CRY-BABY: I'm Still Crying - 3/24/08

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/15/08 at 11:58pm

Well, as all of you on this board know, I am a flopaholic, and since all of the musicals that opened this season are still running, we have had no flops this season so far, and that has upset me. Well, tonight, I got my wish. CRY-BABY is the flop of the season I have been waiting for. The show was painful from start to finish and frankly, I will be surprised if it lasts long on Broadway.

The sets were bland. The lighting was completely forgettable. The score was absolutely dreadful. The choreography was probably the best part of the show, especially the Act 2 Jailyard Jubilee tap dance number. The actors, for the most part, were forgettable...I will elaborate.

First of all, the male ensemble is hot...just had to say that. I feel horrible for Harriet Harris. She is a Tony winning actress that is stuck in this mess of a show. She has laughable lines that she has to try and deliver with a straight face, and you have to give her credit for that. Her song in Act 2 "I Did Something Wrong Once," doesn't even seem to have a melody. It needs to be re-written. Plus, she is not old enough to be believable as Elizabeth Stanley's grandmother.

Carly Jibson was out. She was injured at last night's invited dress and took the evening off, but should be back in the show for the next performance. Her understudy, Tory Ross, went on with no rehearsal time, and was fine. Lacey Kohl and Courtney Balan were the other two "bad girls" and were fine, I guess. But when Lacey Kohl came out in a hot pink nun's outfit in the end of Act 2, I nearly died. Awful.

Chester Gregory was completely wasted in his role...he is a talented actor and had practically nothing to do.

After seeing Alli Mauzey in this show, I could tell she is a great actress. Too bad her material was so bad. The audience did seem to like her the best out of the entire cast though. At least she got some genuine laughs.

Whoever said on last night's thread that Christopher Hanke would be nominated for a Tony for his performance must have been on crack. He was not funny, overacted and was painful to watch.

Elizabeth Stanley was fantastic in COMPANY...what happened??? Her songs seemed to be completely out of her range and her acting was amateurish. I felt bad for her. I think she is much better than this show makes her out to be.

James Snyder. Well, what can I say. Doesn't have much of a voice. Can't really act. Had no chemistry with Elizabeth Stanley.

I hate to say it, but I think Ben Brantley will crucify this show in the Times unless they make major changes (like rewritting the entire score). I feel bad for the cast, but the best thing for them would be to forget about this flop and move on to the next show. Good job, Rob Ashford though, for allowing the dancers to show off how good they really are.

I did stage door (not because I enjoyed the show, but because I stage door every musical...except PASSING STRANGE) and the cast was all so nice and happy to sign for everyone. Surprisingly, there was a huge crowd waiting for autographs.

I will end this review by stating two things. One: My friend Walter who I went with turned to me in the middle of Act 1 and said "Some of this dialogue is as bad as the lines in GOT TU GO DISCO." Two: To quote Harriet Harris in the show, "Yes, it is a free country, but this is not a free country club!" LOLOL.

Go see it while you can...

Updated On: 3/25/08 at 11:58 PM

[jaystarr]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:03am

Wat-Did I just tell you that? when I had lunch last weekend....btw.. I just got home and we saw SOUTH PACIFIC with RyToast and we stage door with Wanna Be a Foster.

one more thing..WaT- I should have seen this show with you tonight? so we can both look at one another & bItcH all about it..lol...I was thinking of seeing another show tonite at 8pm...with WBaF...but I decided to catch the bus at 7pm...

J*

[jaystarr]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:04am

Any chance of this show getting BEST MUSICAL nomination? lol.. what do you think?

J*
Updated On: 3/16/08 at 12:04 AM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:04am

Thanks fot the second opinion, very similar to my thoughts.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:05am

"Any chance of this show getting BEST MUSICAL nomination?"

No chance at all.

...and yes, Jay, you should have seen this with me. It was fabulously bad. We would have had a blast!

Updated On: 3/16/08 at 12:05 AM

[BroadwayEnthusiast2]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:05am

I don't think it'll be a flop, though.

