42nd Street's Clare Halse on Being as Starry-Eyed as Peggy Sawyer, Her Wicked Dream Role & Working with Sheena Easton in the West End

The West End’s dance-heavy spring began with the U.K. premiere of An American in Paris and continues with a revival of 42nd Street, returning to the same venue—Drury Lane—where the show was first seen in London in 1984. Scottish actress-singer Sheena Easton gets top billing as Dorothy Brock, but all eyes will surely be on English newcomer Clare Halse in the pivotal role of Peggy Sawyer, who famously segues from unknown to star while tapping her heart out. Broadway.com spoke to the endearing Halse, who is getting ready to open in the show on April 4.

Is this part a defining moment for you?
Absolutely yes. It’s in every way the biggest opportunity I have ever been given. That also means that there is quite a lot of pressure to tell the story and to enjoy it and to do my best, really. Being Peggy Sawyer is a big deal for me. 

Do you ever feel as if you’re going through what the starry-eyed Peggy is in the show?
Very much so! A lot of things match up between what Peggy is feeling and what I am, which is quite fun and also terrifying. Throughout the rehearsal period, you go through so many moments of thinking, “Oh my God, this is overwhelming, I don’t know if I can do it”—and Peggy feels the same. 

What is going through your head as Clare when Peggy becomes a star?
I’m just thinking, “This is an incredible payoff.” You get to the end of Act Two, and suddenly you have these incredible dance numbers to do and are put in these gorgeous, glittery, sequined outfits and get to dance on a piano and wear gorgeous fur coats. Her becoming a star just feels amazing, really, and I just hope I can do it justice.

Do you have any former stars in mind who can act as a kind of benchmark?
Randy Skinner’s assistant has been teaching us the dances in the show, and she just said to me to watch as many of the old stars as I can because there are certain styles that you have to try and emulate—people like Eleanor Powell and Ginger Rogers, both of whom had that star quality which I need to try to bring into myself.

Did you head straight to YouTube?
I did, and the more I watched, the more I realized how incredible it was that these people could do all the things they were asked to do—the attention to detail, and everyone doing exactly the same thing and on a huge scale that you just don’t see in our movies as much. Eleanor Powell is my favorite: she made everything seem effortless, whether it’s back-bending or running or jumping off things. If I could even capture a little of her talent, I’d be pleased.

How have you prepared physically for the role?
I trained as much as I could coming up to the rehearsal period, which I knew was going to be tough. In performance, it’s a mixture of keeping myself as fit as I can and also resting between shows and getting my muscles ready for the evening. The show itself is kind of like a set of little sprints. where it’s just go, go, go!

Are you naturally athletic?
I’ve always loved sports and going to the gym and yoga—I really love all that. Dancing has always been my main exercise choice, so I’ve got quite muscly legs and that kind of thing.

What about tap dancing?
I started tapping when I was 11, having done ballet from when I was about four, so I came to tap later, but it has always been a part of my life. I would do tap groups with people, and competitions, but nothing prepared me for the sound in this show of 40 or 50 people tapping together as one; it hits you like a wall. 

What has it been like working with your leading lady, onetime chart-topping singer Sheena Easton?
Sheena is absolutely fabulous and brings such wonderful things to the part and has got the most incredible voice. For me as Peggy, she’s quite terrifying, but she’s hilarious in rehearsals as herself. She’s got no airs and graces about her and likes having fun with everyone. And although she’s Scottish, she has lived in America a long time and kind of has that in her now, which is good for us as a show.

How are you as an Englishwoman adapting to so quintessentially American a musical?
I feel as if I’ve done all the research I can without yet going to Allentown [where Peggy is from], though I would love to go there sometime! Luckily, I’ve been to New York and quite recently as well which still has that kind of excitement it had back then as just a magical crazy place, and I think that makes a difference when you’re doing this particular show.

Leaving aside Peggy for a moment, how do you think back on your West End debut in Wicked almost a decade ago?
I got that job from an open call and absolutely loved it. I was in the dancing ensemble and got to play multiple monkeys and members of the Emerald City and munchkins, which were beautiful little characters to play.

Do you aspire to either of the lead roles there?
My Glinda was Dianne Pilkington and Elphaba was Alexia Khadime, and Glinda has always been a bit of a dream part. I idolize Dianne—she is just incredible—and I would love to do that role one day.