By Myra Chanin . . .
Girl Crazy, the birth mother of Crazy for You, opened on Broadway in 1930 with spectacular songs by George and Ira Gershwin, and two unknown young performers who became theatrical immortals. Even though they’ve both been pushing up daisies for more than a quarter century, their first names still produce mental images of them cavorting in the footlights or on the silver screen. The first was Ginger Rogers, who not only duplicated every step devised by Fred Astaire but danced them in high heels moving backward, but became the first to purr “Embraceable You” and “But Not for Me.” The second was Ethel Merman, who needed no amplification when none existed, and who bellowed “I Got Rhythm” and “Boy! What Love has Done to Me,” so every syllable made the rafters ring. However, on opening night, more star power existed below the footlights than on the stage, with George Gershwin conducting in the pit a band composed of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Red Nichols, Jimmy Dorsey, Jack Teagarden, and Gene Krupa. The plot barely supplied a frame for the songs: New York playboy banished by family to Arizona dude ranch to stay out of trouble; and of course, he doesn’t. But it didn’t stop the show from running on Broadway for about two years. Those were the days!
Get ready for a time-lapse—13 years’ worth of pages fluttering off a square calendar until 1943, when overweight, bespectacled “kindly, grandfatherly” Hollywood Emperor Louis B. Mayer, adds an earlier Gershwin tune, “Fascinating Rhythm,” to the score, exiles the hero to a less tempting all-male Western university and declares it a perfect fit for two of his biggest stars, Mickey and Judy. The good news? Once again Girl Crazy is a hit. The bad news is that Zaida’s meetings with Judy were conducted with her sitting within groping distance on his lap, told she’s fat, and started on meds that undermine her stability. You know the rest. It’s not a pretty story.
Enough! Now, let’s talk about happy things. In 1990 Producers Roger Horchow and Elizabeth Williams decided the score didn’t deserve to die. After the Gershwins agreed to add additional tunes by George, the title was changed to Crazy for You, and American comic playwright Ken Ludwig was hired to write a new book. Everything was left in the brains and feet of Susan Stroman, the choreographer/director who let the syncopation flow and produced another hit. The Times called it “a riotously entertaining show which uncorked the classic blend of music, laughter, dancing, sentiment and showmanship with freshness and confidence.” It reclaimed Gershwin’s standards during their glorious youth. Ran for almost four years on Broadway and, what’s more, became a hit award winner in London; the most recent revival will be playing in the West End until 2024.
Crazy for You has also made it to Lynn University’s Wold Performing Arts Center in Boca Raton, Florida, and is being performed by Lynn University’s drama and music students. Thank Lynn’s guardian angel, the exclusive production sponsor, Elaine Johnson Wold, for another one of Elaine’s Musical Treats.
Crazy for You was a bold choice. It’s a long play, with the same ol’ mishmash story. Sonny gets sent to Nevada to foreclose on a rundown theater but falls for Peggy, the owner’s daughter. who takes an instant dislike to him. Bobby resolves through cunning, razzamatazz and even identity theft to win her heart and save the theater, accompanied by lots of and lots of music and dance. Did you ever for a second think that he wouldn’t?
Director Adam Simpson, technical director/set designer/shop manager, also chairs the Lynn Drama Department. As you might guess, he’s a one-man crew. He designed and built sets that were perfection themselves and looked like they were made in Deadrock, Nevada. He urges ticket holders to sit back and lose themselves in the golden age of musical theater when song and dance whisked everyone away to a world of romance, laughter, elegance and wit.
Praise is also due to Dr. Jon Robertson, Dean of the Lynn University Conservatory of Music, for the skill and professionalism of the orchestra he conducts. They got my toes tapping to my new favorite tune, which opens the second act, “The Real American Folk Song is a Rag,” the first Gershwin song performed on Broadway and one that had the perfect amount of syncopation.
The performers must be complimented for their fearlessness in undertaking such a daunting script so early in the season, especially Charles Page who plays Bobby Child, the star of the show, who is on stage permanently and mostly dancing almost every minute. Page has the energy and verve of Donald O’Connor, never running out of juice. His dancing gives Choreographer Danielle Jolie Dale-Hancock new choreographic bragging rights. I do remember Madison Pappalardo as Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street, in which she tapped backward as well as Ginger did. I am always happy to see more of her.
I fear Ira Gershwin wrote in a different English that anyone who spends more than no time on the internet is familiar with. Have they ever connected with an embraceable you? Does that phrase mean anything to a generation whose usual greeting may be “Wanna hook up?” Lauren Wickerson was graceful and plucky enough, but I felt she focused more on hitting the notes than expressing the meaning of the words.
All in all, I didn’t care for the new, too-long, mish-mashed script. A two-hour-long first act made me squirm. Still, the teamwork and the effort exerted by all was extraordinary. Most of the audience showed they disagreed with me by the length of their applause.
And a note of gratitude is due the Wick’s costumes which gave a professional gleam to the show.
Crazy For You played October 12-16, 2023 at the Lynn University’s Wold Performing Arts Center in Boca Raton, Florida.
Photos courtesy of Lynn University
