McClanahan, Denman, Etc. Set for ME Crazy for You

Ogunquit Playhouse, located in Ogunquit, Maine, has announced a star-studded cast of Crazy for You, "The New Gershwin Musical Comedy," running July 3-14.

The cast includes Jeffry Denman (The Producers, How to Succeed..., Cats) as Bobby, Helen Hayes Award-nominee Beverly Ward (Crazy for You in London, Berlin and on tour, Show Boat, Chicago) as Polly, Angie Schworer (The Producers) as Irene, Marc Donovan as Bella and special guest star Rue McClanahan as Mother. Directed and choreographed by Kirby Ward, who created the role of Bobby Child for the London stage, the show will also feature the Broadway sets and William Ivy Long's Tony-award winning costumes.

"The stage is now set for a spectacular production of this glorious Tony-award winning Gershwin musical," says Bradford Kenney, Executive Artistic Director. "'Who could ask for anything more in what is truly any theatre's dream cast for Crazy for You? We have one of the nation's greatest song and dance men in Jeffry Denman, Beverly Ward is known on stages around the world as the consummate Polly, one of Broadway's most glamorous and sexy vixens in Angie Schworer, and who better to play the Society Mother than Emmy-Award winner Rue McClanahan?"

Emmy Award winner, Rue McClanahan will make her Ogunquit debut as Bobby Child's overbearing mother. A veteran television actress and Broadway star, McClanahan made her television debut on "All in the Family." She later appeared in "Maude," followed by "Mama's Family," with Carol Burnett. She is best known for her role as the saucy, southern belle, Blanche, in "The Golden Girls" for which she won an Emmy. In addition to lending her talents to a number of made for TV films, McClanahan has also appeared on the big screen in recent years co-starring with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in the comedy Out to Sea (1997) and with Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers (1997). Though she made her name in television, McClanahan began her career on stage and recently returned to Broadway as Madame Morrible in Stephen Schwartz'sWicked.

"With such memorable Gershwin classics as 'I Got Rhythm,' 'They Can't Take that Away from Me,' and 'Embraceable You,' Crazy for You is sure to delight audiences of all ages.  In this all-singing, all tap-dancing 1992 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, the audience will be swept up in an artfully constructed tale of boy meets girl in the Wild West.  With romance and mistaken identities, they spread goodness and ultimately fall in love.  Add an all-star cast, Broadway sets and Tony-Award winning costumes and you've got a toe tapping smash hit," as press notes describe.

Performances are Tuesday-Friday Evenings at 8 p.m., Saturday Evenings at 8:30 p.m. and matinees Wednesday and Thursday at 2:30 p.m. and new for 2007, Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Ticket prices rang from $39 to $48.  Tickets are available now at the Ogunquit Playhouse Box Office at 207.646.5511 or by visiting the website at www.ogunquitplayhouse.org.

Photo of Rue McClanahan by Linda Lenzi