Crazy For You

[suttonequalslove]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 7:52pm

My school is doing Crazy for You this year. I have personally only heard of this show a few times. What are your opinions of it?

Updated On: 8/2/11 at 07:52 PM

[mrweasel2]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 9:02pm

I love Crazy For You! The music is wonderful and has spots for some really great dance numbers

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 9:48pm

It's Gershwin. You dont need to know anything else.

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 10:14pm

Wonderful music. I've seen it everywhere from French Woods to regional theatres.

[Sauja]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 10:19pm

It was only the second Broadway show I ever saw, so I can't be totally objective, but I absolutely loved it. And, of course, the music cannot be beaten. Lots of great ensemble stuff, and whoever gets to play Irene should have a blast with it. Aww...now I want it to come back!

[Dre2387]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 10:33pm

I'm 24 now, and Crazy For You was my first musical that I saw when I was 6. At the end, I gave them a standing ovation and had no idea what I was doing. The music is incredible, the humor in the show is so simple yet so funny. I had the cassette tape since I saw the show and I worn it down. And what I love is the music is from the 1920s, but the story was written for the music in 1990s. Yeah, it similar to Girl Crazy but Ken Ludwig (known more for comedic plays) really did a great job.

So, to make a long story short, I love the musical and so jealous your school is doing it. Have fun!

[jacobp]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 10:43pm

LOVE THE SHOW. its perfect for school's because there are a lot of great parts in it.

[suttonequalslove]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 11:35pm

Thanks all! I was a little worried when I first heard, but after all of your feedback I feel much better.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 12:12am

one of my top five FAVORITE shows. I LOVE Crazy for You. It is a feel-good show in EVERY way.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 1:11am

There are a very few truisms in theatre, but one of them is absolute: if it has a score by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin, you simply cannot go wrong. Period. End of story.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 2:37am

Updated On: 8/3/11 at 02:37 AM

[allofmylife]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 2:44am

You should note a few things.

The orchestra for opening night of Girl Crazy was perhaps the greatest pit band ever assembled. It included Glenn Miller, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Red Nicholls and Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman and, on the piano onstage, Roger Edens.

You'll notice how many of the songs from the original ended up in Crazy for You (the rest being recent discoveries from the fabled Warner Bros. storage unit in New Jersey.

The plot is basically the same for both shows and the characters are similar.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 4:40am

Allofmylife, what a fantastic playbill to own. This was Ethel Merman's Broadway debut, where she made theatrical history by her rendition of "I've Got Rhythm" , holding one of the notes forever.

You mention all of the great musicians in the pit for the opening night. I believe I remember reading in Merman's autobiography that George Gershwin himself took over the pit piano for the second act of GIRL CRAZY.

CRAZY FOR YOU is one of my all time favorite Broadway shows. I saw it four times, always sitting in the first row of the second balcony of the Shubert, a great vantage point to see the wonderful rhythmic conducting of pit conductor Paul Gemignani. The male lead, Harry Groener, was just fantastic and is a true triple threat actor. He is vastly under-appreciated. Where did he go after CRAZY FOR YOU? Where is he now?

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 8:28am

What a great piece of cover art! At first, I thought it was Hilary Knight, but for 1930 that's way too early for him. Any ideas who the artist might have been?

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 8:30am

And note: orchestrations by "Russell Bennet", before he added "Robert". I love trivia like that.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 8:38am

That cover is a Hirschfeld, right? It looks similar to the style he used for the original Wizard of Oz poster art at MGM in 1939.

Fantastic to see that and read all the credits.

Talking about triple threats, most people don't mention Ginger Rogers as often as they should. She had a nice, pleasant singing voice ... but she also happened to introduce some of the best American songs ever written: Embraceable You, But Not For Me ... and The Way You Look Tonight, The Continental, etc. Her dancing was legendary, and she won a Best Actress Oscar for a non-musical role in Kitty Foyle.

Now that's a triple threat.

Updated On: 8/3/11 at 08:38 AM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 11:23am

"The male lead, Harry Groener, was just fantastic and is a true triple threat actor. He is vastly under-appreciated. Where did he go after CRAZY FOR YOU? Where is he now?"

He does a lot of TV...and was the main villain in season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and was fantastic!

[Jon]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 11:49am

There's a nice clip of Groener's Tony Awards performance on YouTube. There are also dozens of really terrible high school production clips.

[Tag]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 12:00pm

You used to be able to watch the entire production on Youtube with the OBC. But it was deleted.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 12:12pm

Gypsy9, thanks for the nice comment. Visit some of the links at the bottom of my posts for other vintage programs from my collection.

[pitfever]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 7:20pm

It's one of my fave musical of ALL TIME!! I've seen it 4 times. I hope it will come back soon. I think it's playing out door in the park in London recently?

I have a full production on VHS when it was showing live on PBS. I wish how I can convert it to CD. I still watch it from time to time. Ah, the good old time.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 7:26pm

I've choreographed it two different times with HS students. Everyone had a great time. It's a fun show, great characters, stupendous music! The audiences loved it, too.

Have a fun!

[trentsketch]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 7:59pm

The directors/choreographers I hang with call this show Crazy to Do. So much dancing. Me? I'd love to music direct it. Then again, I'd have the easy job in that scenario.

Love the show. Have fun with the production.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 8:24pm

>> "That cover is a Hirschfeld, right?"

Possibly. Looks a bit angular rather than his generally sweeping curves, but since this is 1930, that could have been his style then.

[Dre2387]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 2:49am

Harry Groener also played King Arthur in Spamalot at some point. He also plays Ted's stepfather on 'How I Met Your Mother.' So awesome!