A delightful Gershwin cocktail is being served at The Country Playhouse Theatre here and the audience is drinking it with gusto.
The ambitious production stays true to the sweet spirit of the Gershwin era while staying in touch with the ever changing witticisms of the moment. Crazy For You reminds the audience how the arts can reveal a finer side of human nature, ultimately uplifting and endearing, whether in wartime or in these stressful times of modern day living.
Crazy for You, a 1992 Broadway Tony award winner, is loosely based on the 1930s hit, Girl Crazy, with such timeless tunes as Embraceable You, I Got Rhythm and Bidin’ My Time by George Gershwin, with poetic lyrics by his brother, Ira. Add the book by Ken Ludwig, and, while they were at it, several other indelible Gershwin hits such as Naughty Baby, and the result is intoxicating.
The story is centres around Bobby Child, poor little rich banker boy who unwillingly travels to Deadwood, Nevada to foreclose on a small theatre owned by Polly Baker and her father. Love at first sight has him determined to salvage the theatre and win Polly’s heart. That no-small-feat engages 24 talented players and eight fine musicians to accomplish.
David Spangenthal is Child, a new-to-Drayton actor hailing from Broadway. The demanding role has the talented actor barging through every scene with agility, dance ability, and likability. He also does an hilarious impersonation of "big New York producer" Bela Zangler, played just as mumbly accented and hilariously by Laurie Murdoch. A scene in which the drunken twosome mirror each other is rib splitting.
This guise is an effort to further his chances with Polly Baker, played by Jackie Mustakas, a veteran of the Drayton stage and reprising her Royal Alex Theatre role. Her performance is professional and enchanting. She enthralls with her rendition of Someone to Watch Over Me. (And yes, she is the wife of Drayton Theatre’s artistic director Alex Mustakas.)
Among many other notable performances is Lorena MacKenzie as Irene Roth, the sassy and thwarted but-not-for-long fiancee of Child. Her rendition of Naughty Baby is delightful.
Paul Brown, as Polly’s father, Everett, and Karen Edissi and Keith Savage as the Fodor siblings are all Drayton favourites with never fail appeal.
The chorus and dancers are infectious with their enthusiasm, energy, and charm. The loveable singing cowboys from Deadwood and the gorgeous gals from New York team up to put on a performance that will save the day.
Although the singing throughout is not quite flawless, the delivery is amazing. One example is a scene in which the dancers use simple wooden chairs as props, piling them to great heights. Baker and Child are left atop when the whirlwind clears. It verges on miraculous how the pair descend from their precarious perch, still singing, and without loss of life or limb.
Director David Connolly had his work cut out for him here and stitched it with craftsmanship, allowing each performer to shine.
The set by Jean Claude Olivier is wonderfully ingenious. From the beautifully painted moving and folding backdrops, to the swanky bottomless pit of a car to the working cuckoo clock, all add greatly and seemingly effortlessly to the spectacle.
Costume Designer Rachel Berchtold has created a dazzling array of costumes worthy of any Broadway stage. The feathers and sequins, headdresses, and seas of adorned legs are wonderful to behold.
Ethel Merman in her originating role in Girl Crazy said she saw in George Gershwin a man totally fulfilled in his life. Theater goers here can appreciate that feeling for the moment.
There is still time to get tickets for Crazy For You which plays through Nov. 18. Tickets can be ordered by calling the box office at 519-747-7788 or toll free at 1-888-449-4463, or visit www.stjacobscountryplayhouse.com.
