“Crazy For You” by Erewash Musical Society
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton

Anyone may think that producing “Crazy For You” this week when there’s a Nationwide touring production at the Nottingham Theatre Royal is a bit of bad timing.They would not realise that when these musicals are picked by the local theatre groups, this can be as far back as a couple of years, and we all had the talent to see what would be happening in two years’ time, we’d all be very rich people.

This could be a bit of bad luck with the timing of this show, but knowing what a loyal fan base Erewash musical Society and the Duchess Theatre have, I can’t see this being that much of an impact on this production.

I must admit that i was a little nervous about writing this review after seeing the professional production on Tuesday, but, after seeing just the first half of Erewash's production, i knew that i'd have nothing to worry about

“Crazy for You” in a nutshell is all about Bobby Child who, in order to get out of getting married to his fiancée, Irene, he opts to go to Deadrock, Nevada to close a theatre that owes on its mortgage. Bobby wants a career in showbiz and is a bit of a dancer, so when he gets to Deadrock he falls in love with the daughter of the theatre owner, Polly, but when she finds out that he has been sent to close her beloved theatre, the course of true love goes a bit astray.

Bobby tells her that he knows Bela Zander, the Hungarian musical theatre entrepreneur who Bobby had tried to impress back home, and tells her that Bela and Bobby can get a show up and running to save the theatre form closing. All this in the hope of capturing Polly’s heart.

All goes well until Polly finds out who Bobby Child is and there’s also an unfortunate, for Bobby at least, appearance by the real Bela Zander. Is there a happy ending? Come on, this is musical theatre, of course it ends happily for all involved.

The role of Bobby Child is taken by Zak Charlesworth and this is not an easy role to play as it’s one of those all singing, all dancing roles. It needs a likeable actor who is a bit cheeky and has high energy levels as it’s full on from start to finish.

Here's where my first worry came. Zak has always told me that he can't dance and knowing Bobby Child's role is almost all dancing I was a bit worried that Zak was up to this part.

Zak Charlesworth you are a dancer and you showed me a few new things that worried me about you before tonight. I was blown away by your dance skills, including some amazing tap routines. It is blatantly obvious that you've worked really hard on this new skill and the results are brilliant. Never tell me that you can't dance Zak, because after tonight I just won't believe you.

You also showed me that there is a fun side to your acting and this is what I've been waiting to see for a while. Zak's characterisation of Bobby and Zander were wonderful, as were his vocals. it's not easy singing dancing, especially to the quality of this show, and keeping constantly in character but Zak ticked every single one of my boxes. His accent for Zander was better than the original Zander.

Irene, Bobby’s finacee is played by Gemma Blake and another incredible performance. I loved Gem in this role, and I'll go as far to say that Gem had the edge on Caroline Flack's version, and I really enjoyed Caroline's Irene. A wonderfully feisty performance and a very sexy version of "Naughty Baby" but a very lucky Lank!

Polly, played by Meg Tapp combines the tomboy elements and the romantic elements of the character perfectly. Meg's voice is distinctive and sent the hairs on the back of my neck up, which is something that didn't happen in the professional show. I would hate to get slapped by her as well because the force she seemed to put into slapping Bobby drew gasps from the packed audience. Goodness knows what Zak's cheek is going to be like by the end of this run.

Zander, played by Richard Dawson, is wonderfully zany and his duet with Bobby as Zander of "What Causes That?" is a particular highlight for me. Just needs the Zander accent being a bit more Hungarian for my liking.

Lank, who is supposed to be the protagonist of the play didn't do too bad out of this. Not only does he get a new hotel/restaurant/ cafe but also gets a fiery new wife as well. Kheenan Jones who plays Lank is obviously having a great time on stage because that is what comes across through his character.

As with the professional production I saw this week, the ensemble are wonderfully entertaining and fill the Duchess Theatre stage with their vibrant energy. They depict a closeness of community in character and I know that this is done so well because the cast all get on like a house on fire off stage.

This musical is a choreographer's musical because of the amount of dance there is involved and Laurie Trott and Stephanie Ure look to have had a ball on this field. The hard work that they have put in to this show is shown by the hard work every one of these dancers on stage have shown. An amazing job by all involved.

Charlotte Daniel is the Musical Director and what a wonderfully tuneful job she has done. there were a couple of places where the music slightly swamped the lines from the stage but what a joyous and full sound that orchestra produced.

Directed by Clare Toska, I can only imagine the fun, as well as the hard work, she has had with this show, but the results, especially for a local theatre production, are marvellous.

Wonderful costumes with plenty of glitter and glamour make this production a feast for the eyes.

The lighting and sound, as I've come to expect are spot on, especially the lighting where there are several technical sections involving the lights. in the expert hands of Dave Dallard, Dave Martin and Matthew Cook they made the show a visual treat.

The sets were part video scenery, which some die hards may say is cheating, but when you have a budget to work with, these visuals create all that you want in a swift scene change, thanks to the design by Paul Young..

Great job by the stage crew getting the props and movable scenery on and off stage. Especially when you have the amount of bodies coming on and off stage

Anyway I started off by saying that I was a little worried about what to write and making comparisons between the professional show in town and this production. Well there was no need for me to worry because for several reasons, I loved both productions, and in many aspects, the only real difference was the cost of the ticket. that and I got what i had expected from the touring production, With Erewash i got much more than I had expected.

“Crazy For You” by The Erewash Musical Society is at the Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 7 October 2017