It is a long tradition that the Wichita State School of Performing Arts’s last show is one to remember.

The musical has to distract students from upcoming final exams and end the theater season with a flourish.

This year’s final show, “Crazy for You”, lived up to expectation that it would be larger-than-life. It features the music of the famed Gershwin brothers, who set the standard for Broadway show tunes.

The posters for “Crazy for You” proclaimed the show as “the new Gershwin musical comedy”. This might be curious to some, since the Gershwins’ works were first produced from beginning in the 1920’s through the 1940’s.

The musical is considered “new” as it was first performed in 1992. Playwright Ken Ludwig was heavily inspired by the Gershwin musical “Girl Crazy”, in which a New York entertainer falls in love with an Arizona postmistress.

Ludwig created a different story while incorporating a “best of” song list from various Gershwin productions.

Joseph Consiglio and Janet Wiggins played the romantic leads in the WSU production.

The cast included a delightful mesh of upper-class New Yorkers and showgirls.

The primary setting is in the town of Deadrock, Ariz. This setting calls for a colorful band of cowboys amongst the ensemble characters. In the play, the cowboys are coaxed into performing in a show to pay off a mortgage on the town’s theater.

Many great theatrics were pulled off brilliantly in this production, including feats such as a long line of showgirls exiting a miniscule car.

The notable clashes between the worlds of New York and Arizona are celebrated in the set and costume design.

These successes are a credit to scenic designer Michael Downs, costume designer Betty Monroe and lighting designer Madelynn Nevins. Director and choreographer Amy Baker Schwiethale especially earned her round of applause.

Every musical number had the packed theater roaring in approval over the superior showmanship.

“Crazy for You” was a phenomenal curtain draw for this year’s theater season. The next season promises to include more great productions, including “Guys and Dolls,” “Everyman” and the famed opera “Die Fledermaus.”