REVIEW
Crazy for You
Basildon Operatic
Towngate Theatre
21 May – 24 May 25
Crazy for You
Basildon Operatic
Towngate Theatre
21 May – 24 May 25
Crazy for You, written by George and Ira Gershwin in 1930 is still popular today. There have been many revivals including in the 1990s when the musical won a Tony on Broadway, an Olivier in London and the 94 Dora award in Toronto for the best musical. There was even a professional version at the Cliffs Pavilion, Southend in 2017, starring Tom Chambers, who was the man of the moment having won Strictly Come Dancing.
However, this amateur production by Bas Ops now on at the Towngate Theatre, is one of the best I have seen. It is as good as anything in the West End.
Having to wait to perform it since 2020, when it was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic, this production is definitely worth the wait. The story is rather cliché, a group of people get together to put on a show, and save a rundown theatre in the old West. However, the performers joke that this hoary old plot is just like those Mickey Rooney movies.
Bobby Child, sent by his mother, to foreclose on an old run down theatre, ditches his fiancé and, typically falls for the local girl. To impress her, he disguises himself as the entrepreneur Bela Zangler.
This production has clever staging, which although moved around regularly, becomes part of the action. Additionally, the director and choreographer Vikki Purton has managed to fill the stage with a large cast of various ages, all dancing and singing with gusto. All the great songs are there with breath-taking choreography, I Can’t Be Bothered Now, Bidin’ My Time, I Got Rhythm, Naughty Baby, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Embraceable You and Someone To Watch Over Me. The I Got Rhythm routine even involves tin trays and pick axes. The ensemble numbers such as Slap That Bass bring comedy and pizazz with the men playing bass on ropes held by the girls.
There are energetic tap dancing routines involving Follies/ showgirls, Hilly Billy cowboys who initially lazing around, 'Bidin' their Time, turn into dancers with some great comedy provided by Sean Hynes, Jake Portsmouth and Alex Wood. The love interest Polly (Charlotte Cavedasca), initially Calamity Jane, turns into an ingénue with plenty of attack, as she plaintively sings, Someone to Watch Over Me and But Not for Me, then morphs into a vamp with Embraceable You.
Bobby Child, an excellent performance by Joe Drury Jnr who has waited five years to play the part he was originally to play, dances, sings with a great deal of energy, whilst also introducing some physical comedy. He dominates the stage both as himself and in his disguise as Bela, looking like Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen. However, he is aided by the rest of the cast. All of the characters bring something to their performances and every one of them is well cast in their roles.
The real Bela Zangler (Joe Drury Snr) sings a very funny drunken, What Causes That, with his son as they perform mirror images of one and other. The rejected fiancé (Charlotte Lake) becomes a smouldering vamp with Naughty Baby, and literally ties up her new fancy Lark (Rob Marley).
Everyone with a part no matter how small brings something to the show. Even Diane Hills in the small part of the wisecracking mother that usually appears in the old Fred Astaire movies, and Sarah Drury and Michael Willis as two upmarket, odd characters who turn up by mistake to vet a hotel for a tourist guide.
The whole effect is aided by the brilliance of the costumes for the Follies and the fashions of the time worn by the women.
Additionally, it is a pleasure to see the exuberance of the cast as they dance, tap and sing, obviously enjoying every minute of it. The audience loved it and gave a well-deserved standing ovation at the end. This is a high-energy comedy, with mistaken identity, fantastic dance numbers and all the well-known Gershwin music under the direction of James Green. Don’t miss this wonderful show. Buy a ticket now.
Review – Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
The show continues until 24 May 25. Sat Mat 2.30, evening 7.30pm Tickets from £23.
Concession tickets
Concession tickets for under 16s, ages 60+, registered disabled and carers are available on the 2.30pm matinee performance only
Group Discount – 10% off Tickets
Buy 10+ tickets and get a 10% discount on all tickets! For Group bookings and Reservations, please call the Box Office on 01268 205 300, or email the team at [email protected] or purchase at the Box Office.
However, this amateur production by Bas Ops now on at the Towngate Theatre, is one of the best I have seen. It is as good as anything in the West End.
Having to wait to perform it since 2020, when it was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic, this production is definitely worth the wait. The story is rather cliché, a group of people get together to put on a show, and save a rundown theatre in the old West. However, the performers joke that this hoary old plot is just like those Mickey Rooney movies.
Bobby Child, sent by his mother, to foreclose on an old run down theatre, ditches his fiancé and, typically falls for the local girl. To impress her, he disguises himself as the entrepreneur Bela Zangler.
This production has clever staging, which although moved around regularly, becomes part of the action. Additionally, the director and choreographer Vikki Purton has managed to fill the stage with a large cast of various ages, all dancing and singing with gusto. All the great songs are there with breath-taking choreography, I Can’t Be Bothered Now, Bidin’ My Time, I Got Rhythm, Naughty Baby, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Embraceable You and Someone To Watch Over Me. The I Got Rhythm routine even involves tin trays and pick axes. The ensemble numbers such as Slap That Bass bring comedy and pizazz with the men playing bass on ropes held by the girls.
There are energetic tap dancing routines involving Follies/ showgirls, Hilly Billy cowboys who initially lazing around, 'Bidin' their Time, turn into dancers with some great comedy provided by Sean Hynes, Jake Portsmouth and Alex Wood. The love interest Polly (Charlotte Cavedasca), initially Calamity Jane, turns into an ingénue with plenty of attack, as she plaintively sings, Someone to Watch Over Me and But Not for Me, then morphs into a vamp with Embraceable You.
Bobby Child, an excellent performance by Joe Drury Jnr who has waited five years to play the part he was originally to play, dances, sings with a great deal of energy, whilst also introducing some physical comedy. He dominates the stage both as himself and in his disguise as Bela, looking like Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen. However, he is aided by the rest of the cast. All of the characters bring something to their performances and every one of them is well cast in their roles.
The real Bela Zangler (Joe Drury Snr) sings a very funny drunken, What Causes That, with his son as they perform mirror images of one and other. The rejected fiancé (Charlotte Lake) becomes a smouldering vamp with Naughty Baby, and literally ties up her new fancy Lark (Rob Marley).
Everyone with a part no matter how small brings something to the show. Even Diane Hills in the small part of the wisecracking mother that usually appears in the old Fred Astaire movies, and Sarah Drury and Michael Willis as two upmarket, odd characters who turn up by mistake to vet a hotel for a tourist guide.
The whole effect is aided by the brilliance of the costumes for the Follies and the fashions of the time worn by the women.
Additionally, it is a pleasure to see the exuberance of the cast as they dance, tap and sing, obviously enjoying every minute of it. The audience loved it and gave a well-deserved standing ovation at the end. This is a high-energy comedy, with mistaken identity, fantastic dance numbers and all the well-known Gershwin music under the direction of James Green. Don’t miss this wonderful show. Buy a ticket now.
Review – Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
The show continues until 24 May 25. Sat Mat 2.30, evening 7.30pm Tickets from £23.
Concession tickets
Concession tickets for under 16s, ages 60+, registered disabled and carers are available on the 2.30pm matinee performance only
Group Discount – 10% off Tickets
Buy 10+ tickets and get a 10% discount on all tickets! For Group bookings and Reservations, please call the Box Office on 01268 205 300, or email the team at [email protected] or purchase at the Box Office.