CRY BABY

If ‘Young Frankenstein’ isn’t ‘The Producers’, ‘Cry Baby’ definitely isn’t ‘Hairspray’! “All the fun of a state fair minus the manure”, well in John Waters world that doesn’t leave much, which is only one of the major problems with the supposedly Broadway bound musical ‘Cry Baby’ at The La Jolla Playhouse. Take the drag queen out of ‘Hairspray’ and what you have left is ‘Cry Baby’.

On the up side is the raucous, deliriously fun score. How could songs this good have been turned into such a misguided show?
Well the main reason is the cast which isn’t good enough for the material (with a few exceptions). As the two lead love interests James Synder (Cry Baby) & Elizabeth Stanley (Allison) neither has the comedic skills, charisma or acting depth to sell this show and I predict that unless they both are replaced this show will not make it to NY.

Even the wonderful Harriet Harris is completely wasted though she does her damnedest. The exceptions - as the squarest of them all Christopher J. Hanke (Baldwin) and the craziest of the bad Alli Mauzey (Lenora) are the only ones onstage with the comedy talent to to do their numbers justice. Also, Chester Gregory II (Dupree) brings a much needed vocal prowess that livens things up when ever he sings.

By focusing mainly on the “squares”, this safe John Waters-lite production feels like the Republican-values (an oxymoron?) theme park that it is supposed to be spoofing. This show is so “square” it didn't even get a standing ovation in La Jolla of all square places (how often does that not happen any more?)

The star of this production, besides the songs, is the dancing (mainly the three lead male dancers who bring energy & life on stage) The direction is unfocused and sloppy and just didn't seem ready on this preview performance, so I will cut it a bit of slack since they have time to tighten and rewrite and hopefully recast! I’ve seen many a show improve mightily from previews to end of the runs so ‘Cry Baby’ still has high hopes!