An Iowa native is returning to the Hawkeye State next week to star as the female lead in the Broadway musical “42nd Street.” SuEllen Estey is a native of the small northeast Iowa town of West Union. The show opens Wednesday (May 14th) in Des Moines for its only stop in Iowa. Estey says it’ll be a real treat to be back in her home state.Estey says work on this production started in July of 2002 and it’s been on the road nearly non-stop. In an interview from Tampa, Florida, she said the show does this one stop in Iowa, then goes to Seattle, San Francisco and L.A. Now in her 43rd week of touring and booked through June of 2004, Estey says it’s a challenge keeping her sanity with this schedule, but some good has come from it — she’s learned to travel light. She says she’s become a very efficient packer. Estey says she’s only been home to her New York City apartment four or five times since the tour began. She says there’ll be about 36 hours after the show closes in Des Moines where she’ll get to rent a car and dash home to Fayette County.She’ll be spending that time with family, friends and playing golf. Estey has played many roles while in New York but may best be known for stints on the soap operas “All My Children” and “As the World Turns.” 42nd Street plays eight shows in Des Moines in five days.
