comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
Ken Ludwig
Ken Ludwig is an American playwright and theatre director whose work has been performed in more than 30 countries in over 20 languages.
Personal life
Ken Ludwig was born in York, Pennsylvania. His father was a doctor and his mother was a former ...
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
. Billed as "The New Gershwin Musical Comedy", it is largely based on the songwriting team's 1930 musical ''
Girl Crazy
''Girl Crazy'' is a 1930 musical by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. Ethel Merman made her stage debut in the first production and co-lead Ginger Rogers became an overnight star. Rich in song, ...
'', but also incorporates songs from several other productions. It won the 1992 Tony Award (Broadway), the 1993 Olivier Award (London), and the 1994 Dora Award (Toronto) for Best Musical.
Ken Ludwig
Ken Ludwig is an American playwright and theatre director whose work has been performed in more than 30 countries in over 20 languages.
Personal life
Ken Ludwig was born in York, Pennsylvania. His father was a doctor and his mother was a former ...
to write the book,
Mike Ockrent
Michael Robert Ockrent (18 June 1946 – 2 December 1999) was a British stage director, well-known both for his Broadway musicals and smaller niche plays. He was educated at Highgate School. Through directing ''Educating Rita'', '' The Nerd'' an ...
to direct, and Susan Stroman to do the choreography, and obtained permission from the Gershwin family. Richard Godwin, and Valerie Gordon were the associate producers. The production soon changed to become a new show, using various Gershwin songs from different times. Six songs from ''Girl Crazy'' were selected: "Bidin' My Time", "Could You Use Me?", " Embraceable You" , "
I Got Rhythm
"I Got Rhythm" is a piece composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and published in 1930, which became a jazz standard. Its chord progression, known as the " rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes suc ...
", " But Not For Me", and part of "Bronco Busters"). "Tonight's the Night" was previously unpublished, having originally been written for '' Show Girl'' but ultimately not included. "What Causes That?" came from '' Treasure Girl'', but was considered lost until 1982, when a copy was found in a Warner Brothers warehouse in Secaucus, New Jersey. "K-ra-zy for You" also originated from ''Treasure Girl''. " The Real American Folk Song (Is a Rag)" was the Gershwins' first song performed on Broadway; on the other hand, "Naughty Baby" was making its debut, having been in '' Primrose'', which only played in London and Australia. Other songs came from the musical films '' Shall We Dance'' ("Slap That Bass" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me") and '' A Damsel in Distress'', both of which were released in the year of George's death.
After a Washington, D.C. tryout and 10 previews, it opened at the Shubert Theatre on February 19, 1992, and ran for 1,622 performances. The cast included
Harry Groener
Harry Groener (born September 10, 1951) is a German-born American actor and dancer, perhaps best known for playing Mayor Wilkins in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (seasons 3, 4 and 7).
Early life
Groener was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, West German ...
as Bobby Child, Bruce Adler as Bela Zangler, John Hillner as Lank Hawkins,
Michele Pawk
Michele Pawk (born November 16, 1961) is an American actress and singer. She is also an associate professor for theatre.
Biography
Born in Butler, Pennsylvania, Pawk attended Allegheny College and the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, ...
as Mother, Beth Leavel as Tess (Leavel also understudied Benson), Ronn Carroll as Everett Baker, and Stephen Temperley and Amelia White as Eugene and Patricia Fodor. The Manhattan Rhythm Kings played cowboys Mingo, Moose, and Sam, singing in their trademark close harmony.
In his review in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'',
Frank Rich
Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO.
Rich is curren ...
wrote, "When future historians try to find the exact moment at which Broadway finally rose up to grab the musical back from the British, they just may conclude that the revolution began last night. The shot was fired at the Shubert Theater, where a riotously entertaining show called ''Crazy for You'' uncorked the American musical’s classic blend of music, laughter, dancing, sentiment and showmanship with a freshness and confidence rarely seen during the ''Cats'' decade. The miracle has been worked here most ingeniously, though not exclusively, by an extraordinary choreographer named Susan Stroman and the playwright Ken Ludwig . . . ''Crazy for You'' scrapes away decades of cabaret and jazz and variety-show interpretations to reclaim the Gershwins’ standards, in all their glorious youth, for the dynamism of the stage."
A
cast album
A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...
was released by
Angel Records
Angel Records was a record label founded by EMI in 1953. It specialised in classical music, but included an occasional operetta or Broadway score. and one Peter Sellers comedy disc. The famous Recording Angel trademark was used by the Gramophon ...
.
The West End production, directed by Ockrent, choreographed by Stroman, and starring
Ruthie Henshall
Valentine Ruth Henshall (born 7 March 1967), known professionally as Ruthie Henshall, is an English actress, singer and dancer, known for her work in musical theatre. She began her professional stage career in 1986, before making her West End d ...
