Crazy For You
The first thing I had found out about Crazy For You was that Tom Chambers was in it, and that he was famous. I had never been a big fan of Strictly Come Dancing, and so had no idea that he was one of the contestants. He was one of the main characters too, so I had high expectations of him.
However, by the end of the show, I was completely drawn in by Charlotte Wakefield, the woman who played Polly Baker, instead of Chambers. Charlotte had the most compelling voice — it was crisp, sweet and strong. She sounded like she belonged in a West End musical. Each note sounded heavenly, and I could tell by the volume of the applause she got at the end of her first solo that most people in the audience were impressed with her as well. She was also incredibly graceful when she danced. But this talented woman could was also an amazing actress; her performance was one of the most genuine ones out of the whole show. Tom Chambers was charming and a wonderful actor and dancer, but for me, Charlotte Wakefield had completely stolen the show.
However, the rest of the cast was, without doubt, extremely talented too. All musical instruments were incorporated into the acts, so almost every actor and actress had to play an instrument at some point. The cast became violinists, cellists, drummers, trumpeters, and even pianists. They played these instruments while singing, dancing and acting, and the entire musical production was impressively in sync for the way they were moving about with their instruments. The instruments on stage added to the dynamics of the production really well, making the show vibrant and immersive.
The set was also brilliantly designed. Since most the scenes happened in a theatre, the stage was set up as what it was: a stage, albeit a much exaggerated one with patterned balconies and wooden carvings. When examining the theatre, characters only had to stand on the stage and look out into the audience, exclaiming that it was a ‘beautiful theatre’. This actually made the musical more immersive and interactive, as it became easier for us as the audience to imagine where they were and what they were going through.
The only problem I had with the musical was that it was slightly politically offensive. I understand that it is an old musical, but it’s even more problematic than most of the older musicals I’ve come across. There were a lot of instances throughout the show where women were grossly sexualised. A bunch of grown men simultaneously reached for a lady’s breasts. A man forced himself upon a girl he’d only just met by kissing her without her consent, and even though she repeatedly rejected his advances, she eventually likes him back after he takes her sling bag and makes her chase it (we are given no explanation as to why she suddenly fancies him, other than the fact that he hasn’t given up flirting with her). At one point, a character says, “Put a pretty woman up on the poster, it always works”. At another time, no men wanted to work in a theatre until the promise of there being women, at which they all jumped at the opportunity.
Granted, The Arts back then were pretty anti-feminist. This doesn’t make it right, but it does kind of explain why the show seems so vile in that context to me today. However, that wasn’t the only issue in the musical. There was a song about two drunk men being sad over girls not returning their love, and it essentially used suicide and depression for a punch line. The whole song was there for comedic relief, which was quite obvious because the men were drinking and dancing an awkward version of The Nutcracker in suits. At one point during the song, the men took out a gun and started fighting over which one of them should kill themselves. Then they contemplated jumping of the bridge in Brooklyn. They also proclaimed that they were ‘depressed’. This was all done to a very jolly, upbeat, mocking tune. Even the most offensive musicals 80 years ago never joked about suicide the way this show did.
Despite the political incorrectness of certain parts of the show, I enjoyed the production in general. Perhaps pointing out the potentially controversial parts of it might be just me nit-picking at the show. The highlight for me, besides Charlotte Wakefield, was still the multitalented cast and the way they managed to sing, dance, act and play an instrument at the same time. Overall, it was funny, light-hearted, cheerful and aesthetically beautiful, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a breather from their busy everyday lives.
