City Center Encores Scores with Gershwins' "Girl Crazy"

City Centers Encores is a real favorite - a wonderful series spread over the concert/theater season reviving old musical shows with fully-costumed, semi-staged performances that always sparkle with energy and enthusiasm.  The new season of Encores began with "Girl Crazy," the musical show by George and Ira Gershwin that first opened in 1930, scored an immediate hit with such classic tunes as "Embraceable You" and "I've Got Rhythm," made a star of Ethel Merman, and ran for a then-wonderful 272 performances in the heart of the Depression. 

The music is everything with this show, because the plot is risible and mainly an excuse to string the songs together.  But the songs are really prime, and aside from the several songs that became "standard" you can't hear them without hearing a revival of the show, so thanks to Encores for reaching back a little farther than usual to animate this score for a few performances.

Rob Fisher, the original Encores music director who occasionally comes back for guest appearances, led the music with his usual panache, and Jerry Zaks devised a lively staging in the absence of sets.  The leading players all struck me as terrific in their roles.  The main love interest was portrayed by Chris Diamantopoulos and Becki Newton as Danny and Molly.   Ana Gasteyer flamed through the Merman role of Frisco Kate, belting out "I've Got Rhythm" with impressive gusto, especially in her long held high notes on the reprise.  Marc Kudisch was superb as Slick Follicle, Frisco Kate's philandering husband.  And the comic hit of the cast was Wayne Knight as Gieber Goldfarb, the New York cabbie who suddenly finds himself elected as mayor of a small Arizona town (in which mayors have a short life span).

This was a delight from start to finish, but I'm not sure whether it would be suitable for a transfer to a Broadway house.  The music is great but the book is rather flimsy.  There was a quasi-revival a while back under the name "Crazy for You," which goosed the book, added some songs from other Gershwin shows, and had some success, but it's nice to hear the original.  Nonesuch Records issued a CD of the complete musical score back in the earlier days of CD with John Mauceri conducting, as part of a project to record all the Gershwin musicals that I believe stalled out.  I'm not sure the CD is still in print, but recall the performance fondly.