Interview: 'It's a Beast of a Show' Actor Nicole-Lily Baisden on Lessons Learned in 42ND STREET

42nd Street is a larger-than-life, massively entertaining celebration of musicals and the irrepressible spirit of Broadway. After playing at Leicester Curve, a new production directed by Jonathan Church now arrives at London's Sadler's Wells theatre before touring the UK.

Actor Nicole-Lily Baisden is playing the role of Peggy Sawyer; fresh off the bus from small-town America, she arrives in New York City dreaming of her name in lights. Nicole-Lily spoke to BroadwayWorld about the necessary stamina she needs for this show within the show and what playing Peggy has taught her about herself.

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For anyone not familiar with 42nd Street, can you tell us a bit about the show and your character, Peggy?

42nd Street is a show within a show and shows the trials and joys of putting together a huge Broadway musical. My character Peggy is from a small town in Pennsylvania and travels to New York to get into her first Broadway show. The star of the show gets injured and they need someone to step up and take over as the lead. Peggy steps in and saves the show. 

The show is wonderfully dance heavy, as have some previous projects you’ve been in, such as Anything Goes – what has the training regime been like?

We did five weeks of rehearsals in London before opening at Leicester Curve and it was definitely challenging! The show requires a lot of stamina so that was something we all worked on from the beginning, mainly by warm ups from our fabulous dance captains! It definitely does get easier but it is a beast of a show!

The show opened in Leicester, and is then heading out on tour across the country. What are the benefits and challenges of taking a show like this on tour?

The benefits are seeing some amazing parts of the country and getting to explore cities I never would have seen otherwise. The benefits definitely outweigh the challenges but I do sometimes get a bit homesick and miss my friends and family.

Your co stars are the likes of Ruthie Henshall, Les Dennis, and Adam Garcia – what have they been like to work with?

A joy! I feel so lucky to be working with people I’ve seen in so many shows growing up and it’s amazing to be able to learn from them just by watching them work. They also have some great stories and we’re constantly laughing!

What’s your favourite thing about playing Peggy; do you have a moment in the show you really look forward to sharing?

I love how optimistic and determined she is, they’re qualities that I would like to take on myself! I also love the costumes, Rob Jones’ designs are so beautiful. My favourite part of the show is "Plenty of Money" and I’m really looking forward to audiences seeing it!

The show has been billed as “the original showbiz musical” – what is it about the show and its setting that you think keeps drawing audiences in, and how has this new production been refreshed and revitalised?

I think audiences are drawn in by the glitz and glamour of the show and the huge dance numbers and iconic songs. Also, it gives audiences a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes when putting together a big musical. I think this production is exciting as Jonathon Church (our director) didn’t want to hide away from the grittier side of the story. Most of the characters are one pay check away from being unemployed so there’s a real desperation that I don’t think has been explored before, it’s interesting to see the contrast between the glamour on stage and the drama backstage. 

Has playing Peggy taught you anything about yourself, as a person and as an actor?

She has definitely taught me to persevere, she never takes no for an answer because she really believes in herself. She also sees the good in everyone and I think that’s a trait I would like to have. 

You have starred in both classic musicals and new work (you recently starred as Paige in Pump up the Volume at MT Fest, for example) as well as TV and film – has that variety changed the way you look at the industry and your craft as an actor?

The variety has kept my career really exciting so far and I feel very lucky to have been able to work on such different projects and genres. I hope that continues!

42nd Street is at Sadler's Wells from 13 June - 2 July, then touring

Photo Credit: Johan Persson

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