Is a CRAZY FOR YOU Broadway Revival on the Horizon?

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 4/11/17 at 11:29pm

PLEASE, theatre gods.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Will-Tony-Yazbeck-and-Laura-Osnes-Lead-CRAZY-FOR-YOU-Back-to-Broadway-20170411

Updated On: 4/11/17 at 11:29 PM

[JVJ93]

Posted: 4/11/17 at 11:41pm

A season where this, Sweet Charity, My Fair Lady, Carousel, Dreamgirls, Gypsy, Once on this Island, etc are all opening? Ugh. Revival heaven 

[carnzee]

Posted: 4/11/17 at 11:46pm

Tony Yazbeck was so wonderful in On the Town. This would be glorious. 

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 12:00am

I guess Osnes would have to finish her Bandstand contract first.

 

Unlikely that Rachel Bloom would be able to do it.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 12:19am

Osnes isn't saying no...!

https://twitter.com/LauraOsnes/status/852008867785342977

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 12:25am

Rachel Bloom is a genius and I would love to see her come to Broadway, but it'd be a shame if her debut was an uninteresting part in a second-rate show like this. I know people love it, but I think the book is awful, and the songs and tapping aren't good enough to save it. 

[HBBrock]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 12:27am

Bandstand will be closed long before her contract is done and long before the Spring shows next season.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 1:30am

Yawn. Hard pass to all of this. 

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 2:42am

I thought Tony was in "Prince Of Broadway," or is that a limited run?

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 7:24am

I adore Osnes and Yazbeck, but why? It feels like we get another Gershwin show every 15 minutes. We just had AAIP and before that we had Nice Work..Get It. I don't find the weak books and underdeveloped characters interesting enough to warrant these shows. The only redeemable part of AAIP was the gorgeous ballet sequence in the second act. The Gershwins wrote lovely music, but the songs don't need to keep getting recycled. A concert version for a few nights? Fine. A Broadway revival? No thanks. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 9:00am

BroadwayConcierge said: "Osnes isn't saying no...!

https://twitter.com/LauraOsnes/status/852008867785342977

 

"

so she does BANDSTAND for a year and then CRAZY FOR YOU opens in April 2018?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 9:11am

ACL2006 said: "BroadwayConcierge said: "Osnes isn't saying no...!

https://twitter.com/LauraOsnes/status/852008867785342977

 


so she does BANDSTAND for a year and then CRAZY FOR YOU opens in April 2018?

 

Does anyone really expect Bandstand to run a whole year? 

[Sauja]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 9:21am

TheGingerBreadMan said: "We just had AAIP and before that we had Nice Work..Get It. I don't find the weak books and underdeveloped characters interesting enough to warrant these shows."

 

I'm with you on Nice Work and American in Paris. The former was a snooze, and the latter captured none of the magic of the film. But I still adore Crazy for You. Yes, it's one of many Gershwin jukebox musicals, but to me, it's the one that rises above the others and has a daffy, delightful book that really works. Plus, I'm super bummed that I missed the MCP concert. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

 

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 12:04pm

Judging from the interest here at BWW in the Bandstand preview thread, Ms. Osnes may be available before Independence Day.

I generally agree about the practice of creating a tissue paper thin book and shoveling into it six or seven of the most popular songs of Gershwin or Rodgers and Hart. 

But the one night Lincoln Center production greatly exceeded my expectations and generated all kinds of audience enthusiasm. Maybe not sustainable over a long run.

 

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 12:06pm

I find the book for Crazy for You to be significantly better than the book to either Nice Work or An American in Paris.  I also thought Stroman's work on that show far exceeded any of the choreography for the other two.  So yes, of the three, Crazy for You is far and away the best show. 

And yes, I wouldn't worry much about Ms. Osnes' availability for next spring lol. 

[ntrackbar]

Posted: 4/12/17 at 12:47pm

"Judging from the interest here at BWW in the Bandstand preview thread, Ms. Osnes may be available before Independence Day."

I will never understand the need to find correlation between the BWW threads and actual success for shows. Haven't we learned time and time again that the two are not the same?

Tony Yazbeck is scheduled to appear in Prince of Broadway and Laura is clearly committed to Bandstand. I wish both shows lots of success.

I love CFY and the concert was so special. But anyone that thinks this would be a hit is delusional and those same people would be comparing it unfavorably to OTT in a few months and what a colossal waste it is.

