Crazy for You

BASOP’s production of Crazy for You is a great vintage musical although it premiered in this form initially in 1992!
This had everything in spades! Music, dance, tap, action, humour and pathos. The fantastic opening overture from
the 16-piece orchestra was enough to get the whole audience clapping and singing along! Who can resist a medley of
Gershwin songs to lead us into the story of Bobby Child and his ambition to dance. The band, led by the talented
James Green, was terrific and the harmonies and melodies he coaxed out of the cast, were wonderful.

Bobby, played by Joe Drury Jun, is every inch a leading man. His stage craft encompasses stage presence, comedic
timing, tap dancing and an amazing voice. I have followed his progress for a good few years now, and every show he
is in he continues to amaze me with his talent and ability to fill the stage with such awesome personality. The energy
he brings to the character of Bobby is terrific. Alongside Joe is Charlotte Cavedasca as Polly. Oh, my word, this is
another amazing talent that I have seen grow over the years. Charlotte’s voice is strong, clear and beautifully
produced even after taking part in some very energetic dance routines. Her characterisation of the no-nonsense only
female in the town of Deadrock was masterly. She sang ‘Someone to Watch over me’ so beautifully that it sent
shivers down my spine.

I must talk about Bela Zangler alias Joe Drury Snr. Always a great character actor and leading man, Joe Snr, alongside
Joe Jun, took part in many extremely amusing scenes, but none so clever and witty as the scene where Bobby
dresses up as Bela Zangler and they act, in tandem, over the bar, drowning their sorrows, without noticing that they
look identical and mirroring each other’s actions! In fact, I found it difficult to tell them apart dressed in exactly the
same outfits. There were many stand out moments in the show and this was certainly one of them.

The choreography in this show was outstanding. I know that the company have held tap dancing classes all through
the winter led by Vikki Purton, the director and choreographer. Vikki is an amazingly talented director and
choreographer and I knew this show was the perfect vehicle to showcase her talents. The Follies Girls emerging from
a bottomless car and establishing the first of many astounding routines brought deep joy to many in the audience. In
the second act, the tray routine was equally impressive! And, girls, you kept the cheesy grins on your faces all
through each dance, although I expect they were grins of pure enjoyment as you knew we were all there to see the
Busby Berkeley type routines done so perfectly. You were amazing. I loved the pink tutu costumes and
congratulations to the costume team for sourcing and hiring such gorgeous outfits.

Now to three gentlemen whose costumes and demeanour were equally impressive. Sean Hynes as Moose (as in
yogurt), Alex Wood as Sam and Jake Portsmouth as Mingo. These were the Cowboy trio who were resident in
Deadrock, Nevada along with Polly and her father, Everett Baker played by Darrell Jackson. Sean was a brilliant idiot
cowboy, just the right amount of daftness, Jake was a charmingly bemused fella, albeit with an encyclopaedic
knowledge of theatre, and connected with the audience in a distracted smiling fashion so well. Alex looked as if he
was enjoying every minute. Rob Morley as Lank Hawkins was the nasty chap who wanted to buy the theatre and
marry Polly. His shooting skills were great, especially to the surprise of Bobby and Bella…and a great relief when all
the cowboys got up again! The group of cowboys were great fun in all the songs, I loved ‘The real American Folk song
is a Rag’ and the moves to ‘Slap that Base’.

Charlotte Lake as Irene had the unenviable role of being the unpleasant fiancé. I’m afraid you succeeded too well,
Charlotte! You delivered some killer lines with great timing and your happy ending was great fun. Yet another great
voice in the song ‘Naughty Baby’. Diane Hills as Bobby’s mother, Lottie Child, has such a soft, warm voice and played
the indifferent exasperated mother so well. Sarah Drury and Michael Willis as the two British travel writers sent to
review the hotel, Patricia and Eugene Fodor, were very funny. What fabulous explorer outfits you were both
sporting. I must just pick out Tess, Bela Zangler’s love interest, played by Katie Lee, and Patsy her friend, played by
Reanna Fenn. You gave terrific ‘cutesy’ performances as well as being great dancers.

The cast seemed very busy but purposeful as you danced, acted and moved scenery and props. The set consisted of a
hired flat, revolving trucks and a wonderfully illuminated city cloth. I loved the way the whole show flowed smoothly
from one scene to the next and the moving of the revolving trucks seemed almost like dance moves. The carefully
practiced set changes all happened at once, mostly with an underscore, and then settled at the same time to allow
the lights to come up and the action continue. Congratulations to the stage manager, Mathew Purton for overseeing
all of that.

Sound and light were mainly on time but a few late cues didn’t affect the running of the show. Considering the little
time you have to rehearse; I am always impressed at the quality of both. The grid pattern over the lights was a little
distracting but the overall design was really good.

You must all feel so delighted with what you have produced. The audience and I really enjoyed every second of your
show and your standing ovation was richly deserved. Thank you very much for a fabulous evening.

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