FAME ON 42nd
STREETAt the Little Shubert Theatre, 422 W. 42 St. Call Telecharge (212) 239-6200.
‘FAME on 42nd Street” is a strange phenomenon. First done in Sweden, this musical “inspired” by the 1980 movie “Fame,” has been playing around the world for years.
It takes a parcel of kids through New York City’s High School of Performing Arts from 1980 to 1984, when they became the last class to graduate from the old building before the school moved uptown.
The songs are generic pop and mainly feature the young folk frantically shaking their behinds.
One boy (Christopher J. Hanke), who’s been doing commercials since he was 4, wants to be a De Niro dramatic actor; another (Shakiem Evans) longs to be a ballet dancer; and a third (Nicole Leach) is determined to win fame as a singer. (She’s the one who actually sings “Fame” – twice).
Two teachers (Cheryl Freeman and Nancy Hess) clash over to the degree of strictness they ought to apply as one of the students is discovered to be illiterate and another is lured away to Hollywood and drugs.
Somehow, graduation day eventually dawns.
Theatergoers in, say, Malaysia have been getting a kooky picture of high school in Gotham.
Now it’s our turn. Adults may groan at the juiceless clichés that drive “Fame on 42nd Street,” but I’m told that kids 10 to 16 really get into it. Take one of them, and keep your mouth shut.