, Kirby Ward, and
Chris Langham
Christopher Langham (born 14 April 1949) is an English writer, actor, and comedian. He is known for playing the cabinet minister Hugh Abbot in the BBC sitcom '' The Thick of It'', and as presenter Roy Mallard in '' People Like Us'', first on B ...
, opened at the
Prince Edward Theatre
The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London.
History
The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Marc ...
on March 3, 1993 and ran for nearly three years.
A Toronto production directed by Ockrent, choreographed by Stroman, and starring Jim Walton and Camilla Scott opened at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on December 1, 1993 and closed December 31, 1995.
On October 20, 1999, the
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
series ''
Great Performances
''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is p ...
Katherine Hare
Katherine Elizabeth Hare (born 15 April 1978) is an English theatre director.
Biography Early years
Hare was born in Cambridge, England to John Hare, a farmer, and Celia Hare. She was educated at Saffron Walden County High School and Univers ...
and choreographed by Racky Plews was staged by Eyebrow Productions at the London Palladium. Eyebrow are well known for their unique Showtime Challenges, where all aspects of the show are rehearsed and performed in 48 hours. All proceeds went to Cecily's Fund.
In 2011,
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London.
The theatre
Established in 1932, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest theatres in London (1,256 seats) and is situated in Queen Mary†...
did a revival of ''Crazy for You'' as part of the 2011 Summer Season. The production moved to the West End, at the
Novello Theatre
The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster. It was known as the Strand Theatre between 1913 and 2005.
History
The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of The Wald ...
where it ran from October 8, 2011 to March 17, 2012.
The Off-West End premiere of ''Crazy For You'', directed by John Plews, choreographed by Grant Murphy and musically directed by Oliver John Ruthven, ran at Upstairs at the Gatehouse in
Highgate
Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross.
Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...
from December 13, 2012 to January 27, 2013. The production made use of a smaller ensemble with cast doubling, and a six-piece band.
In summer 2016 a UK revival opened at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury starring Tom Chambers as Bobby and
Caroline Sheen
Caroline Sheen is a Welsh actress who has played leading roles on stage in the West End alongside TV and film appearances. She won a Helen Hayes award for playing the role of Mary Poppins on the National Tour of America.
Background
Born and ...
as Polly. The production began touring the UK from August 2017 to June 2018 starring Chambers reprising his role as Bobby,
Caroline Flack
Caroline Louise Flack (9 November 1979 – 15 February 2020) was an English television and radio presenter and actress. She won the twelfth series of BBC’s ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2014 and presented '' The X Factor'' and later ''Love Is ...
as Irene and Charlotte Wakefield as Polly.
Claire Sweeney
Claire Jane Sweeney (born 17 April 1971) is an English actress, singer and television personality, best known for playing the role of Lindsey Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'' and playing the role of Roxie Hart in the musical ...
replaced Flack as Irene halfway through the tour.
In the 2017 concert production of Crazy for You at the Lincoln Center, the cast was joined by choirs across the world including Denver School of the Arts.
As part of the 2022 Chichester Festival, a new production staged as part of a limited summer run;
Charlie Stemp
Charlie Stemp (born 30 November 1993) is an English actor. Stemp came to prominence for his leading role as Arthur Kipps in the West End musical ''Half a Sixpence'', which earned him a WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a M ...
plays the role of Bobby Child with Carly Anderson as Polly Baker. The direction and choreography are by Susan Stroman. The production is scheduled to transfer to the West End's
Gillian Lynne Theatre
The Gillian Lynne Theatre (formerly New London Theatre) is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden. The Winter Garden Theatre formerly occupied the site until 1965 ...
for a limited 30-week West End engagement beginning 24 June 2023, prior to an official opening July 3.
Cast and characters
Follies
* Patsy – Stacey Logan (and Polly US)
* Sheila – Judine Hawkins Richard
* Mitzi – Paula Leggett
* Susie – Ida Henry
* Louise – Jean Marie
* Betsy – Penny Ayn Maas
* Margie – Salome Mazard
* Vera – Louise Ruck
* Elaine – Pamela Everett
* Swing – Maryellen Scilla
Cowboys
* Mingo – Tripp Hanson
* Moose – Brian M. Nalepka
* Sam – Harold Shane
* Junior –
Casey Nicholaw
Casey Nicholaw (born October 6, 1962) is an American theatre director, choreographer, and performer. He has been nominated for several Tony Awards for his work directing and choreographing ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' (2006), ''The Book of Mormon'' (2 ...
