Sewickley Academy will serve up fun and farce with musical 'Crazy For You'

Spring is on the horizon and love is in the air with the Sewickley Academy senior school’s upcoming musical, “Crazy For You.”

The romantic comedy show will run from March 6-8 in the Rea Auditorium.

“Crazy For You” debuted on Broadway in 1992 and was nominated for a whole slew of Tony Awards, winning Best Musical. It may have been written and staged in the late 20th century, but the score is made up of a collection of classic Gershwin tunes, including “I Got Rhythm” and “Someone To Watch Over Me.”

Rachel Smith, Sewickley Academy theater teacher and director of the musical, said that there are many factors that go into choosing a musical for students to perform.

“Our goal is always to pick a show that will both challenge our students and set them up for success at the same time. So we think about the students that we currently have, what their strengths are and what we haven’t challenged them to do yet to get them a little bit outside of their comfort zone. We have a lot of students currently who are very interested in tap dancing, which played a role in picking this year’s musical. We wanted to feature some tap dancers,” she said.

The show includes several large ensemble dance numbers, which has been a lot of hard work for students but so much fun, as well.

“We have a very talented choreographer and we like to highlight her work. … The numbers all feel different, we have some different styles of dance and some different feels to the numbers,” Smith said.

Another aspect of the show that’s fun for students and audiences alike is the large amount of physical comedy, Smith said.

“They’re playing with physical comedy onstage, which is not something that happens with every musical,” she said.

“Crazy For You” has a plot worthy of a Hallmark Christmas movie. Leading man Bobby Child is a New York City banker who dreams of a career in dance. He has to travel to small-town Nevada to foreclose on a local theater. The trouble is, he falls in love with the theater owner’s daughter, Polly Baker, at first sight. With this newfound feeling, he instead vows to save the business.

But Polly — naturally — hates Bobby and can’t be persuaded by him. To try to earn her love, he impersonates Bela Zangler, a dance director from New York City. As Zangler, he and Polly plan a fundraising show to benefit the theater. Hijinks ensue!

Severin Harmon, 18, is a Sewickley Academy senior playing the role of Bobby Child in the musical.

“I basically get to run around and act super energetic, which is tiring, but also a lot of fun,” Harmon said.

Harmon has been involved in shows at Sewickley Academy since his middle school years. He said that the amount of choreography in the show is a lot, but it’s also worth it.

“It’s really rewarding when it all pays off, and we’re kind of getting to that stage right now. It’s exciting.”

Senior Avni Kathju, 17, is this production’s Polly Baker. She loves how strong her character is.

“She can be a little sassy and headstrong but I love that about her,” Kathju said. “She really knows her worth and won’t take a lot of nonsense from other people. I really love to be able to play that and connect to that part about her.”

Even if “Crazy For You” is a lighter show, the team at Sewickley Academy still wants to make sure that the audience is dazzled.

“It is a big show, there are several different locations that we travel to and our set designer — who is also our technical director, Katrina Kayden — has a very ambitious set design that’s really coming together. Lots of building exteriors and building interiors,” Smith said. “It’s a very large set and it’s also mobile and can transform.”

Smith is currently in her third year teaching fourth through 12th graders at Sewickley Academy. She directs the fifth grade, middle school and senior school musicals, as well as the senior school play.

“The productions really are a team effort, it’s our entire department. We have three music teachers, a dance teacher, a technical director and then myself and it’s really the six of us who work together to put on these productions,” she said.

All of the teachers have full class schedules on top of the performances, so working together smoothly is crucial.

“There’s a lot of trust and respect and a lot of shared responsibility. We have to be a well-oiled machine,” Smith said.

The success of rehearsals seems to indicate that this highly-anticipated production will go off without a hitch.

“We are having a lot of fun, the kids are really enjoying the script and the silly hijinks that come along with it,” Smith said. “We have some numbers we’re choreographing that are very silly and lighthearted … we’re starting to add things like props and costumes and choreographing some of the stage combat that happens. We’re starting to rehearse chunks of the show, which makes it feel more real than just random scenes.”

“We’re working hard and I think it’s going great,” said Rocco Colditz, a 17-year-old senior who is serving as stage manager for “Crazy For You.” During rehearsals, he’s helping the actors to run lines and keeping everything organized. During the show’s performances, he’ll run lighting and sound cues, in addition to making sure everything goes smoothly backstage.

“Our actors are on top of things,” he added. “I like to imagine I’m on top of things. I think we’re going to be ready.”

“I’m really proud of our cast,” Kathju said. “I think everybody’s been able to connect really well with each other and with our musical, and the dancing is amazing. The songs are just so fun to sing and act through, and I’m really excited to perform it.”

”Crazy For You,” presented by the Sewickley Academy Senior School, will be performed from March 6-8 at the Rea Auditorium. For ticket information, visit sewickley.org.