A stage struck young man from New York is given a mission: Foreclose on a theater in the desolate Nevada town of Deadrock. He falls in love with the owner’s daughter and, in true Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland fashion, they decide to ‘put on a show’ to pay off the mortgage.
Sounds corny, but playwright Ken Ludwig (“Lend me a Tenor”) has strung together a flimsy plot with nostalgic Gershwin tunes that create a sure-fire platform for “Crazy for You,” the season opener at the Ocala Civic Theatre.
Lead Johnny Williams pushes this show to the top with an outstanding performance as the young New Yorker, Bobby Childs. He is a triple threat performer who can sing, act, and dance. His mirrored impersonation of ‘famous’ Broadway Director Bela Zangler (Richard Jude Price) is the comic hit scene of the show.
Gina England creates just enough chemistry as the Tom-boy daughter, Polly, to keep the plot plausible. She leads the company in song and dance with a rousing “I’ve Got Rhythm” number at the close of Act One. Secondary roles are well handled by Melissa Anne Baller, Joy Newkirk, Tom Ferreira.
Chorus members get plenty of exposer and scripted laughs. However, the eight Follies Show Girls disappoint with out-of-sync occasions.
Director/Choreographer SuSu Sparkman neatly ties everything together for this 1992 Tony Award Winning Musical
OTC’s “Crazy for you” is a fun, fast-moving musical that is sure to have you humming one of Gershwin’s songs like “Someone to Watch Over Me” on the way home.
For further information visit www.ocalacivictheatre.com.
Jack Petro is a Villager and reviews productions for Villages-News.com
