The labeling of “Girl Crazy,” the 1930 Gershwin show and inspiration for the current “Crazy for You,” as a flop in the Oct. 17 issue of “The Arts” is unfair to the memory of the show and inaccurate.
“Girl Crazy” has a place in the popular musical theater, whatever the show’s limitations may be by contemporary standards. It had a run of 272 performances, which was considered quite respectable in the Broadway world of the time.
The musical starred Ginger Rogers and introduced Ethel Merman. It contained a score described by Martin Gottfried in “Broadway Musicals” as “marvelous.” Two numbers, “Embraceable You” and “I Got Rhythm,” have been a part of the canon of the American popular song since opening night. Frequent stage revivals and two film adaptations have kept this lively work a part of the entertainment world prior to the successful reworking.
Louis Botto, in his authoritative “At This Theater,” calls “Girl Crazy” one of the Alvin Theatre’s historic musicals. The Alvin housed “Porgy and Bess,” “Lady in the Dark,” “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “Annie” among many shows. George Gershwin described the show as “a hit.”
“Girl Crazy” does not belong on a list of the best nor the most popular of musicals. The original production was not a flop. The show had a secure place in theater lore prior to being born again.
