JANIE GOULD

Riverside Theatre will kick off the new year in style on Jan. 13 with the opening of the Gershwin brothers’ beloved musical comedy “Crazy for You.”

“Crazy for You,” the winner of the 1992 Tony Award for Best Musical, will play on Riverside’s Stark Stage through Feb. 1 and is sponsored by the theatre’s Patron Producers.

It’s the musical story of Bobby Child, a rich, pampered 1930s New York playboy who is sent by his domineering mother to Deadrock, Nevada, to foreclose the mortgage on a long-dormant theatre. When he arrives in the sleepy Western mining town, Bobby’s adventures take an unexpected turn when he falls head over heels in love with Polly Baker, the town’s postmistress who is the only girl in a town of 157 men.

He convinces the townspeople he is a big-time Broadway producer and they foresee a big show with fancy showgirls and local townsfolk. There are mistaken identities and plot twists as a bevy of characters descend on Deadrock for a toe-tapping, high-energy musical comedy full of classic songs and thrilling dance numbers.

Most of the tunes will be familiar to the audience: “Could You Use Me?” “I Got Rhythm,” ‘Shall We Dance?” “Embraceable You,” and many other classics of the great American songbook.

Oscar Sales, Riverside’s director of marketing, said audience members, whether they are 20-somethings or octogenarians, will recognize and enjoy the music.

“What makes the show so special is definitely the great Gershwin music,” he said. “The dynamic tap dancing makes the show even more special. Audiences will be singing along and will leave the auditorium ready to dance.”

The show is based on George and Ira Gershwin’s 1939 musical, “Girl Crazy” and an updated book by Ken Ludwig. It includes songs from other Gershwin productions. “Crazy for You” opened on Broadway in 1992 and ran for more than 1,600 performances. A production also played on London’s West End for nearly three years.

Sales says the show has classic appeal.

“The heart of the story is what makes it timeless — finding true love, finding your calling in life and going after it,” he said. “And this is the most toe-tapping show we’ve had since ‘42^nd Street’!”

George Gershwin was the composer and Ira the lyricist. George dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to become a “song plugger” for a music publisher and soon started composing songs himself.  Fame came to him with the song “Swanee.” He went on to write 22 musical comedies, most with lyrics by his older brother.

George also aspired to write serious music, which he did with “Rhapsody in Blue,” “Concerto in F,” “An American in Paris” and “Second Rhapsody.” He was at the height of his career, working on the score of the Goldwyn Follies,” when he died of a brain tumor in 1937, at the age of 38.

Ira Gershwin, two years older than George, had a much longer career. He had successful collaborations with several other composers, including Jerome Kern, with whom he created the hit song “Long Ago and Far Away. The first songwriter to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize, Ira Gershwin died in 1983.

Riverside’s production is directed by James Brennan and stars Drew Nellessen as Bobby Child, Abby Church as Polly Baker, James Beaman as Bella Zangler, Stacey Harris as Irene Roth, John O’Creagh as Everett Baker, Tony Lawson as Lank Hawkins, Eve Plumb as mother, Marcus Steven as Eugene Fodor, Joanie Brittingham as Patricia Fodor and Karen Hyland as Tess.

The ensemble consists of Michael Biren, Molly Jean Blodgett, Courtney Brady, Lauren Defilippo, Elise Dwenger, Sarah Fagan, Jerry Gallagher, Natalia Lepore Hagan, Beverly Jensen, Devin Johnson, Ben Laxton. Ben Liebert, Michael McGurk, Rob Reynolds and Darius Wright.

The creative team includes Deanna Dys, choreographer; Ken Clifton, music director; Michael Anania, scenic designer; Julie Duro, lighting designer; Kurt Alger, costume and wig designer; Craig Beyrooti, sound designer; Mark Johnson, stage manager; and Amy Bertacini, assistant stage manager.

Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased by calling the Riverside box office at 772-231-6990 or going online to www.riversidetheatre.com. Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; opening night (the first Tuesday performance), Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; with matinees on Wednesdays and select Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Riverside’s 2014-15 season is sponsored by Croom Construction Co., Fidelity Investments, Health First, Inc.; O’Haire Fessler Group – Merrill Lynch Wealth Management; Jaguar Land Rover of the Treasure Coast, Northern Trust, Indian River Press Journal, 93.7 The Breeze, Vatland Honda, Marriott SpringHill Suites and Vero Beach Magazine.