Head Over Heels Over ‘Crazy for You’

LA MIRADA — You don’t need your head examined to fall in love with this show. “Crazy for You,” which is being revived at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, is a deliciously entertaining production made of pure joy and talent.

When Stephanie Block wraps her voice around the gorgeous Gershwin songs--”Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Embraceable You” and “I Got Rhythm” to name just three in a score plucked from all over--you wish she’d go on singing forever.

And co-star Reece Holland is no slouch as singer or dancer. He’s the personable heart and soul of this show. If God had made him taller, he might have created the original role of Bobby Child on Broadway instead of Harry Groener.

Together, Holland and Block could hang out a shingle. They make a smashing musical-comedy team, and the pleasure of their company is infectious. They’re surrounded, moreover, by a good-looking chorus of leggy showgirls that does better than just hit the marks and sing. These women are comics in their own right, matched by a large, equally fine male chorus with plenty of character.

“Crazy for You” is such a silly piece of theater--a bright vaudeville reinvention cobbled together by clever Broadway producers--that stylish execution and panache are all. Anything less guarantees disaster.

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Raiding songs largely from “Girl Crazy,” a 1930 musical that starred Ethel Merman in her Broadway debut and Ginger Rogers, the creators of “Crazy for You” also reached into the Gershwin catalog for tunes from such vintage musicals of stage and screen as “Oh, Kay!” and “Shall We Dance.”

This ensured a gold-plated score, including “I Can’t Be Bothered Now,” “Bidin’ My Time,” “Things Are Looking Up” and “Slap That Bass.” When “Nice Work If You Can Get It” is just another dazzling number, you know you’ve hit a mother lode.

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The plot, a slight confection also inspired by “Girl Crazy,” centers on Bobby, a New York playboy and reluctant scion of rich bankers, who hangs around the Zangler Theater (read: Ziegfeld), desperate to become a song-and-dance man in the fabled “Zangler Follies.”

When his imperious mother orders him to Dead Rock, Nev., to foreclose on an empty theater, Bobby meets Polly (whose father owns the theater) and falls in love at first sight. Polly, the only gal in town, won’t give him the time of day. To win her over and save the theater, he imports Zangler’s girls to put on a show.

What made the original “Crazy for You” something special besides the old songs, which basically earned the show its 1992 Tony for best musical, was Susan Stroman’s Tony-winning choreography. That’s what everyone was writing home about. The Tony had put its stamp of approval on the best Broadway choreographer to come along in years.

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On the La Mirada stage, we get to see director-choreographer Alan Coats’ re-creation of the Stroman moves. While it may not be exact, it’s close enough to satisfy. The one provincial oddity that sticks out in this staging is the use of thick body stockings. Something is lost when showgirls meant to look their long-stemmed best appear to be wearing support hose.

Even so, let’s not quibble. The entire cast gave the impression that it was having fun. Coats and his casting director, Julia Flores, have put together a terrific group of performers. He also keeps a show with big scenery and lots of scene changes moving along smartly. “Crazy for You” may take 2 1/2 hours, but they fly by.

* “Crazy for You,” La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada. Tuesday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2:30 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Ends Feb. 23. $33. (714) 994-6310 or (562) 944-9801. Running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes.

Billy Beadle: Everett Baker

Stephanie Block: Polly

Ira Denmark: Bela Zangler

Reece Holland: Bobby

Lyle Kanouse: Moose

Tracy Lore: Irene

Jill Matson: Patsy

Margaret Nesbitt: Mrs. Lottie Child

David Nevell: Lank Hawkins

Stephanie Orff: Patricia Fodor

Cathy Susan Pyles: Tess

Hank Wilson: Eugene Fodor

Jim Kocher: Peter

Rich Goldstein: David

A La Mirada Theatre and McCoy/Rigby Entertainment production of a musical play by George and Ira Gershwin (music and lyrics) and Ken Ludwig (book). Co-conception by Ludwig and Mike Ockrent. Inspired by material by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. Director and choreographer: Alan Coats. Scenic design: J.B. Wilson. Lighting design: Martin Aronstein. Costume design: Thomas G. Marquez. Sound design: Julie Ferrin. Wig design: Monica Sabedra. Musical director/conductor: Steven Smith. Casting director: Julia Flores. Production stage manager: Nevin Hedley.