* Pete – Fred Anderson
* Jimmy – Michael Kubala
* Billy – Ray Roderick
* Wyatt – Jeffrey Lee Broadhurst
* Harry – Joel Goodness
* Custus – Gerry Burkhardt
''Note: While Eugene Fodor was the real-life founder of Fodor's Travel Guides, the character in the musical is highly fictionalized. The real Eugene Fodor was Hungarian-American, not British, and his first travel book was about
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
Girl Crazy
''Girl Crazy'' is a 1930 musical by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. Ethel Merman made her stage debut in the first production and co-lead Ginger Rogers became an overnight star. Rich in song, ...
'') – Cowboy Trio and Cowboys
* " Things Are Looking Up" (from ''A Damsel in Distress'') – Bobby
* " Someone to Watch Over Me" (from '' Oh, Kay!'') – Polly
* "Could You Use Me" (from ''Girl Crazy'') – Bobby and Polly
* "Shall We Dance?" (from '' Shall We Dance'') – Bobby
* "Entrance to Nevada" (Medley of "
Stairway to Paradise
"Stairway to Paradise", also known as "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise", is a song composed in 1922 by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin (under the name Arthur Francis) and Buddy DeSylva (under the name of B. G. De Sylva) for the Broad ...
", "Bronco Busters" from ''Girl Crazy'', and "K-ra-zy for You") – Follies Girls and Cowboys
* " Slap That Bass" (from ''Shall We Dance'') – Bobby, Pete, Patsy, Tess, and Chorus
* " Embraceable You" (from ''Girl Crazy'') – Polly and Bobby
* "Tonight's the Night"≠– Chorus
* "
I Got Rhythm
"I Got Rhythm" is a piece composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and published in 1930, which became a jazz standard. Its chord progression, known as the " rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes suc ...
" (from ''Girl Crazy'') – Polly and Chorus
; Act II
* Entr'acte ("Rialto Ripples")
* " The Real American Folk Song is a Rag" (from ''Ladies First'') – Cowboy Trio and Chorus
* "What Causes That?" (from ''Treasure Girl'') – Bobby and Zangler
* "Naughty Baby"≠≠(from '' Primrose'') – Irene, Lank, Cowboy Quartet
* "
They Can't Take That Away from Me
"They Can't Take That Away from Me" is a 1937 popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film ''Shall We Dance'' and gained huge success.
Overview
The song is performed b ...
" (from ''Shall We Dance'') – Bobby
* " But Not for Me" (from ''Girl Crazy'') – Polly
* "But Not for Me" (Reprise) – Polly
* New York Interlude (
Concerto in F
Concerto in F is a composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and orchestra which is closer in form to a traditional concerto than his earlier jazz-influenced ''Rhapsody in Blue''. It was written in 1925 on a commission from the conductor an ...
)
* " Nice Work If You Can Get It" (from ''A Damsel in Distress'') – Follies Girls, and Bobby
* "Bidin' My Time" (French Reprise) – Cowboy Trio
* "Things Are Looking Up" (Reprise) – Everett
* Finale – Chorus
≠Lyrics by
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo ...
and Ira Gershwin
≠≠Lyrics by Desmond Carter and Ira Gershwin
Synopsis
;Act 1
Backstage at the Zangler Theater in New York in the 1930s, the last performance of the Zangler Follies is wrapping up for the season, and Tess, the Dance Director, is dodging the advances of the married Bela Zangler. Bobby Child, the rich son of a banking family, is backstage hoping for an audition with Mr. Zangler. Bobby performs "K-ra-zy for You," but fails to impress Zangler, having landed on Zangler's foot during the final flourish of his dance routine. Dejected, Bobby heads outside.
Bobby is met by Irene, the wealthy woman to whom he has been engaged for five years, and then by his mother, who demands that Bobby take over her piece of the banking business. Bobby is told to go to Deadrock, Nevada, to foreclose on a rundown theater. As the women argue over him, Bobby imagines himself dancing with the Follies Girls and joins them in a rousing rendition of "I Can't Be Bothered Now." Brought back to reality, Bobby decides to escape to Nevada.
When Bobby arrives in Deadrock, it's clear that the gold mining town has seen better days. The men, who are cowboys, sing "Bidin' My Time" in a long, slow drawl. Everett Baker receives a letter from New York warning of the bank foreclosing on the Gaiety Theater. The only woman left in this forlorn town is Everett's daughter, the spunky Polly Baker, who vows to get even with Bobby Child if she ever meets him.
Lank Hawkins, proprietor of the town's saloon, argues with Everett, trying to convince Everett to let him buy the theater before the bank takes it. The stubborn old man refuses to give up the theater due to his memories of Polly's mother being the star of all the theater's old shows.
