CRAZY FOR YOU
Book by Ken Ludwig. Lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Music by George Gershwin. At Reagle Music Theatre, Waltham, Aug. 4-14. Tickets: $35-$63, 781-891-5600, www.reaglemusic
theatre.com
In a business where the latest is often assumed to be the greatest, Kirby and Beverly Ward are proud throwbacks. To borrow from an old phrase: They sing, they dance, they do it all. In cabaret shows, they alternate favorites from the Great American Songbook with stories about their life together in showbiz. Locally, they’ve been favorites at Reagle Music Theatre in Waltham since appearing together there in “Show Boat’’ in 1997. In the meantime, Kirby has won two Independent Reviewers of New England Awards for directing, and the duo has collaborated as writers of three musicals-in-progress.
“Crazy for You,’’ which begins performances at the Reagle on Thursday, may be the perfect showcase for their talents. Assembled posthumously from the songs of George and Ira Gershwin, the show won the Tony Award for best musical in 1992, and Kirby subsequently starred in the West End production, earning an Olivier Award nomination — and almost literally rubbing elbows with Queen Elizabeth II.
In a phone call with the Globe, the two display the same easy back-and-forth that is familiar from their onstage presence.
Q. How does your relationship offstage affect your work onstage?
Kirby Ward: We were hired to play opposite each other very early on, and I think there was a unique connection onstage that people enjoyed watching.
Beverly Ward: It’s kind of an unfair advantage, but you’ve got to take any advantage you can get in the theater. I think there was something about our chemistry offstage that we were able to show onstage and pull people in.
Kirby: We try and entertain in that style of entertainment that I don’t think you see very much of anymore.
Beverly: The musical theater industry has evolved and people are great dancers and great singers, but I think there’s a difference between that and someone who really considers him or herself a song-and-dance specialist.
Q. Kirby, is there a story behind how you got cast in the London production of “Crazy for You’’? [Both laugh.]
Kirby: It was a rocky trip to being cast. We both auditioned for the New York production.
Beverly: They told both of us: Thank you. Next.
Kirby: We were frustrated. And then we got calls from friends of ours who did get callbacks, and told us they were reading the script and it was just perfect for the two of us. So we both — and I can’t believe we did this — we found out where the callbacks were and went there and said that we really think we’re right for the show, and could we please come in and do our thing for the director in the next room? They said no, and so we left with our tails between our legs.
Seven months later we went in again to audition for the London production, and the casting director looked at our pictures and resume and said, “Did you audition originally? I want you please to come in and meet the director and the choreographer.’’ They all said the same thing: Where were you when we were looking for people seven months ago? Actually, we were right outside that door!
Q. What was it like when you gave a command performance for Elizabeth II?
Kirby: The streets were packed with people hoping to catch a glimpse of the queen. She had her Bentley waiting outside the stage door.
It was the Queen Mom’s birthday and we went up to the queen’s box. I was told that when I met her, or the queen, I was supposed to bow and all this stuff. I remember waiting in line to meet the Queen Mom, and I felt somebody standing next to me kind of nudge me with her elbow. And I turned to see who it was, and it was the queen. She was giving me one of those nudge-nudge things, and she said, “Look at her face, she’s so happy, she just loved it.’’ And now I’m having this little quiet, private conversation with the queen.
Prince Edward was dating [someone in the cast], and I got to know him. One time I played him in tennis. I had to be trained in how to play what they call royal tennis, or real tennis, which isn’t the actual tennis everyone knows.
Q. What is it about the work of the Gershwins that still stands up to interpretation in 2016?
Kirby: These were the top popular tunes of the day. [George] was on the forefront of the jazz era. And so, just as Lin-Manuel Miranda is introducing rap musicals to Broadway, Gershwin was really at the forefront of writing a jazz musical.
Beverly: Yes, he was writing the pop music of his time, but I don’t know if I see Taylor Swift, God love her, having the kind of staying power that the Gershwin brothers have. It’s hard to know what will survive, but these melodies are so beautiful.
Kirby: And the lyrics are so clever.
Beverly: I wonder if there’s something about the Gershwin brothers having the same advantage that Kirby and I have. They have this intimate relationship as brothers. It’s such a symbiotic thing and it created something really rare and special.
Q. You’ve done “Crazy for You’’ a lot over the years. Is there still something new there for you to discover?
Kirby: Absolutely. There’s always room to get better at what you’re doing.
Beverly: Always, always, always.
Kirby: The more you discover about it, the deeper level of complexity you can go to. We’ve done it so many years, we’ve dug pretty deep into this piece.
Beverly: The other thing you begin to realize as you get older is that you are able to maybe find more simplicity as well. It’s maybe more difficult when you’re younger and more feverish in your approach.
Kirby: It’s more like, we just kind of feel like we are these people.
Beverly: I think maybe now it’s even easier to be them, as opposed to playing them.
Kirby: That’s a deep comment.
CRAZY FOR YOU
Book by Ken Ludwig. Lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Music by George Gershwin. At Reagle Music Theatre, Waltham, Aug. 4-14. Tickets: $35-$63, 781-891-5600, www.reaglemusictheatre.com
Interview has been edited and condensed. Jeremy D. Goodwin can be reached at jeremy@jeremydgoodwin .com. Follow him on Twitter @jeremydgoodwin.
