Yesterday I caught the matinee of the new John Waters musical Cry Baby.
I was pretty excited to see this show. It has a lot of buzz about it, and while it’s still in previews, it’s had a run at the La Jolla Playhouse, so I was expecting a polished show.
Yeah, that’s not what I got. What I got was an adaptation of a John Waters film that attempted to be “Hairspray 2.” Just like Hairspray, John Waters has a demented vision of Baltimore that can manage to be satirical, funny, and revolutionary onstage. I don’t feel as though the writing, characterizations, or performances go far enough to make the tone of the show succeed. The “Squares” are not square enough, and the differences between the Squares and the Rebels are not followed through to the end of the show. The plot seems to switch back and forth from the differences between the two groups and the love story. Its inconsistencies fail to make the show satirical and sarcastic.
The production definitely follows the commercial aspects of Broadway’s development: Impressive choreography, a pop/rock score, physically attractive cast, strong and acrobatic vocals, flashy set and lighting design. This is the type of show that is an acquired taste. Just as one needs to be in a specific mood to sit and watch a Shakespearean production or opera, they also need to be prepared for a flashy presentation such as Cry Baby. While the lighting design was outstanding and definitely contributed to the production, I didn’t feel as though the set design matched the same quality. The costumes looked great and had some great attention to detail, but they were a bit more subdued than one would think for the subject matter.
In terms of performances, the cast is amazingly talented, and it definitely inspired me to work hard as a performer. The ensemble should win a special Tony award for the most talented ensemble on Broadway. They were absolutely my favorite part of the show. They took Rob Marshall’s choreography and pulled it off with such flair (and that is no easy feat). James Snyder was thoroughly unimpressive as Cry-Baby. I couldn’t tell if it was the writing or his interpretation of the character, but I didn’t feel as though he was ‘bad’ enough for the reactions the rest of the cast had to him. Out of all of the rebels in the show, he came off as the tamest. While his vocals were better than I was expecting, his poor acting and subdued character failed to win me over. Harriet Harris was spot on with her comedic timing, but her vocals were just not there. Perhaps they should rethink the length of her 11 o’clock number. As the ‘good girl gone bad,’ Elizabeth Stanley was fantastic. She perfected her naivety in Company, and now she has become a Broadway ingénue. Her vocal and character type is an acquired taste to be sure, but she won us over with her quirky and conflicted character, not to mention her surprisingly powerful vocals. Girlfriend is going to be around for a while. Christopher Hanke appeared like a perfect fit for the lead Square, and he seemed to have the firmest grasp on the sarcasm of the show, his poor acting skills failed to take it to the necessary level. The three rebel girls outshone Chester Gregory and stole the stage whenever they were on it. But the true stage stealer was Alli Mauzey, who played the quirky and schizophrenic Lenora. Obsessed with Cry Baby, her scenes showcased her competence as a character actress, and her songs suited her voice beautifully. Of all the performances in the show, Mauzey’s stands out the most.
I’ve never seen the film that the musical is based on, and mostly wish I had seen it before I watched the show to have a better understanding of the tone of the show, and perhaps I would have been less shocked by the material than I was. I give the production a C-, and hope that they take leaps and bounds to improve the lackluster script and characters.
I was pretty excited to see this show. It has a lot of buzz about it, and while it’s still in previews, it’s had a run at the La Jolla Playhouse, so I was expecting a polished show.
Yeah, that’s not what I got. What I got was an adaptation of a John Waters film that attempted to be “Hairspray 2.” Just like Hairspray, John Waters has a demented vision of Baltimore that can manage to be satirical, funny, and revolutionary onstage. I don’t feel as though the writing, characterizations, or performances go far enough to make the tone of the show succeed. The “Squares” are not square enough, and the differences between the Squares and the Rebels are not followed through to the end of the show. The plot seems to switch back and forth from the differences between the two groups and the love story. Its inconsistencies fail to make the show satirical and sarcastic.
The production definitely follows the commercial aspects of Broadway’s development: Impressive choreography, a pop/rock score, physically attractive cast, strong and acrobatic vocals, flashy set and lighting design. This is the type of show that is an acquired taste. Just as one needs to be in a specific mood to sit and watch a Shakespearean production or opera, they also need to be prepared for a flashy presentation such as Cry Baby. While the lighting design was outstanding and definitely contributed to the production, I didn’t feel as though the set design matched the same quality. The costumes looked great and had some great attention to detail, but they were a bit more subdued than one would think for the subject matter.
In terms of performances, the cast is amazingly talented, and it definitely inspired me to work hard as a performer. The ensemble should win a special Tony award for the most talented ensemble on Broadway. They were absolutely my favorite part of the show. They took Rob Marshall’s choreography and pulled it off with such flair (and that is no easy feat). James Snyder was thoroughly unimpressive as Cry-Baby. I couldn’t tell if it was the writing or his interpretation of the character, but I didn’t feel as though he was ‘bad’ enough for the reactions the rest of the cast had to him. Out of all of the rebels in the show, he came off as the tamest. While his vocals were better than I was expecting, his poor acting and subdued character failed to win me over. Harriet Harris was spot on with her comedic timing, but her vocals were just not there. Perhaps they should rethink the length of her 11 o’clock number. As the ‘good girl gone bad,’ Elizabeth Stanley was fantastic. She perfected her naivety in Company, and now she has become a Broadway ingénue. Her vocal and character type is an acquired taste to be sure, but she won us over with her quirky and conflicted character, not to mention her surprisingly powerful vocals. Girlfriend is going to be around for a while. Christopher Hanke appeared like a perfect fit for the lead Square, and he seemed to have the firmest grasp on the sarcasm of the show, his poor acting skills failed to take it to the necessary level. The three rebel girls outshone Chester Gregory and stole the stage whenever they were on it. But the true stage stealer was Alli Mauzey, who played the quirky and schizophrenic Lenora. Obsessed with Cry Baby, her scenes showcased her competence as a character actress, and her songs suited her voice beautifully. Of all the performances in the show, Mauzey’s stands out the most.
I’ve never seen the film that the musical is based on, and mostly wish I had seen it before I watched the show to have a better understanding of the tone of the show, and perhaps I would have been less shocked by the material than I was. I give the production a C-, and hope that they take leaps and bounds to improve the lackluster script and characters.
P.S. How gross is the artwork for this show?? I dislike it almost as much as the artwork for The Little Mermaid! (now that's sayin' something)
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