Cry-Baby

 In the past several years there have been several musicals set in the 50s and 60s including Wedding Singer, Footloose, Saturday Night Fever, and Hairspray. Before that there was Grease and Bye Bye Birdie. Do we need another addition to this well-traveled time period?  Maybe not but then there is the new musical Cry- Baby that recently opened at the La Jolla Playhouse. It is terrific!

     Cry- Baby is based, like Hairspray, on a film by John Waters. Set in Baltimore in 1954 it recounts the collision of two worlds; the world of bobby soxers and barbershop quartets, and the new world which came about with the introduction of rock and roll, Its also a classic tale of a bad boy meets good girl. Cry Baby, the character, is loosely based on a James Dean-like character from Rebel Without A Cause. He is misunderstood and not nearly as bad as he seems. He meets and falls for Alyson, a sweater-wearing high school sweetheart whose boyfriend (well played by Christian J. Hanke) is head of the “Squares” and determined to keep Alyson from Cry Baby. Added to this very familiar mix is Cry Baby’s rag tag gang of followers, the rest of the “Squares”. Allyson’s uptight mom (a very funny Harriet Harris), and my favorite character, Lenore, as a delusional very schizoid desperate teen in love with Cry Baby. Alli Mauzey plays Lenore and brings down the house with her number “Loose Screw” with its intended double entendre. Cry Baby’s gang is made up of his ever-pregnant sister (Carly Jibson), a sexpot hanger-on ( Lacey Kohl), and “Hatchet Face” (Cristen Paige). They are all quite wonderful in their respected roles. Rounding out the cast in Chester Gregory III who is the Little Richard sounding character Dupree. He is one hell of a singer. Cry Baby himself is played by the talented James Snyder. I only wish he was given more to do because the other characters are so colorful they almost upstage him. His is a difficult role because he must straddle comedy and romantic, the hood and the lover.

     What makes Cry- Baby outstanding is the combined efforts of the creative team. The wonderfully comic book is by the Tony-Award inners Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. The music and lyrics are by Emmy Award –winner David Javerbaum and Grammy Award-Nominee Adam Schlesinger. The colorful and beautifully coordinated costumes are by Catherine Zuber with equally colorful sets by Scott Pask. The lively choreographer is by Rob Ashford. Marc Brokaw does a super job as director, tying all these elements together.

     Cry- Baby is right up there with the best of these aforesaid musicals. Individually, you might prefer the book of Hairspray or the dancing in Saturday Night Fever or the cast of Bye Bye Birdie but I think this will be a great smash hit when it goes to New York. Catch it now at the La Jolla Playhouse www.lajollaplayhouse.org