Bobby enters the town almost dying of thirst, and falls in love with Polly at first sight, not realizing who she is, and expresses his excitement in "Things Are Looking Up." Lank isn't pleased to see a rival for Polly's affections.
Bobby finds himself in quite a bind. If he forecloses on the theater he will lose the girl of his dreams. Inspired, he comes up with the idea of putting on a show to pay off the mortgage. Polly agrees to this plan until she finds out who he is and suspects a trick. Bobby and Polly are both heartbroken, but Bobby decides to put on the show anyway... disguised as Mr. Zangler. Polly, deeply hurt, expresses her loneliness in "Someone to Watch Over Me."
A few days later, ten Follies Girls on vacation from The Zangler Follies appear like a mirage in the desert. Bobby has asked them to help stage a spectacular show in Deadrock. When the men of Deadrock see the girls, the sleepy town becomes very lively. Lank Hawkins continues to express extreme dislike for the show, threatening to shoot Bobby. Rehearsals for the show aren't going well and the cowboys in particular are terrible dancers. Bobby changes all that in the course of one rehearsal with the song "Slap That Bass." Spirits are now at a high point. Meanwhile, to Bobby's dismay, Irene arrives, threatening to expose Bobby's charade, and Polly has fallen in love with Bobby's impersonation of Zangler. She expresses her love for Zangler with the song "Embraceable You."
Opening night arrives, with everyone's hopes high ("Tonight's the Night!"). Sadly, everyone is disappointed to find that the only people to arrive at the show are Eugene and Patricia Fodor, British tourists writing a guidebook on the American West. What starts out as a disappointment changes into the realization that the show has galvanized the once sleepy town. They celebrate with a spirited rendition of "I Got Rhythm" while the real Zangler stumbles unnoticed into the town, almost dehydrated, and collapses just as the scene ends.
;Act 2
In Lank's saloon Bobby is professing his love to Polly. Unfortunately, she is still in love with the man who she thinks is Zangler. Bobby is about to convince Polly that he has been impersonating "Zangler" when the real Zangler stumbles into the saloon looking for Tess.
Zangler finds Tess, but refuses her request to produce the show. Tess storms off, and Zangler, now drunk after being disgusted by the town, bemoans his fate. Bobby, dressed like Zangler, reels in to drown his sorrow over losing Polly. Drunk and depressed, the two men act as mirror images of each other, and lament their lost loves in "What Causes That."
The next morning, Polly sees the two Zanglers and realizes what has happened. She slaps Bobby and leaves in a huff, while the townsfolk prepare for a meeting at the theater to discuss what to do with the show. Irene comes to Bobby in one final attempt to make him go back to New York with her, but Bobby rejects her, and states his love for Polly. Immensely frustrated with Bobby, Irene seduces Lank in "Naughty Baby."
The townsfolk are all now gathered at the theater. Bobby is all for trying the show again, while Polly thinks they should abandon the venture. The Fodors counsel the dejected townspeople to keep a "Stiff Upper Lip," which includes a parody of the barricade scene from ''
'', but by the end of the song only Polly, Everett, Bobby, and Tess still think the show should continue.
Everyone but Bobby and Polly leave the theater. Bobby prepares to leave for New York, professing that his memories of Polly will never fade in "They Can't Take That Away from Me." Polly realizes, too late, that she does love Bobby, and after he leaves, laments her loss in "But Not For Me."
Meanwhile, Bela Zangler decides to put on the show as a favor to Tess; the two seem to be in love once more. Although he had been planning to cast Bobby as the lead, he makes Polly the star of the show after learning that Bobby has left for New York.
Six weeks later, Bobby is still thinking of Deadrock as he works in his mother's bank. For his birthday, Mrs. Child gives him the Zangler theater (Zangler has used all his money on the show in Deadrock). While initially ecstatic, Bobby realizes that his love for Polly is worth more in "Nice Work if You Can Get It," and leaves with Mrs. Child for Deadrock to pursue Polly.
Meanwhile, Polly has decided to leave for New York to look for Bobby, who arrives in Deadrock just after she leaves. After learning that Polly has left to find him, he leaves the stage to "wash up" before driving back to New York to catch her. Bobby's mother and Irene (who is now married to Lank) notice each other, and start an argument. Everett notices Mrs. Child, and falls head-over-heels in love with her, as shown in a reprise of "Things Are Looking Up." His affections are reciprocated, and immediately afterwards, Polly reenters with Custus, one of the cowboys. Custus was trying to give Polly a ride to the station, but his car ran out of gas, and Polly has missed the train to New York. Together the townspeople concoct a plan, and Polly and Bobby are finally reunited in the "Finale."