A quirk in the scheduling of HRACT-Award eligible shows this year meant that it had been over two months since we’d seen a musical – “much too long” I said to my wife as we walked toward the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach to see “Crazy For You”.  I do love a play, but there is just something about a musical that really hits my soul, with the unexpected song and dance numbers delivering plot points in outlandish ways.  Some musicals use those songs to make important societal points a little more palatable, some are devastating in their emotional gravity, and some are just straight fun.  “Crazy For You” definitely falls in that third category – a musical meant to be enjoyed for exactly what it is, a mix of Billy Elliot’s “boy who just wants to dance” and the Muppets’ “let’s save the theater”, with a Hallmark-style city boy/country girl love story weaved in. 

A good time is what this show is going for – and exactly what director/choreographer Karen Buchheim’s cast and crew achieve.  The show is hugely reliant on a talented leading man to play the role of Bobby Child, the young adult son of a banker who has only ever dreamed of one thing – to be a dancer – but has a bad habit of ending every audition by tapping his way right onto someone else’s foot.  Buchheim’s choice of Kobie Smith for the role was a stroke of genius.  A prior HRACT Award nominee, Smith is perfect as he taps and soft-shoes his way around stage, almost a cartoon of a 1930s leading man (and I don’t mean that in a bad way).  With extraordinary energy, an optimistic spirit, and an ultimatum given to him by his banking mom, he reluctantly heads to Deadrock, Nevada to deliver foreclosure paperwork to the owner of some building out west. 

With a simple yet effective set change designed by Sandy Lawrence and Robert Shirley (I really enjoyed some moving saloon doors that made for seamless indoor/outdoor switches), we are suddenly in an old west town, inhabited by a bunch of lazy, decrepit cowboys I later described to my wife as “an adventure in haircuts”.  And that’s where we (and Bobby) meet her – our leading lady, Polly Baker, played by fellow HRACT Award nominee Merideth Owens.  Polly is the only person in this town who seems to have any motivation left (save for the clear villain – Michael McOsker’s saloon owner/hotelier Lank Hawkins), and also is apparently the only woman within 100 miles.  In that 1930s musical way, Bobby shows up in town, and with a tinkle of the chimes, immediately falls for Polly.  Polly, for her part, is not so smitten, especially when it becomes clear that she is the owner of the building Bobby is there to foreclose on.  Don’t worry though – that building is an old theater, just right for Bobby’s dancing dreams.  So Bobby dresses up as world-famous choreographer Bela Zangler (a fake-it-til-you-make-it situation), calls in some favors (he is friends with the girls in the real Zangler’s show in New York), and goes all-in on saving the theater.

Merideth Owens in the role of Polly is everything you hope for in a heroine from the golden age of musicals.  She matches Smith’s energy perfectly, dances beautifully both with Smith and with her supporting ensemble, and her song “But Not for Me” late in the show is the most impressive vocal performance of the evening.  We could see exactly why Bobby would fall for Polly (something Smith does both figuratively and literally – Smith shows off his mastery of a good pratfall time and again, while Owens gracefully glides through the evening as only a leading lady can). 

The supporting roles are filled out with just as strong a cast.  Sandy Lawrence is the real Bela Zangler, and when Smith’s fake Bela runs into Lawrence’s real Bela, the mirrored choreography is hilarious and perfectly executed (their overwrought Hungarian accents are also surprisingly difficult to tell apart).  Anna Super’s Irene Roth, Bobby’s self-declared fiancé in New York, is unafraid to use a shoulder-shimmy to get what she wants in the come-hither song “Naughty Baby”.  When McOsker’s Lank Hawkins (who – credit to the costuming, can shockingly look like a total asshat) matches wits with Smith’s Bobby – it is truly a pleasure to see two of our favorite local leading actors go at it.  Kristen Martwinski as Tess, the leader of the dancers in Bela’s show, is kind-hearted and endearing.  And Polly’s father Everett, a bit role played by Celestino Damiano, pretty much just has one line that he says five or six times – and every time it is funny. 

“Crazy For You” is a challenge to choreograph due to the fact that it seems like every song has a dance break.  That could lead to a lot of repetition and the whole show coming off slow – but Buchheim’s choreography is upbeat and interesting throughout, with a new surprise or element around every corner.  There is a large amount of tap dancing – my favorite, as loyal readers probably know by now – and a cast that is up for that task.  And look out for the pickaxe move towards the end of the first act (you’ll know it when you see it) – it is a real crowd-pleaser. 

And we have to acknowledge the work of costumer Kay Burcher and costume assistant Robert Shirley.  This team already stunned once this season in “The Producers”, and they did an outstanding job again on this show.  I was particularly impressed with their ability to get character across via what people were wearing, in a show where there is no mystery to anybody’s intentions or motivations.  You didn’t need McOsker’s Lank to say a word for you to know exactly who his character was.  You could immediately tell the contrast between the put-together women of the dance troupe and the down-on-their-luck cowboys of Deadrock.  You saw the pompous rich banker in Bobby Child’s mom, and the pin-striped confidence of Bela Zangler.  And the leading roles were dressed impeccably.  Really well done.

As the weather turns cold, sometimes you could use a musical that just pulls you in tight and wraps you up in the warm embrace of 1930s charm.  There’s nothing complicated plot-wise here – and that’s the magic of it.  Be free from the complexities of the real world for a few hours on an autumn night – and let Smith and Owens dance their way into your heart.  You won’t regret it.