The high energy, high kicking and gloriously glamorous Crazy For You is set to quickstep onto the Nottingham stage next week.
Starring Tom Chambers as Bobby, Caroline Flack as Irene and Charlotte Wakefield as Polly, the multi-award winning, romantic comedy is filled with great dance numbers which will have audiences tapping their feet, and possibly dancing in the aisles.
Crazy For You charts the troubled love story of Bobby, son of a wealthy New York banking family and frustrated Broadway hoofer, and Polly, daughter of the proprietor of a failing theatre in Deadrock, Nevada. Sent to close the theatre down, Bobby falls for Polly and, in the guise of a Hungarian impresario, decides to save the theatre by putting on a show.
Said Tom: "The show is unbelievable. It's like Tarzan meets Gene Kelly meets Ace Venture Pet Detective. There is lots of leaping about and it's like having to be an Olympic athlete. Without a doubt it is my favourite show. Although it was written in the 90s, it still has the Gershwin Hollywood glamour and great music. It is full of brilliant songs."
Tom is no stranger to the show. He first saw it in 1992 when Ruthie Henshall was starring as Polly Baker, a role she was nominated of an Olivier award.
The 40-year-old said: "When I saw the show 25 years ago I thought I would love to play Bobby. The main difference though is that the show is now a quadruple threat because all the actors are playing instruments on stage. It's absolutely staggering, you almost don't know where to look. Producer Jamie Wilson has reinvigorated the show with not having the orchestra in the pit."
But does Tom have to play an instrument throughout the show?
The dad of two said: "I get to play the trumpet, but not for very long, I also pick up a couple of spoons and drumsticks. My character does so much singing and dancing, there's not much room for him to do anything else."
Born in Derbyshire and educated at Repton School where he met his wife Clare, Tom's in-laws live in the South Derbyshire village of Willington and often calls in for a Christmas pint at The Brickmaker's, in Newton Solney.
Tom is no stranger to hoofing it on stage. In 2008 he won the sixth season of Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Camilla Dallerup. He then went on to create the role of Jerry Travers in the West End musical Top Hat, for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
Upcoming arena tours
Most recently he has been seen in the hit BBC drama Casualty and his other TV credits include Holby City and Waterloo Road. His recent stage credits include the UK tour of Private Lives, and White Christmas in the West End.
Since taking on the role, Tom has had to be aware of his diet, more so than in any other role – including Top Hat.
He said: "I have been seeing a nutritionist to make sure I eat a proper diet and a lot of the food I eat is scientifically designed. I have to take electrolytes minerals, and always porridge mixed in with whey powder, bananas and cinnamon. I have egg whites and orange juice and I have now just read in the newspaper that if you have 80gs of beetroot within 90 minutes of exertion your muscles repair more quickly."
Energetic as the show many be, it features a fabulous score from the Gershwin brothers' songbook including I Got Rhythm, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Embraceable You and They Can't Take That Away From Me, which is a particular favourite of Tom's and sees the duet sung by his character Bobby and Polly.
Joining Tom and Charlotte is presenter and Strictly Come Dancing champion Caroline Flack who plays the role of Irene, Bobby's fiancé.
Said Tom: "We are engaged but Bobby won't commit because he 'isn't that into her' and then falls in love with Polly. Caroline Flack deliberately didn't want to take the lead. It's her first musical and she's been very clever with her tactics and calls herself the third banana. She has a brilliant song Naughty Baby and her character is sassy and spicy.
"The show is ideal for all the family. There is a lot of mistaken identity which has elements of farce and slapstick. My son William watched it last year while the show was being developed at The Watermill Theatre, in Newbury, and he was only five."
Crazy For You will perform from Tuesday, October 3 until Saturday, October 3 at Nottingham Theatre Royal and tickets are available by calling 0115 989 5555 or by logging on to www.trch.co.uk
It will also perform at Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday, October 24 until Friday, October 28 and tickets are available by calling 0884 338 5000 or via the website at www.birminghamhippodrome.com
