Crazy for You, a production directed by University President Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A., Ph.D., is taking to the stage at the John and Joan Mullen Center for the Performing Arts from Feb. 22 to Feb. 29.
Crazy for You is a 1992 Tony-award winner for Best Musical, written by Ken Ludwig. It was heavily inspired by Girl Crazy, a musical by George and Ira Gershwin. The musical follows Bobby Child (Ryan Skerchak), an aspiring dancer from New York who works as a banker for his mother. He travels to Deadrock, Nevada to investigate a customer who has defaulted on a mortgage and upon arrival, Bobby falls for Polly Baker (Meghan Dietzler). Polly’s father owns the Gaiety Theatre, the property he was sent to seize. A lovestruck Bobby hatches a plan to save the theater, but when Polly finds out he works for the bank, she angrily casts him out. Bobby disguises himself as a Hungarian producer from New York named Bela Zangler (Nathan Trementozzi) and puts on a show with his friends, leading the townsfolk to help Polly save the theatre.
Crazy for You is filled with love triangles and mistaken identities. Polly falls for Bobby disguised as Bela Zangler, until the real Bela Zangler shows up to Deadrock, throwing wrench after wrench into Bobby’s plan. This makes the love story more engaging, as it is not as straightforward or cliché as viewers might expect. Skerchak and Dietzler dazzle in their roles, and their on-stage chemistry through dance feels as though Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made their earthly return to Villanova, PA. Despite my inclination towards the romantic aspect of the show, I was also overarchingly rooting for a stronger community—a bridge between New York and Deadrock, between the new and the old, between modernism and tradition.
Crazy for You is told largely through dance.
“[The] story also takes place in two different cities—New York City and the fictional Deadrock, Nevada…the music and choreography are modeled to fit the personas of those locations and the individuals who live there,” Crazy for You’s choreographer, Kevin Dietzler, said.
Dietzler adapted the concepts created by Susan Stroman, the choreographer of the original production, to keep the spirit of the “traditional American Broadway musical, the kind you would see in movies and on stage in the first half of the 20th century” alive.
And there is certainly something nostalgic about Crazy for You.
“The show [is] filled with nostalgia, joy and thrill,” Skerchak said.
There are elements of the musical that are very reminiscent of the gilded glitz and glamor of Old Hollywood, making it exciting and lively. The “Zangler Follies” in the show mirror the Ziegfeld Follies of the early 20th century.
“[They] always featured big elaborate sets and costumes,” Dietzler said of the famous revue.
Everything comes together quite aptly in the finale, which perfectly encapsulates the entire show. The ultimate triumph of Bobby and Polly’s love and the salvation of the Gaiety Theatre provide the happy ending audience members hope for. The scene begins with Bobby and Polly, dressed in white, waltzing in a sea of blackness and ends with the entire cast, including Zangler’s Follies and the Deadrock townsfolk, dressed in red Gentlemen Prefer Blondes-type dresses and suits, in musical and metaphorical harmony. In all, Crazy for You exudes vitality and warmth, and is worth a watch for any Villanova student looking for a fun escape.
Crazy for You has two performances remaining: Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 29 at 8 p.m.
