February 21, 2008

Lakewood High School Theatre Company Presents:

George and Ira Gershwin's Crazy for You

Reviewed by Stan Dyer

Ever since a new girlfriend convinced me to take her downtown to see The Denver Center for the Performing Arts' production of Dickens' Christmas Carol years ago, I have been hooked on live theatre. There is nothing quite like it. I have traveled all over town and enjoyed everything from the Colorado Shakespeare Festival to the Central City Opera. Still, some of the best shows I have seen were performed in unexpected, out-of-the-way places, and by lesser-known talent. It happened again Feb. 20 when I took the opportunity to enjoy Lakewood High School's production of Crazy for You.

As you can imagine, I have seen numerous versions of this show in the past, featuring varied talent and many interpretations. I just never get tired of Gershwin. I especially enjoy watching new generations of Americans being introduced not only to the classic work of this theatrical pair, but also to a small piece of American history. Crazy for You is typical Gershwin.

The play features many familiar tunes, lots of song and dance, and intertwined subplots. There is love, romance, comedy, and, of course a show to put on. Aspiring performer Bobby Child, sent by his mother to Dead Rock, NV, to foreclose the mortgage on an old theatre, finds love at first sight. Almost upon arrival, Child sees Polly Baker, the daughter of the theatre owner, and he is smitten. He decides to help her save the family theatre by putting on a Broadway-style show, but the only way he can pull it off is to impersonate "famous" Broadway producer, Bela Zangler. Well, the show goes on, but, unfortunately, no one comes, and, instead of saving the theatre and winning the heart of the object of his affection, Bobby finds that Polly has fallen in love with his impersonation of Bela Zangler. When the real Bela Zangler shows up in town, mistaken identity occurs, the plot thickens, and quite a show goes on. With plenty of sight gags, puns, and innuendo to keep the audience amused between dance numbers, everything works out in this very entertaining show, and, of course, everyone is happy in the end.

The night I went was opening night. The show had a shaky start due to problems with the lighting, the sound system, and opening night jitters, but the cast and crew pulled together to make it all work. By the end of the show, I had almost forgotten about the trouble at the beginning. I was amazed mostly by the amount of work put into sets, costuming and preparation for this show set to run only three days. Everything was very professional. High school theatre has come a long way. I believe the school could make some money with this show if they ran it long enough to let the word get out. Keep in mind that these are young performers and not yet polished, but their years of practice, training and dedication are evident. There were many exceptional performances, but, by far, the best performance was by the cast and crew working together as a team. If they can maintain that level of energy and enthusiasm in the future, there will be many success stories coming from this theatre department.

Taking into consideration the level of their accomplishment, I grade this show "A-". I grade up for the outstanding all-around effort, the energy and enthusiasm to produce a professional-quality show, and the amount of raw talent with unlimited potential. I grade down only for the shaky start with lighting and sound, some miscues by the pit orchestra, and for a few scenes that were longer than they needed to be. I am sorry that this show will probably be sold out or over when you read this review, but you can get a heads-up on the next production with regular visits to the school website: http://lakewood-web.jeffco.k12.co.us. You can bet I will be checking in and I will be in the audience, just as was the manager of the "Adam's Mystery Theatre" from over on Federal last night. I don't know if he was scouting talent, or if he had family in the show, but, either way, I am sure he liked what he saw.

Just the facts:

Crazy for You

(By agreement with Tams Witmark)

Music by George Gershwin and Lyrics by Ira Gershwin with the story from a book by Ken Ludwig

Feb. 20-23 at Lakewood High School, 9700 W. 8th Ave. (just east of Kipling at 9 th Avenue), opening night 6 p.m., all other nights 7 p.m. (The show, with normal "late start" and intermission, runs around three hours.)

Theatre department phone: 303-982-7123 (All tickets by "will-call" reservation)

Ticket prices: $10 adult, $8 students and senior citizens

Website: http://lakewood-web.jeffco.k12.co.us

Main performers:

Corey Garretson as Bobby Child

Pheobe Sharp as Polly Baker

Travis Weisse as Lank Hawkins

Christopher Meeds as Bela Zangler

Credit also the huge supporting cast of talented performers, stage crew, musicians, directors, parents, family, staff and contributors.