And the amateur musical group have pulled off an incredible coup by signing up a top West End choreographer and director to direct their latest performance.

It would perhaps be quicker to list the people Gillian Gregory hasn't worked with, rather than those she has - but here's a taste: Kenneth Branagh, Michael Crawford, David Essex, Harrison Ford, Rudolf Nureyev, George Lucas, Cliff Richard and Catherine Zeta Jones.

Gillian Gregory

Gillian began as a dancer in theatre, cabaret, television and film and went on to teach classical ballet, jazz and tap at the London Dance School.

Since then she has done choreography for some top films, including Bugsy Malone, The Wall, and Return of the Jedi, and her theatre credits are seemingly endless.

Now, back in her home town, she's directing and passing on her teaching skills to the members of Shrewsbury Amateur Operatic Society.

Crazy For You, the society's next production, opens on Saturday 19th October at Shrewsbury Music Hall and runs for a week.

It's a blend of the music of George Gershwin and his brother Ira's lyrics, set in a story conceived by Ken Ludwig and Mike Okrent.

Songs include classic Gershwin numbers such as I Got Rhythm, Someone To Watch Over Me, Nice Work If You Can Get it and Slap That Bass, and there are plenty of exciting dance numbers - as you'd expect with a West End choreographer in charge.

The lavish My Fair Lady was the group's last production

The story is set in the 1930s, and concerns a wealthy young New Yorker, who is sent to a sleepy Nevada town to repossess a mortgaged theatre house.

In the true style of the musicals, he falls in love with the owner's daughter and a plot is hatched to save the place by putting on a hit show.

Crazy For You is actually loosely based around the 1930s musical Girl Crazy. It first saw the light of day on Broadway at the end of the 1980s, when it was directed by Mike Okrent.

And by strange coincidence, Gillian Gregory has worked with Okrent and has some inside information on how Crazy For You was born.

She said: "Mike Ockrent directed "Me & My Girl" here in the UK and on Broadway. I was his choreographer so I got to know him well.

"He told me that whilst doing the try out in Washington DC the show was failing dismally and needed a lot of re-writing. His solution was to take "M&MG" as his model and turn the characters of "Crazy" around to become surrogate versions of the leading roles in "M&MG".

"If you know "Me & My Girl" you will not find it difficult to work this out. The result was a highly successful musical which, fortunately for us, has been released for amateur companies to perform. For my first involvement with the S.A.O.S. as their director I feel very honoured to be given the challenge of guiding the company through the nuances of this entertaining script and remarkable score."