George Gershwin is coming to Cottonwood. Starting on Saturday, April 21, students at Mingus Union High School will don 1930s costumes and perform “Crazy for You,” featuring many of the jazz maestro’s best songs.
A 1992 re-imagining of songs from George and Ira Gershwin’s 1930 play, “Girl, Crazy” written by Ken Ludwig, “Crazy for You” tells the story of Bobby Child, New York banker obsessed with theater who comes to the small town of Deadrock, Nev., to foreclose on its local theater. Having fallen for the owner of the theater’s daughter, Polly Baker, Child decides instead to invite his friends, the Follies Girls, from New York City to put on a show to save the theater. He impersonates Bella Zangler, the European leader of the Follies, as part of the act, only for things to turn extra crazy as the real Zangler comes to town following one of his dancers.
Like many jazz musicals, “Crazy for You” is somewhat absurd from a plot perspective, using the farcical story mostly as a comedic backdrop for the song and dance numbers. This allows the performers to excel on those musical bits, with songs like “I’ve Got Rhythm” at the end of act one featuring a tap dancing routine from most of the ensemble.
For James Ball, the choir and theater director at MUHS, who is directing the performance and orchestra, the relevance of a story — where Broadway theater comes to a small town out West — isn’t missed.
“I think what’s especially prevalent with where we live now is just the power of the arts and performing arts to change a small-town community,” Ball said. “If I could wish for anything, it’s that we continue to support the arts.”
“Crazy for You” brings to Cottonwood not just Broadway songs but Broadway dancing as the musical is heavy on elaborate tap routines. Ball started tap classes for students back in August, a decision he said was an important one to make the play a hopeful success. Elaborate dances create their own difficulties alongside the singing and acting, and many of the dances involve extensive props.
Alex Holtz, sound designer and student at the school, spoke of the importance in making sure that voices can be heard over their performers’ feet and vice versa.
For Preston Chalmers, who plays Child, “Crazy for You” has been a challenging endeavor, but a fulfilling one.
“It’s hard,” said Chalmers. “I think Mr. Ball chose an extremely hard show, but he’s an amazing director, and he knows what will work and what won’t. It’s a great performance.”
Chalmers is a junior and has appeared in MUHS theater productions before, including “The Mousetrap,” in which he had a lead role. However, “Crazy for You” marks his first time as a lead in a musical. Making the transition into musical theater has meant extensive training with a vocal coach, even beyond the weekly half hour that all performers have logged. The combination of acting, singing and dance practice for the role has led to Chalmers getting just three hours of sleep in the last weeks of production.
Chalmers describes his character Child as a “selfish jerkhead,” but sees a connection with him nevertheless.
“He uses theater to escape from reality, and I relate really closely with that,” Chalmers said of his character Child. “If he sees a challenge, he takes it no matter what, and I connect a lot with that. He does it for different reasons — he does it to be a selfish jerkhead, I do it to prove myself.”
Audrey Wooden, a senior at Mingus, plays Baker. Unlike Chalmers, Wooden comes from a family of singers, and she sees herself as a singer first. She has been accepted to the American Music and Dance Academy in New York City in the fall.
Wooden looks forward to performing her solo “Embraceable You” in the musical.
“I love being on stage,” Wooden said. “Sometimes it’s nerve-wracking, but being able to perform and make people feel feelings I think is a really powerful experience, no matter what they are.”
Wooden said she has never performed comedy or tap danced before, and the show has helped her grow as a performer. Wooden described her character Baker as a somewhat tough character, but by the end of the play learns to love and become more compassionate.
“I don’t think that I’m necessarily super tough,” said Wooden. “But I’m definitely a very compassionate and caring person.”
Beyond the leads, “Crazy for You” is a chance for rising stars at Mingus to shine, such as Liam Maclean, a freshman, who spent his early childhood memorizing monologues and hoping to get involved in theater one day.
This is his first play, and he plays Mingo, a resident of Deadrock, Nev., who he described as a “smart idiot” who likes to show off. Mingo has given Maclean a chance to sing frequently with harmonies and learn what goes into playing even a small part in a big ensemble.
“I’ve been surprised at the amount of character input you have to put in even as a small role like me,” said Maclean. “I have to think about my past and other things that influence the way I act, walk and talk.”
With a 34-student cast, in addition to multiple students as crew members and in the 25-piece orchestra, “Crazy For You” is the largest and perhaps most ambitious production that Mingus has performed in recent years. The production features full sets for both New York City and Deadrock, and has specially designed costumes from Mardis Gras Costume Shop in Scottsdale.
The first performance of “Crazy For You” will be Saturday, April 21 at 7 p.m. in the Mingus Union High School Auditorium. There will also be later performances on the April 22, 27, 28 and 29. Tickets are available at www.showtix4u.com, at the Mingus Union High School Bookstore or by calling the box office at 649-4466.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551 or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