We complain on these boards about lack of new material and here Osnes is originating a role in a brand new musical. Bandstand is so new, it is ridiculously unfair to write it off before it even has a full week of performances. 

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 9:36pm

I will never understand the need to find correlation between the BWW threads and actual success for shows. Haven't we learned time and time again that the two are not the same?

Tony Yazbeck is scheduled to appear in Prince of Broadway and Laura is clearly committed to Bandstand. I wish both shows lots of success."

I was predicting the future, not expressing my opinion. You may be right though in that if everyone goes around saying that Bandstand won't last long, it could discourage people from seeing it.

I have an attachment to the 40s music which came from my mother initially, and an interest in that whole insane decade from reading history. I saw the 2nd preview and made some comments about it on the preview thread to the effect that the show was well done and had lots of energetic singing and dancing, but those enthusiastic about that period should get out and see the show now because I didn't think it would attract a very large following. The preview thread here is Exhibit A.

Maybe I was wrong. Are many people here familiar with the orchestras of Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington? Do many know what unimaginable horror the Marines lived through as they wrested back from the Japanese the islands of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, etc.? Clint Eastwood a few years did a film called Letters from Iwo Jima about the battle for that Island from the Japanese perspective. It was very highly regarded but not a lot of laughs to sit through.

 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 9:53pm

Yes, I'm familiar with the 1940s. I wasn't alive then, but I have books, records, films and documentaries. (Netflix, BTW, just added instructional films produced for American audiences explaining subjects like the rise of Fascism and the history of Japan. They may be offensive by current standards, but they are often pretty funny.)

George Gershwin died in 1937, however, so while his songs were still performed, I'm pretty sure he wasn't working during the war.

Remind me: what is the topic of this thread?

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 11:27pm

Signature Theatre in Arlington is doing "Crazy For You" next season. Considering their recent revivals, Titanic and West Side Story, have put B'way to shame, I look forward to seeing what they do with it.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 12:11am

South Fl Marc said: "Signature Theatre in Arlington is doing "Crazy For You" next season. Considering their recent revivals, Titanic and West Side Story, have put B'way to shame, I look forward to seeing what they do with it."

It's been almost a year and a half and I still think about Signature Theatre's West Side Story often. Truly one of the greatest theatrical achievements I've ever seen.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 1:04am

Well I started out with a very relevant comment since I was actually there for the one night revival (and had Mel Brooks put his hands on my shoulders when he took a short cut through my row):

But the one night Lincoln Center production greatly exceeded my expectations and generated all kinds of audience enthusiasm. Maybe not sustainable over a long run.

From conversations that I had or overheard after it ended the two principal subjects were (1) disbelief that so many people had gone to so much trouble for one performance and (2) will this production end up on Broadway.

The tie-in is that Laura Osnes is named as the desired female lead in any Broadway run, and she is currently starring in another show. Not a bad tie-in. But I'm very bad at going off-topic so I'll take the consequences.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 6/7/17 at 9:48am

Looks like this might happen in the 2018-2019 season...

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Breaking-Susan-Stroman-Will-Direct-Broadway-Bound-CRAZY-FOR-YOU-Revival-in-LA-20170607

[ACL2006]

Posted: 6/7/17 at 10:00am

Might be better off waiting until 2018-19. This season we'll likely have 5 revivals: ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, DREAMGIRLS, MY FAIR LADY, SWEET CHARITY & CAROUSEL. A DAMN YANKEES revival could also sneak in this season.

[bdn223]

Posted: 6/7/17 at 11:24am

Based on the dates and location of the "Pre-Broadway" run it looks like they may succeed in keeping their supporting cast of Hollywood Talent, or at least Rachel Bloom. As She has publicly stated that Crazy Ex Girlfriend was only planned for a 4 season run. So the during the LA engagement Crazy Ex will either be on Hiatus between seasons 3 and 4 or canceled, and then when it comes to Broadway in Late fall 2018  or Winter 2019 Crazy Ex Girlfriend will have either been cancelled or wrapped production for good. 

Also as many have already noted on this thread, Crazy for You is by far the best of the Gershwin Revisal/Jukebox Musicals. The only thing I wonder is how much Stroman will "change" her original breathing choreography so that it is once again eligible for the Tony.

[castlestreet]

Posted: 6/7/17 at 11:49am

This was the first musical I ever did in High School, and I've been in love with it ever since!  It's a very solid show IMO.  I'll be greatly looking forward to this!