Customer Reviews

Crazy for You (1992 Original Broadway Cast)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The incredibly clever lyrics make each and every song in this musical a joy to listen too. Ira and George Gershwin were geniuses! Every song has a tune that will stick in your head! It's a great CD.

This cd includes some of the best music from Gershwin. Crazy For You is funny, romantic, and the dancing was great. If you missed out on seeing it on Broadway, listen to this cd and get a feel for what the live performance was like. I wish my high school could perform this for our musical. If you were able to see the show, buy the cd already!!

I first got hooked on this musical about three months ago when rehearsals started for my high school production of the show. I saw my teacher's copy of the PBS Great Performances production and all of the toe-tapping rhythms and melodies just captured my musical heart! I know every word, dialogue sequence, note, beat, rest,etc. in the entire recording! I listen to it while I eat breakfast, ride the school bus, eat lunch, ride the bus home, do my homework, clean my room, wash the dishes, and practice the choreography moves! I just love this CD and the show, and I think that the Gershwins are the BEST composers ever! Their songs live one forever in the heart and souls of their dedicated fans! I hope that everyone will get the chance to see the show and/or listen to this wonderful recording!

In 1988 the Cole Porter musical "Anything Goes" received a radical revision that included not only reworking the book but also restoring songs that had been dropped fifty years earlier and adding songs from other Porter musicals. In 1991 the George Gershwin musical "Girl Crazy" was given similar treatment with equally wonderful results. "Crazy for You" features a new libretto by Ken Ludwig ("Lend Me A Tenor"), who was aided by Gershwin archivist Tommy Krasker in coming up with songs by George and Ira Gershwin that would fit the new story. Six songs from the original score of "Girl Crazy" remain, including the classics "Embraceable You," "I Got Rhythm," and "But Not For Me." Two songs, "Tonight's the Night" and "What Causes That" were lost songs that had been dropped from other shows and were only rediscovered in 1982. But some of the most recognizable songs from "Crazy For You" come from Hollywood movies, such as "They Can't Take That Away From Me" from "Shall We Dance." The end result is, indeed, a "new" Gershwin musical comedy and I think this works big time. Unlike Rodgers & Hammerstein, where the musicals have been preserved as films and everybody knows the dramatic context for "Shall We Dance" or "My Favorite Things," the musicals by Gershwin and Porter exist in the dim, dark days before World War II (or pre-"Oklahoma" in Broadway terms).

"Crazy for You" takes place at both the Zangler Theater in New York City in the 1930s where the "Zangler Follies" are being performed, and the has-been mining town of Deadrock, Nevada. The story, of course, centers around a boy meets girl story with Bobby Child (Harry Groener), heir to a wealthy banking family who longs to be in show business, and Polly Baker (Jodi Benson), the feisty postmistress who is the only woman in Deadrock. Of course things get very complex (the description of the two acts runs two full pages in the booklet), but you will be able to understand who is singing which song to whom and why. Then again, this is Gershwin. Being sung by the Little Mermaid no less. You can just enjoy the songs and not concern yourself with the dramatic context.

I saw the PBS broadcast of the show last December and I was hooked. I spent the next six months waiting for PBS to broadcast it again. By the time they did in June, I had a copy of the soundtrack. Man, it's fantastic! For a long time, it was about the only CD I'd listen to. I can't compare it fairly to the London recording because I've only heard the samples here at Amazon.com. I've seen the show live as well and I wish I could be in it someday. I love Gershwin and I love musicals, so this was a no-brainer! If you don't have this show on CD, you'd better buy it. Fantastic is too mild, but I can't think of a better one.

Crazy for You is a wonderful show, and the origenal Cast is full of wonderful voices. Having been in the show, I fell in love with the music, and listening to Bobby's unique, peppy voice in this CD made it even more loveable, definatly shown in "Can't Be Bothered Now". Everyone on this CD has so much character in there voices. I'm amazed at how well everyones vocals are!
Polly has such a wonderful and unique voice, with the perfect bit of American West in it. She has that small pinch of Cowgirl in her voice, making it seem like shes someone from the West. Her solos "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "Not For Me" are phenominal. She has such a wonderful depth and soul to her voice, that you will definatly hear on this CD.
All the Cowboys, well, sound like Cowboys! The funny sound to there voices is great, which you can here in "Biding My Time", one of my favorites for it's origenality. :)
And the one I could NOT just leave out, "Naughty Baby". Fan-tastic. Irenes voices is wonderful. She definatly knows how to play the part. Seductive and Sweet is what this song is. Creative definatly shows what this song is all about. Also, completely great if you get to see the scene on stage.

Overall, this CD is DEFINATLY worth the buy! You get your moneys worth.

After a month of listening to the London version, I recieved this as a gift for being in the musical at school. I must say, it's different, but there is no better sound than that of Slap That Bass and Bidin' My Time. The musical is so hard to pull off, but this CD helps you get to know the words. I know every song by heart.

Obsessed? Of course.

I saw this fun-filled musical comedy, a "reworking" of the Gershwins' 1930 GIRL CRAZY, on Broadway with most of the original cast. The show comes over superbly on CD; I know of few recordings of any musical that capture so vividly the sense of a live stage performance (complete with tap dancing!) Harry Groener and Jodi Benson in the leading roles both have voices of very fine quality and convey many shades of feeling in songs ranging from "I Can't Be Bothered Now," "Things Are Looking Up," and "Someone to Watch Over Me" to "I Got Rhythm," "They Can't Take That Away from Me," and "But Not for Me." The entire cast performs with infectious energy in each and every number, and the recorded sound matches the quality of the performances. A Gershwin feast!

CRAZY FOR YOU was billed as a "new Gershwin musical" when it opened in 1992. It was not really a revival of GIRL CRAZY. Only five of the songs used in CRAZY FOR YOU come from GIRL CRAZY and the plot is a new one fashioned by Mike Ockrent. It is difficult to fit older songs into a new plot but Ockrent did a decent job creating a frothy stage music in the style of the old Fred & Ginger flicks.

Angel has done a first rate job on this original cast disc giving it a bright brassy sound and putting the singers front and centre. The cast and orchestra offer plenty of Broadway razzle-dazzle. The package has a detailed synopis and libretto.
Only one tiny error: The song "someone to Watch Over Me" is in the wrong place on the cd. To follow the show order, program this song (track #6) to come between tracks #9 and #10.

It's bouncy, it's catchy, your feet can't stop tapping on the floor. Your heart melts with those love songs. There's nothing like it. I've heard hundreds of original cast recordings, but this is the BEST. I was lucky enough to see the show in New York, and I'm in love with Harry Groener.

I just wish someone would pair Harry Groener with Barbara Cook before it's too late! I'd love to see them live in concert... together!