HVCHS Musical is "Crazy for You"
Hopewell Valley Central High School's winter theatrical production is Crazy for You, a George and Ira Gershwin musical. Show dates are March 2, 3, 9, and 10 at 7:30 p.m. at The Performing Arts Center of Hopewell Valley.
Despite being written more than 70 years ago, Crazy for You is billed as 'The New Gershwin Musical Comedy.' “That’s because Crazy for You is really a reworking of an older Gershwin musical,” said Sarah Vander Schaaff, HVCHS theatre arts teacher and the show’s director. “When Crazy for You opened on Broadway in the early 1990s, it made a big statement. Here was something classic, in one way, and yet fresh. It showcases some of the best-known Gershwin songs in a wonderfully original and funny story with a whole lot of dancing.”
Crazy for You, which includes standards I Got Rhythm, Someone to Watch Over Me, and Embraceable You, is the story of New York City-born banker Bobby Child who heads west to Deadrock, Nevada to foreclose upon a rundown theatre. Starring Ryerson Lehman-Borer as Bobby Child and Imogen Mills as his co-lead Polly Baker, the cast includes almost 50 other students in supporting roles as showgirls and town residents.
“There’s an element of New York City meets Deadrock—middle of nowhere—Nevada,” said Vander Schaaff. “There’s comedy and a certain sweetness in these two worlds colliding,” she continued, and of course there’s a love story and a few bar fights.”
For that, the school hired professional fight director Doug West. Karen Martin and Suzie Schnoor, co-directors of Mercer County's Danceworks studio, are the show's choreographers. Matthew Erpelding, HVCHS choir teacher, serves as musical director; Karrin Phillips, Timberlane Middle School music teacher, leads the pit orchestra. Costumes have been created by Rosemary Stein.
We are so grateful to the parental community for supporting the theatre and music programs with such commitment," Vander Schaaf notes. "This is going to be a very uplifting show for the audience.”
Tickets for the show are $8 and $12 and may be purchased at the door, through the Performing Arts Center box office at 866.967.8167, or online at www.showtix4u.com.