Moonlight Amphitheatre shows off its brand new stage house with a smashing production of Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble’s 42nd Street, playing through Saturday, Aug. 1, at the outdoor facility. Jon Engstrom directs.

The (brand new) curtain rises on 28 pairs of dancing feet in this “star is born” story. By the time it comes down again, we’ve seen a great dance musical in a beloved space with splendid new state-of-the-art capabilities.

Based on the 1933 Busby Berkeley film, the 1980 Broadway show won the Best Musical Tony. Legendary director and choreographer Gower Champion created some terrific dance sequences on the way to the Tony for best choreography, and the show had a record-breaking run of almost 3,500 performances. Sadly, Champion died of cancer a few hours before the opening.

You know the plot. Wide-eyed chorus dancer Peggy Sawyer (Cassie Silva), the hick from Allentown, dazzles fellow dancers with footwork, so much so that when director Julian Marsh (David Kirk Grant) is about to cancel the show after diva Dorothy Brock (Amy Biedel) breaks an ankle, chorus dancer “Anytime Annie” (Deidre Haren) suggests he give Peggy a try, and the rest is, well, you know.

On the way to Broadway glory, there are the usual romantic tangles and artistic squabbles, ending with Peggy’s final heartwarming realization that though the world is now her oyster and wealth and fame await, she’d still rather party with “the kids” in the chorus.

Moonlight has a find in Director/Choreographer Engstrom, whose street creds include being a cast member of the original production. Engstrom is blessed with a sterling cast, including Grant, who played Julian on the national tour. Grant has that harried, how-do-I-get-this-show-up demeanor that never fails to produce smiles.

The plot is sweet, the acting and singing fine all around, and many of the songs (such as “We’re In the Money” and “Lullaby of Broadway”) have become old standards, but none of that is the reason to see this show. As Bill Clinton might have said, it’s the dancing, stupid, and these hoofers are terrific at executing Engstrom’s Busby Berkeley-style choreography.

Congratulations to the voters of Vista for funding the theater upgrade, and to Moonlight for a fabulous show.

42nd Street plays through Saturday, Aug. 1, at Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista. Shows Wednesday through Sunday at 8 p.m. For tickets, call 760-724-2110 or visit www.vistixonline.com.

“Artie Shaw once said ‘Jazz was born in a whiskey barrel,’” narrator and co-writer Anthony S. Drummond says. “It celebrates life. Nothing is swept under the rug.”

Common Ground Theatre presents the world premiere of Jazz Queens Cast Blue Shadows, celebrating American jazz and blues greats Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday, through Sunday, July 26, at San Diego Repertory’s Space Theatre. Directing is Hassan El-Amin, the company’s new artistic director.

When Drummond says “nothing is swept under the rug,” he’s not kidding: Don’t bring the kiddies to this show. Early on, Dinah (Candace Ludlow Trotter) sings the raunchy “Big Long Slidin’ Thing” (ostensibly about a trombone player) in a way that drove a few little ones in our audience out of the theater. And there’s no attempt to hide the drug and alcohol addiction that plagued both women, either.

Ah, but the music. Jazz Queens, written by Common Ground’s longtime director Floyd Gaffney and Anthony Drummond, is a musical poem to the lives and music of two of these two greats, including some 15 of their greatest hits.

Backed by a stellar four-man combo, the ladies open and close the show with duets (“I Love Being Here With You” and “My Shining Hour”), a nice touch though it’s doubtful they ever sang together.

Trotter and George have fine voices and both are worth hearing, though with eyes closed you’d be heard pressed to identify either as the singer she portrays. But it’s great to hear Trotter’s Dinah let go with “Send Me to the ‘Lectric Chair” and George’s Billie sing that heartbreaker “Good Mornin’ Heartache.”

Blues and jazz are closely related, and both of these singers had their share of pain. You could hear it in Holiday’s voice. “People ask why I sing the blues so much,” she said. “I sing the damn blues ’cause life ain’t fair.”

Hers wasn’t just unfair, it was way too short (as was Dinah’s), and the world lost two great talents when these women passed.

Common Ground Theatre’s production of Jazz Queens Cast Blue Shadows plays through Sunday, July 26, at San Diego Repertory’s Space Theatre. Shows Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; matinée Sunday at 3 p.m. For tickets, call 619-544-1000 or visit www.commongroundtheatre.org.

