Theatre Sunday: "Crazy For You"

And a fun time was had by all--pretty much sums up my experience this afternoon at Signature Theatre in Shirlington, Virginia.  The show was "Crazy for you" by Ken Ludwig with music by the Gershwins.  A fact that guaranteed an excellent score.  But the best melodies and lyrics and the world aren't much good if you don't have the chops to actually sing them!  And for this cast, that was not an issue.

The show itself is an homage to the 1930/1940's boy meets girl, girl's about to loose the family, boy says, "Hey!  I know.  We can put on a show!"  A cliché so time honored that you really don't need much a plot after that, right?  And you don't have much of one, but unlike some shows where this is a problem, here's there's just no time for something that trivial to get in the way of the fun.  The dialogue is a good 75% world-play, double entendre, zingers of the very vaudevillian sort and the rest just gets characters from geographic
location to the next as needed.  It's the sort of show that was tailor made for hi-jinx and calamity.

The leads are delightful.  Danny Gardner is the perfect Bobby Childs.  He's lanky and energetic and dog-gone lovable.  And the man can tap his way into your faster than you can say "Deadrock, Nevada", which is where most of this fantasy romance is set.  To that end Ashley Spencer is not only a magnificent singer, but embodies the very essence of the hard exterior-ed western heroine with a soft heart buried not to deep inside.  Together, they made an idyllic pair for this genre.

Two of the supporting cast deserve special mention.  Thomas Adrian Simpson was absolutely deft in his ability to switch between the cowpoke Pete and the bon vivant world-traveller Eugene Fodor--it was a chameleon-like tour de force.  And Helen Hedman who was actually a substitute performing for this day took on the roles of Mother and Patricia Fodor as if they had been written with her alone in mind.  I know the actor who is cast in this part regularly and I honestly can say that as wonderful as she, too, is--I'm glad that I saw this musical with Helen instead.

My view of the stage

The ensemble was a joy, and brought you more tap dancing than a body has the right to expect.  In fact, the only thing in the show in greater quantities than the pithy dialogue was the tap dancing.  All of which was expertly delivered.  As the set, it was find, but the real story for this show were the costumes.  SO many beautiful and interesting costumes and at times quick changes that seemed to defy logic, but not theater magic.

And for a jolly good time, you have until the end of the month to go see one for yourself!

Danny Gardner as Bobby Child in the center with the ladies of the chorus line.  

Ashley Spencer as Polly Baker and Danny Gardner as Bobby Child.