Crazy For You - Artistry

I saw the preview performance of Crazy For You at Artistry last night and it was everything I wanted it to be. WOW. The show first came on the scene in 1992 on Broadway and was called the "New Gershwin Musical." It borrowed heavily from the George and Ira Gershwin show "Girl Crazy" but with an updated and new script written by Ken Ludwig. The original production won three Tony Awards, and I remember seeing it on tour here in the Twin Cities. I have seen a few other productions of Crazy For You since then but nothing like the incredible production at Artistry in Bloomington. 

Photo by Sam Lavine

They did an amazing job! The show originally has multiple locations, and I remember the original production was big and lavish with a car rolling on stage and showgirls coming out of in non-stop...like a clown car. It was a fantastic spectacle. The Artistry production, directed by Ben Bakken, is set in a classic Bandstand style, with no scenery beyond a platform towards the back of the stage, and the logo hanging there. On that stage is a 20-piece orchestra on raised platforms with a piano and drum kit in the center - all led by the iconic and amazing Anita Ruth. Ruth conducts from a raised platform which also doubles as a playing space for the actors. In front of that is a wide step down, and nothing more. To each side of the platform are three boxes that allow for two rows of three chairs behind them. This is where the incredible cast sit when they are not performing...and yet they are always focused on the action and never a distraction. I'm not sure how else to describe the setting - but with the Bandstand style, the production works so well. It doesn't need big scenery, or big costumes to tell the story. This production focuses the story on the music, the singing, and the dance - which is exactly what it should be.

Speaking of music, singing, dancing - they were all phenomenal. The eleven person ensemble was there to play multiple roles, sing and dance - all while keeping the focus on the story being told. The choreography by Elly Stahlke and Kyle Weiler was a brilliant combination of classic ballroom dance, mixed with tap, jazz, modern, and Fosse. Believe me when I tell you that this cast made up of a variety of bodies and body shapes (which I loved) are all triple-threats. They could all sing, and act, and dance up a storm! Sheer perfection. Fronting the ensemble is the aforementioned Kyle Weiler playing the lead.

Photo by Sam Lavine

The story is your standard engaged boy (who is stuck in a banking job but just wants to dance and perform) meets girl (stuck out in the west and who hates him when she finds out who he is), loses girl, but love reigns in the end. The boy is Bobby Child, played perfectly by Weiler. He is sent away from New York by his mother in order to foreclose on a property in Dead Rock Nevada. When he gets there, he falls for Polly Baker, played impeccably by Annika Isbell. Polly knows that someone named Bobby is going to come to try to foreclose on the theatre her and her father own. However Polly and Bobby start falling in love before she realizes who he actually is. This is where the fun really begins. Bobby decides the only way to make things right and to save the theatre from the bank he represents, is to pretend to be a big time Broadway Producer Bela Zangler. His goal is to create and put on a show that will raise money and save the theatre, and make Polly fall in love with him.

Needless to say things don't always go the way they are planned. However there is great comedy in this, along with cowboys, showgirls, Gershwin songs, a happy ending, and did I mention a 20-piece live orchestra, and a phenomenal cast? Honestly, you can't go wrong.