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Schools

"Crazy for You" Hits The GCHS Stage

Students from District 127 perform the Tony award-winning musical this weekend.

Classic Gershwin songs come to life onstage in the comedic love story “Crazy for You” put on by high school students.

In the musical, New York banker Bobby Child is sent to a small, poor town in Nevada to close down a local theatre. Soon, he falls in love with the theatre owner’s daughter, Polly, and dreams up a plan to put on a Broadway-style show to save the theatre. In the end the town is invigorated and Bobby finds true love.

The original 1992 production is based on the book by Ken Ludwig and is packed full of Gershwin songs including: “I Got Rhythm,” “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Shall We Dance.”

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Director Maureen Ritter of Grayslake Central High School has been working on the production for the past year, stepping up the song and dance portion of the musical to really show off the students' talent.

“This is a really intense show that we picked specifically because we have the amount and types of kids who we have,” Ritter said.

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“This show is massive,” said Lauren Sagendorph, 18, who plays Polly. “The set is huge; there is a big cast, a lot of dancing and singing. This show is epic for us.”

The musical includes seven full song and dance numbers; a true test for many of the cast members who do not consider themselves dancers.

“You’ll see us practicing our dances in the hallways. We’ve really had to learn a lot for this,” said Lauren Wright, 18, who plays Tess, Bobby’s Child’s best friend. “We’ve worked really hard. The more dancers the bigger it sounds and the better it looks. It’s amazing, really.”

The more than 100 cast, crew and pit members come from both Central and North High Schools. Rehearsing five days a week since January, Ritter said the work ethic among these students is absolutely incredible.

“This is a really intense show with the amount of song and dance that we have,” Ritter said. “These students are constantly pushing themselves. They are just amazing and a real tribute to getting this done.”

While the song, dance and lines can be learned, the chemistry on-stage is natural. Many of the actors consider themselves good friends, and have been working together since their freshman year.

“We really feed off each other,” said Sagendorph of working with her good friend Jacob Schrimpf, who plays Bobby, her love interest in the musical.

“It’s really been a lot of fun,” Schrimpf added.

In the show “the entire town comes together in the end, just as the cast has all come together for this,” said Wright. “The chemistry is very strong on this show and it will definitely come across to the audience.”

What will also come across is the monumental significance this show has for many of the actors who are in their senior year. For most it will be their final high school musical.

“It’s really bittersweet,” said Schrimpf, 18, a senior at Central. “Everyone has really worked so hard on this and it’s such a great feeling, but it’s also very sad.”

“It’s a great sendoff show,” said Sagendorph, a senior at North. “We have really pushed the envelope and have tried really hard on this show with the set, the dance and the music. It’s just going to be fantastic.”

. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at http://seatyourself.biz/gchs.

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