There’s nothing like a good French farce to clear the palate – and the head – after a season of bruising political shenanigans and serious bad news.

North Coast Rep has brought back just what the doctor ordered: Marc Camoletti’s hilarious Don’t Dress For Dinner, with the same cast as the November show, playing through Sunday, Aug. 2, and impeccably directed by Rosina Reynolds.

Once described as “a typical French farce: six actors, five doors and everyone ends up in their underwear,” Don’t Dress For Dinner features plans gone awry, mistaken identities and attempted infidelity. It demands impeccable comedic timing. This cast does not disappoint.

In a converted farmhouse outside Paris, Bernard (Phil Johnson) has arranged a tryst with mistress Suzanne (Amanda Sitton) while his wife Jacqueline (Lisel Gorell-Getz) conveniently visits her mother. Bernard has thoughtfully hired a cordon bleu chef named Suzette (Jacque Wilke) to add class to their evening repast.

Bernard has arranged cover in the person of best friend Robert (Christopher M. Williams), who thinks he’s been invited for guys’ night. Bernard doesn’t know Robert and Jacqueline are having an affair, so when Robert shows up before Bernard can whisk Jacqueline off to the train station; she cancels her plans and stays home.

When Suzanne arrives, Bernard introduces her as the cook and the later arrival (the real cook, Suzette) as a guest.

Add to the double attempted infidelities the inevitable confusion of two women called Suzy and the fact that everyone has something to hide, and you have ... well, a ménage à quatre (plus one) with questionable sleeping arrangements, a dinner of uncertain quality and sight gags galore. Oh, and there’s the matter of Suzette’s husband George (Matt Thompson). It’s a recipe for, well, for farce.

Goofy? Oh, yes. And wordy, and funny, and fast-paced, and wonderful. It’s no wonder that Don’t Dress For Dinner ran for seven years in London’s West End.

Reynolds could hardly ask for a better production team. Marty Burnett’s multi-doored wonder of a set conveys the right elegantly rustic feel; Michelle Hunt Souza’s costumes are lovely ... and loopy, as needed, and perfect. Add to this an outstanding ensemble cast and you have the recipe for a perfect summer evening’s entertainment.

Don’t Dress For Dinner plays through Sunday, Aug. 2, at North Coast Repertory Theatre. Shows Wednesday and Sunday at 7 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinée at 2 p.m. For tickets, call 858-481-1055 or visit www.northcoastrep.org.

When I was 11, I took piano lessons from a man who wasn’t the least bit interested in my protestations of inability to play. He ordered me to play anyway, and when I demonstrated my lack of skill, he told me to practice.

Anyone who’s ever practiced those boring scales and arpeggios while longing to be elsewhere – anywhere else – will identify with the two boys in 2 Pianos 4 Hands, playing through Saturday, July 26, at the Colony Theatre in Burbank.

Canadians Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt were acting together when they discovered similar backgrounds – both had studied classical piano, planned on concert careers and abandoned the dream at the age of 17. They recognized the idea for a play, and 2 Pianos 4 Hands is the happy result.

The present duo (Roy Abramson as Richard and Jeffrey Rockwell as Ted) play all the roles on a bare stage except for two facing grand pianos. The plot takes them from those first lessons and the repeated reminders about the curve of the wrist and placement of the hands, through the two-hand competition for kids 11 and under, to music camp and the final decision to apply to conservatory rather than college (and one dad’s threat to sell the piano).

In the process, they work through various piano teachers and their approaches, from the weary nun whose patience is strained to the breaking point to Mr. Scarlatti, whose approach verges on machismo, to Mr. Franc, a Frenchman who counsels treating the piano as a woman to whom one should make love.

Throughout, they joke, play and communicate both the joy and frustration of music. But classical music is a tough business, and both finally realize that though they are very good, neither is good enough to fulfill that concert pianist dream, and settle for being “two of the best piano players in the neighborhood.”

In the process, we’re treated to some fine acting and music from “Heart and Soul” to a Beethoven sonatina, from Grieg to “The Birch Canoe,” and the piece which bookends the show, the first movement of Bach’s Concerto in D minor.

2 Pianos 4 Hands will resonate more strongly with those who have studied an instrument, but is riveting enough to be enjoyed by all.

2 Pianos 4 Hands plays through July 26, 2009 at The Colony Theatre Company in Burbank. Shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. For tickets call 818-558-7000, ext. 15 or visit www.colonytheatre.org.