Crazy for You

Though the slight plot of Crazy for You is little more than an excuse to showcase many of the Gershwins’ best known songs, no one was complaining.

This was a magical night at the theatre.

It opened with a piano centre stage, beautifully lit, as was the whole show. During the overture four dancing girls climbed over the piano onto the stage and proceeded to dance to the music. The curtain went up to reveal more of the stage and four more dancers with enormous headgear. They circled on stage revealing four very bored backstage crew holding sticks which propped up the headwear. It was very funny.

After the overture another curtain went up to reveal the rest of the stage and the action commenced. The sets were brilliant. When the action moved to Deadrock, the stage featured a pair of enormous saloon bar doors which swung open to reveal the town. The saloon and theatre had upper levels to add a third dimension to the performance space. At various times action was happening on both levels simultaneously, thus enhancing the look and feel of the show. Very effective.

This is primarily a dance show, and Babirra has assembled a talented cast. It appeared that everyone had to dance and tap and the choreography was innovative and tight. At one stage the orchestra stopped for an extended tap sequence which was met with loud applause.

The two leads did most of the heavy lifting, with little time off. Jonathon Guthrie-Jones is one of the best looking leading men around with a wonderful sense of comedy. He has a terrific voice and can dance up a storm. I would have preferred the director get more from him, with the contrast between Bobby Childs and his impersonation of Bela Zangler. I only saw this as a problem in “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”, where the cheeky grin that was never far below the surface meant we didn’t take his pain of losing Polly seriously.

This contrasted with a heart-wrenching “But Not For Me” from Kristen Beayni. As Polly she seemed to get all the best songs and did them well. The two worked well together.

As Billy’s fiancée Irene, Adrienne George made the most “Naughty Baby” and Dot Parker was wonderfully over the top as Bobby’s mother.

But it was the staging and the ensemble that were the stars on this night. One of the best shows of the year.

Graham Ford