Lower Burrell native arrives with 'Crazy For You'

A group of people involved in the arts come together to try to save a historic vaudeville theater. That's exactly what happened in Greensburg, when the Palace Theatre was nearly sold and turned into a video arcade. It's also the plotline of the adapted George and Ira Gershwin musical 'Crazy for You,' which will be performed tonight at the Palace.

'Crazy for You' is a modern adaptation of the Gershwins' first musical collaboration, 'Girl Crazy' (1930). The classic musical's story finds a would-be suitor using his boss's cronies to put on a benefit show to save a theater in Deadrock, Ariz. - all to impress a girl.

One of the main roles in the 'Crazy for You' national tour - Irene, the suitor's jilted fiancee - is played by Joy Suprano, a 1998 graduate of Lower Burrell High School who studied theater at Pittsburgh Musical Theater (formerly Gargaro Productions) and the American Music and Drama Academy in New York City.

'I really have a dream role in this one,' says Suprano in a telephone interview from the road.

'Everyone in the ensemble has this whole bunch of roles and these big dance numbers. I just have to come out and get my one-liners in and sing my one big number. You can't beat that,' she says.

Last year, Suprano toured the nation in the ensemble of 'Annie' for 10 months. She'll wrap up five months of touring with 'Crazy for You' at the end of May.

While she has lived in New York since 1998, touring has kept her on the road for most of that time.

'I've been to 48 states in the last two years,' she says. 'I've always loved performing in Pittsburgh, because that's where I grew up, and I'll have about 30 family members at this Greensburg show.'

In addition to 'Annie,' Suprano has been in ensemble roles throughout New York City and in some shows in northern New York state. She's a devotee of musical theater and wants to continue acting in musicals.

'Ensemble roles are always really difficult, because you're playing a bunch of different roles and the dancing is very physically demanding,' she says. 'I want to keep doing the acting parts in shows like 'Annie' and 'Crazy for You,' because with a role like Irene you can really focus on the acting.'

Suprano also is auditioning for television and film work in New York and is planning to take more acting classes after she returns to the city from the 'Crazy for You' tour. Although she's not familiar with the Palace, she says she is looking forward to performing for a western Pennsylvania audience.

'I loved performing in Pittsburgh when I was with Gargaro Productions,' she says. 'Ken Gargaro was my first mentor before I went to New York. I started dancing and singing when I was there, and my career has only grown since.'

The Palace Theatre also has grown a lot since it was bought by the Westmoreland Trust in 1994. The venue will play the role of a Deadrock theater in 'Crazy For You.' The Deadrock and the Palace are former vaudeville theaters that fell on hard times after the vaudeville circuit died off.

'It is a nice parallel,' says Teresa Baughman, spokeswoman for the Westmoreland Trust (the group that reopened the Palace) and promoter for 'Crazy for You.' 'Except for the love angle, it's a lot like what happened here. We've already saved this theater, and we're continuing to save it with the ongoing renovations.'

Baughman says the Westmoreland Trust wasn't looking for such a locally significant storyline when 'Crazy For You' was booked. The nonprofit organization was only after a good musical.

'We honestly just wanted to book a musical that hadn't been done recently in the area by one of the high schools or the civic groups,' Baughman says. 'The saving a theater thing is a nice parallel, except for the love angle - no one here is getting engaged or looking to win someone's heart.'

Jeff Yoders can be reached at jyoders@tribweb.com or (724) 838-5150.