Known as one of the biggest Broadway dance shows of all time, Crazy For You exploded onto the stage at Theatre Royal Nottingham earlier this week to a packed house.
Starring Tom Chambers as Bobby Child, Charlotte Wakefield as Polly Baker and Caroline Flack as Irene, the show is high energy, non-stop entertainment and a hoot to boot.
The musical follows the tale of Bobby Child whose overbearing mother wants him to give up chasing his dream of becoming a song and dance man to work in the family banking business.
Bobby is engaged to Irene but he really isn't 'into her' so when he goes to Deadrock, in Nevada, to put the paperwork in place to close on the town’s abandoned theatre. However, not all goes to plan and he falls head over heels in love with the daughter of the owner of said theatre, gorgeous leading lady, Polly.
Feisty, fiery and definitely her own woman, Polly falls in love with Bobby too, but because of a case of mistaken identity – mainly because Bobby is posing as another person as well as himself - she thinks she is in love with New York theatrical agent Bella Zangler (Neil Ditt).
The scenes which include Bobby masquerading as Zangler, and Zangler himself, are joyous and this is mainly down to Paul Hart's exquisite direction and Nathan Wright’s intricate choreography.
The story is cleverly told through the lens of the theatre and as a member of the audience, I actually felt part of the production. And if this wasn't enough to tempt you to watch the show, Crazy For You features some of the Gershwin brother's best-loved compositions including They Can’t Take That Away From Me, I've Got Rhythm, Embraceable You and Someone To Watch Over Me which Wakefield absolutely nailed.
Chambers' comedic timing is par excellence which, if I am honest, I wasn't really expecting. I was expecting fabulous tap dancing but had no idea he was such a versatile stage actor.
From start to finish the stage was absolutely oozing with talent and, as Chambers mentioned in a previous interview (with my good self I hasten to add), everyone on stage is a quadruple threat. Not only can the cast act, sing and dance, but they also play at least one musical instrument.
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Christopher Fry (saloon owner Lank Hawkins) certainly knows what he's doing with a trombone, and Ned Rudkins-Stow (cow hand Moose) is a complete genius on the double bass. In fact, there is sometimes so much happening on stage, it's hard to know who to focus on. Perhaps I should go back for a second look when the show performs in Birmingham later this month because I can't help being a little bit 'crazy for' this show
Crazy For You will perform at Theatre Royal, Nottingham, until Saturday, October 7 and tickets are available by calling 0115 989 5555 or by logging on to www.trch.co.uk
Performances will take place 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
