakiel as the starry-eyed, Peggy Sawyer.”

Basic gist of the play: Peggy Sawyer is a wide-eyed hick who shows up in New York and wants to get into show business.  Dorothy Brock is the not-so-nice star of the show on which young Sawyer lands.  Peggy accidentally takes Dorothy out (she breaks her ankle! Mafia move), gets fired, but—thanks to her ingenue charm and the fact that she can sing and dance up a storm—eventually gets lured back to replace Dorothy.  A star is born!  Hooray. 

In truth, it’s a fun show, an American classic, and full of memorable music and charming choreography.  Definitely a production that well-rounded students of pop culture should have notched in their bedpost of references.

The show can be seen on Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 PM, Saturdays at 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM, and Sundays at 2:00 PM.  Tickets are $36, but students—oh, students!—can get $7 tickets to matinees.  Here’s the link for all the ticket info.  Oh, and here’s a link to Amtrak, too.  Get some.