
This dazzling staged, astonishingly performed musical is a dream of a show. Susan Stroman’s production of Crazy for You is pure magical joy. This is a unmissable nostalgic journey through a reworking of some classic songs from the golden years of Hollywood musicals.
The surprising aspect to this production is that there is tap dancing. A lot of tap dancing. It is inspiring to see the revival of this spectacular discipline made famous by the likes of Gene Kelly, as you don’t see it in musical theatre as much in recent years as I believe you should. Its such a crowd pleaser.
Crazy for You is a set in America during the Great Depression. It follows the Broadway obsessed Bobby Child (Charlie Stemp), a rich kid who is sent by his banker mother to shut down a theatre in Nevada who cant pay their mortgage. He immediately falls in love with postmistress Polly (Carly Anderson) and decides to save the theatre instead by putting on a show there to raise money to save it.
Charlie Stemp’s performance is a comedic masterclass. His many talents also include singing and dancing and the latter was athletic, high energy and balletic and and his charisma shone through in every scene he was in. Carly Anderson (Polly) is an accomplished actress and her amazing singing voice was especially effective during her rendition of the beautifully moving, ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’. Her dancing and acting complemented Charlie’s’ so that when the were together they were a compelling couple with obvious chemistry.

Surprisingly, the dream sequences that Bobby had during the story arc reminded me of the Frankie dream scene in the movie Grease!
The songs are by George and Ira Gershwin – ‘Embracable You’, ‘I got Rhythm’ and ‘They Can’t Take That Away from Me’, are standards which were crowd pleasers and added to the atmosphere of nostalgia for the Golden Age of musicals. ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ was the best song in the production with a catchy tune and great choreography accompanying it. Set in the hard times of the 1930’s, songs like ‘I can’t be bothered now’ felt relatable to people in the 21st century who might understand the inertia of being unemployed. All the songs helped propel the narrative forward and the comedy interludes where hilarious in sometimes acrobatic ways which was a nod to its vaudeville legacy.
However, Crazy for You’s production was a tad long and the Director should consider cutting it down by 20 minutes so it would be closer to 2hrs. The show’s running time could be curtailed by dispensing with the Patricia and Eugene Fodor characters, who are travel and restaurant critics that arrive at the Nevada town. They are unfunny, add little to the storyline and were just loud and annoying.

The Costume designs were stunning, with elaborate outfits from the Busby Berkely like showgirls of New York and cowboy suits for the residents of the Nevada town juxtaposing the gap between the two worlds.
The sets have been kept simple, so as not to take away from the dancing numbers, juggling and general comedy mayhem. This is a good idea, as no amount of pyrotecnics can make up for the gently developing romance between the two main characters and the beautifully choreographed tap dancing spectaculars.
This theatre production is triumph.
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