By Rory McAlpine
Marking 75 years since their inception, DULOG theatre company chose to celebrate this anniversary by bringing the enduringly powerful and beloved Crazy for You musical to life on the Gala Theatre stage. And I choose the phrase ‘to life’ intentionally, for every character and every song performed was a stellar display of creativity, energy, and talent that captivates me throughout the run time.
We are, on opening, introduced to Bobby Child (Michael Nevin), son of a wealthy banking family whose domineering mother is pushing him to take control of part of the family business, but who dreams of pursuing a career as a dancer. Yet, his attempt to audition for producer Bela Zangler (Ollie Cochran) is comedically unsuccessful, quashing his hopes. At the behest of his mother, and to escape his long-term fiancé Irene Roth (Lucy Rogers), Child heads to Deadrock Nevada with instructions to foreclose on the local theatre on behalf of the bank. However, arriving in Deadrock, Child meets and falls for Polly Baker (Connie Richardson), daughter of the theatre owner who, upon finding out his identity as the banker coming to take her family theatre, rejects his pursuits. From there spirals a complicated and ambitious plan by Child to save the theatre, win the heart of Polly, and break free from the life his mother has pre-determined for him. We watch Child’s elaborate scheme unroll and unravel bringing hilarious and unforeseen effects as his best laid plans inevitably go awry.
Nevin’s display of acting, singing, and tap dancing as Child is a delight to behold; his exaggerated facial and body movements strike the balance between comedy and believability, and we simultaneously sympathise and find comedy in his plight. The burgeoning romance between Child and Polly is conveyed in many instances through dance and both Nevin and Richardson are talented in infusing their dance with meaning and truth. Despite a lack of words, we can discern Richardson’s growing love for Child constrained by feelings of betrayal by how she moves and dances with him. This ability to so clearly communicate feelings through choreography is credit to both the actors and choreographers.
Cochran is talented in embodying Zangler’s ‘short fuse personality’, switching from composed suave businesslike to utterly exasperated and enraged when things do not go according to his plan or aims. His character arc from sleazy egotistical producer to local theatre patron occurs in the second act and Cochran’s ability to depict this transformation as a gradual softening of the character is highly effective.
The show travels between two places: New York City and Deadrock Nevada. Impressive set backdrops denote the change in location, but it is the ensembles that create these places. In New York Zangler’s girls, a group of dancers, exude New York glamour and talent while in Deadrock the rocky cowboys we meet are lazy, easily entertained and, to put it politely, not the brightest bulbs in the box. All the ensembles fully embrace their characters, and their interactions are the catalyst of much of the humour. When the Zangler’s girls are recruited by Child to help put on a show in Deadrock, the colliding of these two works and attempts to organise the cowboys to rehearse and learn to dance is a masterstroke in choreography and physicality. All this, with the Zangler’s girls’ beautiful moves contrasted by the bumbling and shuffling movement of the cowboys.
With its status as a musical, the role of the orchestra should not be underplayed. Out of sight in the orchestra pit, they flawlessly inject the vibrancy and rousingness characteristic of Gershwin’s scores in their music performance, while also matching the energy of the cast. Additionally, the complicated yet seamless set changes and the use of light and sound to enhance the performance is testament to the hard work of the whole backstage team.
Arguably one of Crazy for You’s most iconic numbers, ‘I Got Rhythm’, contains the refrain who could ask for anything more? And when it comes to DULOG’s performance I found myself leaving energised with the music still playing in my head and itchy feet that were keen to dance and so I truly, in answer, could not have asked for anything more.