Crazy For You has been drastically reduced in size and spectacle to fit the Country Dinner Playhouse's arena stage, but the music, and one exceptional performance, save the show.
Bobby (Patrick Boyd), a 1930's would-be hoofer, is forced by his domineering mother (Jan Giese), to foreclose on a long-dormant theater in the near-ghost town of Deadrock, Nevada. Naturally, Bobby falls in love with the spirited Polly (Kari Nicolaisen), daughter of the theater's owner, and contrives to masquerade as a celebrated Broadway producer to mount a production that will save the day. Ken Ludwig's farcical plot is substantial enough to motivate most of the musical numbers, and there are plenty of puns, quirky supporting characters, mistaken identities and plot twists to keep the story from being trampled by tap shoes. George and Ira Gershwin's music is reason enough to see Crazy For You, showcasing such favorites as "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Embraceable You," "I've Got Rhythm" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me."
Patrick Boyd is a Broadway-caliber performer, effortlessly dancing and acting circles around the homegrown chorus, which still thinks shameless mugging and hyperactivity are a funny substitute for characterization. Kari Nicolaisen's Polly can't decide if she's supposed to be Debbie Reynolds or Ginger Rogers. Marcus Waterman is terrific as the real producer, and Dale Stewart is a stitch as Polly's father. Susan Stroman's tap-intensive choreography, as recreated and simplified by Michael Gorman, puts the cast and chorus through their paces.
The sound system is terribly buggy, the onstage set pieces are minimalistic at best, but the house is ringed by a New York city skyline and illuminated signs -- a nice touch. For anyone who thinks they don't make musicals like they used to, give this scaled-down Crazy For You a try. Who could ask for anything more?
