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CRAZY FOR YOU
Music and Lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin - Book by Ken Ludwig
Venue: Prince Edward 1993
Choreography by Susan Stroman
Directed by Mike Ockrent



Cast  in order of appearance: 

TESS Vanessa Leagh-Hicks
PATSY HelenWay
BOBBY CHILD Kirby Ward
BELA ZANGLER Chris Langham
SHEILA Emma Flett
MITZI Rebecca Parker
SUSIE Jane Fowler
LOUISE Lisa Wogan
BETSY EdwinaCox
MARGIE Nicola Hughes
VERA Helen Anker
ELAINE Nicola Dewdney
IRENE ROTH Amanda Prior
MOTHER Avril Angers
PERKINS Craig Horwood
MINGO Kieran McIlroy
PETE Jon Clairmonte
SAM Jeremy Harrison
POLLY BAKER Ruthie Henshall
BUD Jason Di Mascio
CUSTUS Alan Forrester
JIMMY David Shelmerdine
BILLY Adam Blaug
WYATT Stephen Mear
HARRY Craig Horwood
MOOSE Cohn John-Bell
EVERETT BAKER Don Fellows
LANK HAWKINS Shaun Scott
ANDRE Robert Austin
PATRICIA Paula Tinker
SWINGS Gavin Lee
Johanne Murdock
Katie Verner
David Wilder

Review

Irritated though I sometimes am by the current veneration for the work of Gershwin and Porter that veers towards idolatry I have to admit that Crazy For You is a cracking show for the success of which the songs of George Gershwin are largely responsible. Its writer, Ken Ludwig, says that he was inspired by Gershwin's 1930 musical Girl Crazy, and it is true that this show bears much the same relationship to the original as Sandy Wilson's fifties hit The Boy Friend did to Rodgers and Hart's The Girl Friend. Whereas the hero of Girl Crazy was sent out West to escape from the clutches of bootleggers and gold diggers and ended up running a dude ranch, Crazy For You's Bobby Child falls in love with the daughter of a theatre owner in a Nevada ghost town and brings the theatre back to life with the assistance of the Broadway impresario Bela Zangler.

But the plot matters little except as a peg upon which to hang Gershwin songs not only from Girl Crazy but other shows as well, every one a winner, including Someone to Watch Over Me, Embraceable You, I Got Rhythm, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, But Not For Me and Nice Work If You Can Get It, all staged with the magnetic professionalism of both Broadway and Hollywood of the thirties, with deliberate references to earlier shows and films so that it often takes on the air of an affectionate satire. One sometimes has the impression that the show is shamelessly manipulative, contrived for the nostalgic CD compilation set, yet its high spirits and immaculate staging, not to mention the energy of its cast, Mike Ockrent's direction, Susan Stroman's choreography and Robin Wagner's design, constantly push such thoughts to the back of one's mind, leaving nothing but joyous memories of a show that knows exactly what it is doing.

The casting is quite exceptional, headed by Kirby Ward, an astonishing compilation of Broadway talent in his own right, singer, dancer and comedian, and Ruthie Henshall, a girl I first spotted a few years ago in a showcase, of all things, but now stands revealed as a British, leading lady with the voice, looks and personality to make her an international star. In support are such comedy and acting stalwarts as Chris Langham, as a dominating Zangler reduced to utter confusion, Avril Angers and Don Fellows, some brighter new performers 1ike Amanda Prior, Shaun Scott, Vanessa Leagh-Hicks and Helen Way, and a superb all-action singing and dancing chorus. Nevertheless, it is a salutary thought that this is, in effect a collection, brilliant though it may be, of old songs, old situations, old dance routines and old jokes, a reflection, perhaps, of the present state of show business.