Crazy For You

Heaven may be out of reach in this lifetime (and very likely the next), but at least I've had a glimpse of what it must be like. On February 19, Manhattan Concert Productions' Crazy for You was a perfect staging of the perfect musical, an ideal cast and pitch-perfect orchestrations of deathless Gershwin songs.

In his review of the original Broadway production, then-Times' critic Frank Rich waxed so rhapsodically I could easily just quote him word for word. For once, the Times' "Butcher of Broadway" put down the cleaver and was throwing roses.

What's so incredible about this production -- well actually, everything -- is how such an all-star cast could have gotten the numbers, the lines, the timing, so right for only one performance.

There were no props or sets, and, a la the Encores! series, the orchestra was on stage. This proved to be an advantage, as it allowed the audience to concentrate on the matters at hand; namely, the amazing wealth of talent on stage.

There were costumes. Hoo, boy, were there costumes! The chorus girls wore 1930s-style kewpie-doll short-short skirts; while in the lushly beautiful finale, the lead couple did a starry Fred and Ginger ballroom number amidst stage stars.

The pared-down stage also enhanced the bare-bones book, which is boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy puts on show to get girl back. Stop me if you've heard this one before. (If you've seen the movie version of "Girl Crazy," you certainly have.)

But wait, here's the crazy part: Ken Ludwig's book totally works. The brief snippets of dialogue, full of wisecracks and asides, inevitably lead up to a slam-bang joke, usually including some pratfall-type business.

Then we get to the business at hand: those gorgeous, to-die-for songs by George and Ira Gershwin. They came fast and furious, and no matter how many times I've heard "Someone to Watch Over Me" or "Embraceable You," they sounded fresh, new and exciting.

That goes double for the incredibly hard-working cast, especially Tony Yazbeck as Bobby, the hapless hero, a stage-struck rich kid who just wants to dance, dance, dance. And boy does he ever! Yazbeck can do it all -- tap, splits, stairs, acrobatics, soft shoe -- and he makes it seem effortless, which takes the most effort.

When his frustrated mother sends him out West to foreclose on a theater that's fallen on hard times, he is immediately hopelessly smitten by Polly. And who can blame him, when she's played by gorgeous Laura Osness?

Osness has a set of pipes that ring out clear as a bell, but she proves her stamina in the tortuously held double-note in "I've Got Rhythm," a real showstopper in every sense. It's the Act One closer that leaves the audience breathless.

The male chorus, introduced by "Biding My Time," are the denizens of the aptly named Deadrock. Slovenly, out of shape, this motley crew ranges from severely short to a hulking guy who could pass for a member of the Duck Dynasty. In short order, however, inspired by the arriving New York chorines, they're hoofing it to beat the band.

With the arrival of Bobby's hapless fiancee Irene played hilariously by Rachel Bloom, arrives, Polly squares off with her rival. But Irene ends up having the hots with the town's saloon owner, a baddy who's given the full S/M treatment in a bump-and-grind rendition of "Naughty Baby."

Meanwhile, Bobby, rejected by Polly, impersonates Bella Zangler, a Flo Ziegfeld-type. In one of the many nods to the original Broadway production, Harry Groener plays Zangler.

In the back of the stage are nearly 250 high school students from around the country. They aren't given too much to do, but for any stage-struck kids from the provinces, being able to see this team rehearse is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

At the end of the performance, Susan Stroman, the original choreographer who directed this production, came onstage to huzzahs from the audience and the cast and orchestra. For Stroman, it was an emotional moment: She met her husband when he was directing the original production, but their marriage was tragically cut short when he died of leukemia seven years later.

Even so, there was a triumphant atmosphere at the David Geffen Theater. I've seldom heard such sustained applause, and for once, the standing ovation was truly earned.

Like Brigadoon, Manhattan Concert Productions comes to life every so often for just one day. I strongly suggest anyone, everyone, carefully monitor the website and theater listings. Then rush as fast as you can to get a ticket, because these performances are a once-in-a-lifetime experience that can't be duplicated.

"Crazy For You" played on February 19 at Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023. For tickets and information on upcoming productions, call 212-721-6500 or visit www.mcp.us or www.lincolncenter.org