"Crazy for You" - A Review

   You only have one more chance to catch this wonderful show!

   My lovely wife and I caught Saturday night's performance and loved it! Crazy for You is a dance-filled, classic musical that's loaded with wonderful Gershwin songs, terrific performances and lots of laughs.

   It centers around a young man, Bobby Child (played brilliantly by the multi-talented Mike Naglee) who travels to a small town in Nevada where he falls in love with the beautiful woman (Jocelyn Clark-Knapp) who is also the owner of a theatre about to be taken away by the bank Bobby works for. Her father, played by a wistful Todd Green, also dreams of bringing life back to the theatre.

   To save the theatre, Bobby will impersonate a theatre owner, Bela Zangler (hilariously played by Mike Murdock), try to ditch his annoying fiancee (the equally-hilarious Joanna Berner), oppose the local business mogul (the boisterous Dylan Clark), draft a bevy of luscious showgirls (Amy Carlson, Tiffany Trent, Jenn Naglee, Nora Ankrom, Cyndi Fuller and Sheila Meade) and a host of raucous cowboys (Marc Albert, Bill Stambaugh, Luke Matlock, Jason Roach, Andrew Surber and Tristan Reynolds). Oh, and he must avoid his domineering mother, played by Karen Pruitt.

   Add in a lighthearted appearance by a couple of tourists (played with gusto by Bil Neal and Becky McClelland), and you have an All-Star cast. The show also includes a terrific 12-piece orchestra, led by conductor John W. Campbell.

   Crazy for You is a dance-intensive show, and kudos to choreographer Coni Anthony for assembling wonderful dance numbers and coaxing top-notch performances by the gifted cast. There are a number of standout performances and memorable, but the last number before Intermission - the tap-happy "I Got Rhythm" - brings the house down! But there are so many great numbers - "Slap That Bass," "Stiff Upper Lip," "Things Are Looking Up," "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "Embraceable You," to name just a few - and they all add up to a great time!

   With a clever, complex and amazingly efficient set design and terrific guidance from director Stephen Vance, this is a show for everyone who loves musical theatre. Don't miss it!