We took in the last of our annivesary week shows this afternoon. We thought we were going to see A Catered Affair, but it wasn’t on tkts yesterday so we picked up Cry-Baby tickets instead. Since this is the latest musical based on a John Waters film it was on our list of shows to see. We had a great time! It was a couple hours of pure fun.
Granted, this is not Hairspray, but this is a great time in the theatre. There is fun 50’s music, some incredible choreography and great performances across the board. The show is about a bad boy falling in love with a good girl (who by her own admissions wants to be bad). “What starts as an innocent romance balloons like a mushroom cloud (in 1954 Baltimore)… as the squares use every weapon in their arsenal to keep Cry-Baby from tickling her taffeta.”
For me the thing that was the most enthralling in the show was the dancing (I know, big surprise). Rob Ashford, who won a Tony a few years ago for Throughly Modern Millie, is responsible for the hot moves in this show. He’s got his cast working overtime. In particular he gives Cry-Baby’s gang some sizzling choreography. Especially good was a prison riot that had the boys dancing with, and on, license plates.
Also, of note in the prison scene: Cry-Baby’s prisoner number is 24601, the same as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. That was hard to see for a while, but once Cry-Baby strapped his guitar on, the lapel of the uniform moved to fully reveal the number.
Below is a video montage of the show so you can check out some of the fun for yourself.
