Arts & Leisure
Audience crazy about "Crazy for You" at the Ogunquit Playhouse
By Rose Safran
OGUNQUIT - Remember the rhythmic "tap, tap, tap" of tap dancing?
Remember the swiftly swirling, energetic engaging body movements of a natural dancer - a James Cagney or Fred Astaire? Remember melodies you seem to hum, even whistle, as you leave the theater? Remember singers who gave their all, could belt out tunes from deep down in the gut? Remember the glittering costumes of The Old-Fashioned Follies - Flo Ziegfield-style? And extravagant stage sets created for fancy, gilded performance houses - to say nothing of brilliant choreography?
No, no - probably not. All that was, perhaps, before your time. Not now.
As a visit to a delightful theatrical performance your parents and/or grandparents may have enjoyed, "Crazy for You," loosely based on the1930's Gershwin hit musical "Girl Crazy," at the Ogunquit Playhouse sure has it all. Opening night, the audience delighted in everything - songs, dances, colorful outfits, sets, wisecracks, one-liners and even in a few amusing glitches, perhaps feeling that they had a glimpse of behind-the-scene problems or were privy to the agony of first night error.
Prior to the opening night performance, apologizing for a late curtain, Artistic Director Brad Kenney explained that, due to the elaborate oversized sets (and they were! - as the locale moved from New York City's Broadway to the Wild West and ultimately inside an old theater), a few problems remained and the audience was going to see a "rehearsal." All those present could re-use their tickets another time to enjoy the "finished" product. Grand gesture, yes - sure to make friends. Politically sound. Necessary? No, as it turned out.
For this was some "rehearsal!" The first night production of this show was one roaring success, sure to get better day after day. How could it be otherwise with music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, tap-dancer-singer-actor Jeffry Denman in the role of the stage-struck playboy Bobby Child who had the testy task of acting as his mother's bank's envoy to close down Deadrock, Nevada's, defunct Gaiety Theatre; singer-dancer Beverly Ward, who handled the role of the Gaiety's heir-apparent Polly with the Tony Award-winning musical's American National Tour; TV favorite Blanche of "The Golden Girls" - namely Rue McClanahan - as Bobby's rich and richly garbed mother; Angie Schworer as the hussy Irene, whose sexy rendition of "Naughty Baby" was one of the many highpoints of the evening; Marc Donovan as the bearded Follies producer Germanic-accented Bela Zangler; Erin Crouch as Tess, the showgirl Zangler woos to no avail and so many others, including an ensemble that delivered time and time again.
Abbreviated, the storyline is: in New York City, glamour girl hussy Irene covets Bobby, who desperately wants to perform in a show but can't get hired by Zangler's Follies. Bobby's mother disapproves of Irene and her son's theater-centered ambitions and sends him west, where he is smitten by cowgirl lass Polly, but Polly isn't having any, especially since he's there on behalf of Mommy's bank to close down her dad's Gaiety Theater, which prospered in Nevada's mining days when the now-deserted town boomed.
Bobby comes up with a scheme that he hopes will save the theater - and win Polly. Disguised as Zangler, he decides to import showgirls and turn the town's crop of unemployed, unoccupied men into performers. Complications arise when Polly falls for the disguised Zangler; i.e., Bobby as Zangler, and subsequently, the real Zangler - as well as Bobby's mother and hussy Irene - all show up in Deadrock. Hilarious episodes ensue, including an engrossing duet with the number, "What Causes That?" with the real Zangler and the disguised Zangler, side by side.
This theatrical concoction takes place amid fine renditions of such unforgettable Gershwin classics as "Embraceable You," "I Got Rhythm," "Someone to Watch over Me," "Bidin' My Time," "Shall We Dance," "But Not For Me" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me."
The stunning, award-winning original choreography by Susan Stroman has been recreated by Kirby Ward, assisted by Melissa Sybil. Ward also directed this fine production, which runs through July 14.
Set design by Robin Wagner and costumes by William Ivey Long are from the 1992 Broadway production which, understandably, ran for four years. In the tradition of the great, glittering American musical, as well as a posthumous tribute to the brilliant Gershwin brothers, co-conceived by Ken Ludwig and Mike Ockrent with the book by Ken Ludwig, "Crazy for You" is a gem.
For further information, 646-5511.
