CRAZY FOR YOU tour 11/27: impressive...

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/27/04 at 9:55pm

I had already planned on treating myself, since it is the Thanksgiving weekend, to a performance of the national tour of CRAZY FOR YOU, despite the bad note the show received in the San Diego Union Tribune. Basically the critic trashed the show for being an unorganized non-equity mess, and I couldn't DISagree more. Non-Equity? Maybe. A mess? Hardly.

I'm happy to report the two leads Doug Barton as Bobby Child and Kelly Lynn Cosme as Polly Baker, respectively, are both perfectly suited to each other and couldn't be more charming, even if they tried too. The cast is mostly fresh out of college and eager to impress and boy do they ever! Fleatcher Young as Bela Zangler was just a treat. He's incredibly funny and fun to watch. Sarah Townsend Turner as Irene is a sexy society woman with tons of appeal. And while she is initially after Bobby it is clear why she later chooses to seduce Lank Hawkins. Lank, played by the incredibly sexy Josh Mertz seems to be the only sane man on stage. Not to mention hot.

**** HUNK REPORT ****

The hunk report is fine here with tons of chorus-boy eye candy to please all. Not to mention one brave chorus boy who removes his shirt for "Tonight's the Night" and while he's not all buff, the light hits him in just a way that is very distracting. I'm writing him a letter as I type this. Although, it's not a complaint. Oh, and there's enough T&A to please all our straight and lesbian friends, too.

**** END OF HUNK REPORT ****


The choreography, while lacking the pizzazz of the original by Susan Stroman, is serviceable and breathes fresh air into the dance numbers that are so fun to watch I was practically floating off of my seat. New choreographic elements include an extended dance with Bobby, Polly and the girls for "Nice Work if You Can Get It" and a sort of wedding sequence for the finale. Great dancing from everyone. The book is played down a bit, not quite so milked for every single laugh like the version that was broadcast on PBS which is a welcomed change.

The costumes have been redone too. The pictures I saw for this tour had some pretty lame as$ sh*t on the chorus girls for the finale, but it's been fixed... thank God. Polly is still wearing pants for the beginning of the show and I'm not sure if women were wearing pants in the 1930s, even in Nevada, but, hey, if they were, then I have no complaints about that; good research.

The sets for this tour are fine. Lately, I've seen some really bad sets for equity and non-equity tours alike, but I was very pleased with these sets. They were simple yet elegant and looked amazing even up close in my third row seats. I was very happy with the set for the inside of the theatre. It wasn't just another backdrop. I thought the effect was very good indeed. Obviously, you won't see adds for Pepsi Cola for the backdrop of New York, but hey, that kind of stuff is overrated anyway.

The nine-man orchestra with some prerecorded music went unnoticed by me. I couldn't hear the difference. In fact, the overture and entr'acte were highlights of the evening. Although, who would say no to three minutes of Gershwin? Not me. The sound which was also bashed by a critic was great tonight. I hesitate to even say it was almost too loud, but it was just perfect for me.

For a non-equity national tour I was impressed. I was expecting chaos, but these guys and gals pulled through. I highly recommend it. It's great fun. The old ladies *cough* excuse me, I mean, the rest of the audience... seemed to have a fun time too. I'll be humming Gershwin probably all through the night and into morning.

CRAZY FOR YOU the new GERSHWIN muscical comedy continues to run at the San Diego Civic Theatre through November 28th.

http://www.broadwaysd.com/

P.S. I'm still looking for anyone who can put the PBS CRAZY FOR YOU on DVD for me. If that's you, please PM me. Thanks. Updated On: 11/27/04 at 09:55 PM

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 11/27/04 at 10:12pm

Great review. I am glad you had a good time.

[Broadway_freak]

Posted: 11/27/04 at 10:53pm

Thanks for the much needed positive review! I regret not going to see it while it was in town!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/28/04 at 1:47pm

bump

[DoReMi]

Posted: 11/28/04 at 3:32pm

Thanks for the review.

Would it be possible to post the cast list..or does anyone know if it's on line? It's not at the Networks site.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/28/04 at 4:50pm

CAST

Bobby Child ... Doug Barton
Polly Baker ... Kelly Lynn Cosme
Bella Zangler ... Fletcher Young
Lank Hawkins ... Josh Mertz
Irene Roth ... Srah Townsend Turner
Everett Baker ... Kevin Murray
Mother ... Elizabeth T. Murff
Tess ... Amanda Lea LaVergne
Patsy ... Meg Kushma
Eugene Fodor ... Will Craighead
Patricia Foder ... Jill Donnelly
Billy ... Chris Suchan
Harry ... Corey P. Gosselin
Pete ... Whit Baldwin
Wyatt ... Gabriel Beck
Custus ... Thomas Howard Felicciardi
Moose ... Shaun Patrick Moe
Jimmy ... Kurtis Overby
Junior ... Christopher George Patterson
Mitzi ... Denise Caston
Louise ... Gina Mzzarella
Elain ... Stacey Sound
Betsy ... Melissa L. Harres
Susie ... Kimberly Denkhaus
Margie ... Amanda Braddock

SWINGS

Bobby Child: Whit Baldwin
Polly Baker: Amanda Lea LaVergne, Stacy Sund
Bella Zangler: Gabriel Beck
Irene Roth: Amanda Lea LaVergne, Gina Mazzarella
Everett Baker: Will Craighead
Mother: Jill Donnelly, Gina Mazzarella
Patricia Foder: Gina Mazzarella
Patsy: Kimberly Denkhaus
Tess: Stacy Sund
Whyatt: Kurtis Overby
Pete, Cowboy Trio, Billy: Christopher George Patterson Updated On: 11/28/04 at 04:50 PM

[joshmertz]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 2:20am

Hey, Josh Mertz and Sarah Turner here from the C4U cast. Just wanted to say THANKS so much for the review. We really appreciated your taking the time to compliment us. We have a lot of fun every night in this show, and are really glad that others enjoy it, too! Thanks so much again! Happy Belated Thanksgiving.
Your Naughty Babies,
Josh and Sarah

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 2:51am

gosh ... how embarrassing. had I known they were reading I wouldn't have phrased some of that in the way I did. I mean sure, the hunk report, I had to include that, it's expected of me, I always do, but now Josh knows that I think he's hot! ugh... I have to be more careful around here...

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 10:12am

Awwww...welcome Josh and Sarah from the site's national tour freak.

Hey CATS, are you aware that there is a video feature on http://www.broadwaysd.com?

Updated On: 11/29/04 at 10:12 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/29/04 at 4:17pm

YES! That's a cool little feature...

[whitsings]

Posted: 12/14/04 at 11:40pm

Yeah, this is Whit Baldwin also from the C4U cast. Yeah, reading your review made us all very happy. Our Stage Manager printed it out and put it on our callboard. Anyway thanks for coming to the show and liking it. We appreciate it!