Theatre Review: Crazy For You

SMS Society presents Crazy For You…

• Showing: Riley Smith Hall, 22nd – 26th March 2011, £8.00/ £5.50
• Rating: 5/5

Bobby Child: well-to-do 1930s playboy and aspiring dancer, must overcome the oppressive shackles of family obligation and convention manifest in both his mother and soon-to-be ex-fiancee, in order to pursue his dream. An opportunity arises and he goes to it meeting the girl of his dreams on the way. If only it were that simple. Plot twists and a case of mistaken identity ensue, punctuating musical numbers combining an indefinable lightness with seriousness of which one can only say: Gerschwin.

Crazy for You won the 1992 Tony award for Best Musical with a Broadway production which, after ten previews, ran for 1622 performances. The show, largely based on the Gerschwin brothers’ 1930 hit musical Crazy Girl but interpolating songs form other productions, demands very high standards in casting, choreography and musical performance. These demands were extremely well met on Wednesday night at the Riley Smith Hall, in what was truly a most uplifting and energizing comic tour de force.

Luke Osborne (Bobby Child) convinced of a freshness, youth and vivacity concomitant with  a character who dreams of becoming a dancer. And the almost athletic talent apparent in his dancing was clearly a true reflection of this aspiration in its execution. Vocally his instrument conveyed a lightness appropriate both to the musical style and the portrayal of the character. The comic timing was quite well polished too, especially in the scene in which Bobby is drunk with Bela Zangler (Sam Ashley) – the impressario in the guise of whom Bobby is attempting to direct a cast of New York showgirls and Nevadan cowboys in order to put on a show, thus paying the mortgage on the Post Office-cum-theatre belonging to the girl he loves.

That girl, Polly Baker, played by Ellie McPhee, was well conveyed in an acting performance that came across with a combination of feistiness and softness. Vocally her instrument made the show complete in the sweetness of tone and maturity of control that moved the emotions through classic songs such as ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ and ‘But Not For Me’. Her execution of what must have been the work of a professional choreographer gives an impression of one moving like smoke.

And indeed the choreography was at its most impressive in the full-company numbers such as  the well-known ‘I Got Rhythm’. These numbers are worth the entrance fee alone for the athleticism of  performance and delightful synchronicity in a talented cast made up of showgirls and cowboys. The cowboys provided comic moments that convinced of a rugged provincialism contrasting well with the sophistication of the visiting New Yorkers. And the close-harmony singing of the cowboy trio was highly evocative of the America West.

The lighting worked well in tandem with a simple but appropriate and decent set. Stage direction was very good and most effective when the intention was to convey a sense of backstage/behind-the -scenes in New York in the first Act. This show is truly unmissable.

 

words: Dan Potts