Building upon the high standard set by the success of West Side Story in 2007, this year’s production of Crazy for You does not disappoint. Indeed, doing for musical theatre what their Cambridge counterparts do for comedy, the Edinburgh University Footlights have, over the last few years, proven themselves to be among the top amateur performance-arts groups in the country.

Louise Alder, taking on the lead female role for a second year running, is fast proving herself to be something of an emerging star. Her voice is spectacular and her performance full of the kind of sass that brings to mind the classical film heroines of days gone by. Alder is far more rounded as an actress this time round than in the 2007 production of West Side Story: her delivery is more natural and she appears far more comfortable in the shoes of Polly Baker than those of Maria. At the risk of sounding detrimental to the rest of the cast, she leaves everyone else looking ordinary and is most certainly one to watch for the future.

Through no fault of his own, her male counter-part, Robin Stewart, suffers in comparison when they share the stage. However, he proves himself to be a staggeringly adept physical comedian. His gangly, awkward demeanor lights up the production with several moments of slapstick genius. When playing off an equally excellent Alex Crutcher, in the role of theatre-mogul Bela Zangler, his pedigree as a practiced comedy actor is obvious.

This show is not perfect, however. The plot, more so than many musicals, is both thin and unoriginal. Indeed, Crazy for You can be considered a fairly poor example of the genre: a collection of big showtunes, the likes of 'I Got Rhythm,' and 'Slap that Bass' from the Gershwins Ira and George, with a flimsy new storyline posthumously tacked on. That is not to say this production is ever anything less than enjoyable, however one does suspect that were Footlights to have taken on a different title, they would have come much closer to perfection.

A special mention must also go to the Footlights orchestra, intelligently led by Angus Tully, a group of musicians whose talent ensures that focus remains with the action onstage, where a poorer ensemble might draw attention towards screechings from the pit. With a solid director in Polly Bennett, there is a professionalism about Footlights that is rare for amateur theatre and seemingly mythical among student performers. Unsurprisingly, then, the annual Footlights show is steadily pushing itself onto the Edinburgh arts calendar.