Broadway, 1933

When Peggy Sawyer first comes to New York City, she has trouble gathering up her courage to audition for Julian Marsh's upcoming musical Pretty Lady and misses the audition. Luckily, she is befriended by Maggie, one of the show's writers, Billy, the romantic lead, and the chorus girls. They show Peggy some of the routines, she gets a second chance, and she lands a part in the show.

The star of Pretty Lady is Dorothy Brock, a veteran of the Broadway stage. Her last hit was a distant ten years earlier, but her sugar daddy, Abner Dillon, is bankrolling the show. Dorothy is a terrific singer, but not much of a dancer, so Julian and Andy, the dance director, have to choreograph all the numbers around her.

The show moves to Philadelphia for its pre-Broadway run, and disaster strikes. Dorothy is accidentally knocked down by Peggy at the finale of Act I and breaks an ankle. Julian is furious and fires Peggy on the spot. Without a leading lady, he cancels the rest of the performance and threatens to close Pretty Lady for good.

Annie, one of the chorus girls, convinces Julian that Peggy could take over Dorothy's part. But it's not easy. Peggy has to learn twenty-five pages of script, six songs and ten dance numbers, all within the space of thirty-six hours. As Julian says, he'll either face opening night on Broadway with a live leading lady or a dead chorus girl…

Artistic Director: Lorraine St. Laurent

Musical Director: Drummond Hudson

Choreographer: Debbie Miller-Smith