Review: SME Theatre puts on “Crazy For You,” an action-packed romcom

Three hours of East’s high school musical left my head humming whimsical tunes and my feet trying to keep up with the tap routines.

On Feb. 6-9, SME theatre performed the show “Crazy For You” — a romantic musical about a banker in pursuit of a dancing career who makes his way out to the Wild West to find his dream. 

The main character, Bobby Child — played by freshman Fritz Sullivan — wowed the audience with a powerful voice and a talent of tap dancing through the streets of New York.

The background dancers, decked out in sparkly neon-pink outfits, short blonde bobs and red lipstick, were Bobby’s unofficial entourage — they danced behind him and provided comical facial expressions.

Senior Lucy Brock played a local country girl named Polly Baker — her country twang was spot on with a “ya’ll” every five seconds and quick-witted humor. Her Wild West embodiment provided a necessary contrast to the New York lifestyle Bobby brought with him.

Polly Baker loves theatre, as her mother and father were both performers, but her father can no longer run the theatre. In time Bobby Child comes to save the day, but with a few hidden secrets, none the less to get a show on stage. It’s like any cliché romcom story — the guy saves the girl’s dreams.

With such a crazy plot, it was impressive to see the characters fit the the story line perfectly — the sassy dancers with their crazy head feathers danced in the New York streets while Bobby was always wearing a well-fitting suit and sharp smile to highlight his put-togetherness.

When the scene shifted to the Wild West after Bobby traveled there from NYC, the locals were all walking around bow-legged like they just got off a horse. All of the cast fit right in to the scene like they were born and raised with their country accents, crooked hats and dirty boots.

Not only were the characters well put together, but so was the setting. Jumping from New York to Nevada was quite a difference and the musical showed that. From bright lights and big billboard signs in the background to red dusted rocks and rotting wood with fading paint, I found the amount of detail in the settings and props portrayed the difference between the two states very well.

Along with the characters and the setting, the music to the musical was mood changing. It went from “Slap that Bass,” a fast pace country song where the hillbillies are playing the cellos and are making jazz hands, to the song “Embraceable You,” a slow romantic love song where Bobby and Polly slow dance and confess their love for one another.

The overall musical that SME put on portrayed an amazing love story of two people from two completely different worlds, and the range in settings and music left me buying a ticket for the next day’s showing.