I thought PASSING STRANGE is the flop thus far?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:07am

PASSING STRANGE, as much as I hated it, was a critical hit. It may not recoup, but it got across the board rave reviews. CRY-BABY will be panned across the board.

[Liverpool]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:09am

if its as bad as everyone is saying it will be more than panned. It will likely be eviscerated and left to rot in the street

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:11am

Weird, since the show got fairly good reviews out of town. Nobody hated it as much as you, not even the LA Times which was its worst review (and still pretty good).
Updated On: 3/16/08 at 12:11 AM

[Liverpool]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:12am

anyone know if they're planning on having any sort of rush after it opens?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:14am

yeah, they will be "rushing" out of town.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:15am

CurtainPullDowner, I just tried to PM you back, but your PMs are turned off...

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:15am

i dont mean to be bitchy but....

it was the rudest audience i have ever been in.
so rude that i dont feel i can give it a fair assesment.

people not only answering phones but actually making calls.
the woman behind me actually TALKING TO HER BABY on her phone "mommy wuvs you, go to sleep", unwrapping sandwiches, texting on all sides of me. that same woman MADE a call DURING act 2 saying "tell him mommy's gonna be a little later than i thought".... if this is what happens with $54 tickets, i will wait to go back when they are full price.

things i can say: sexy male ensemble doing completley horny dancing.
i liked the sets, production design & costumes. beautiful colors.

i thought all the songs were a lot funnier on the demo, & better sung.
maybe if i hadnt listened to the demo (& really enjoyed it!), i wouldve liked this more.

that Alli Mauzey stole the show, she had the most comic skills of any of the cast, even Harriet Harris.

i very much wanted to love this show because i ***LOVE*** John Waters, he has been a part of my life for so long, so i wanted to be a champion of him on this project. so i will try again later in the run.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:16am

Hey neddyfrank, click me!! :D

[musicalmaster703]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:18am

i loved Cry Baby, i thought Passing Strange was ok. Maybe it is just not your kind of music. Like i don't like rock so passing strange was not that memerable to me. But i like 50s music and i liked cry baby.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:19am

I did like CRY-BABY more than PASSING STRANGE...

[WestonBoy]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:22am

Zoinks. I couldn't agree more, WAT. :)

[courtnyj]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:23am

Well shoot. I was hoping this show would be good. My sister and I are going to be in town next week and she wanted to see The Little Mermaid but I vetoed it because I didn't want to pay a ton of money to see a crappy show. So instead we planned to see Cry-Baby (even though she hated the movie) cause the out-of-town reviews seemed favorable. Now I just don't know what we should see. Should we try to get SRO for The Little Mermaid (cause I'm not willing to pay more for it) or get the $35 rear mezzanine Cry-Baby seats or see something else entirely?


Sorry if this is thread-jacking.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:25am

Well, at least the show has over a month of previews.

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:33am

i dont want anyone to think i am bashing the show; i wish them all success!

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:34am

Can they find a new Leading Man in that preview time?
That would be my first step.

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:35am

courtnyj, take your sister to GYPSY!

[courtnyj]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:37am

Haha! That's the first show we're seeing. She isn't excited about it because she thinks Gypsy is a depressing show but I told her Patti's performance is not to be missed so she'd better get excited!

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:37am

That's a shame you didn't like it. I still want to see it.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 12:39am

Norn-.btw-are we still seeing A CATERED AFFAIR together? did you already buy your tix..you know I will be taking a break for the whole month of April...so I wont be seeing this probably till May.

Wat_ I did forward you the 22 tracks demo.. Is it very similar to the songs on the show? changes? the tongue song is still there..

WBaF is going to see the show this week, so I am waiting for what is he going to say? I just cant believe he has not listen to the demo yet..

I was actually told by 5 posters here (from San Diego) via pm...and I promise them not to tell their names... who saw both shows in San Diego that CRY-BABY was better than A CATERED AFFAIR? If that is so... I wonder if ACA will be a flop too with critics?

J*



Updated On: 3/16/08 at 12:39 AM