CRY-BABY: I'm Still Crying - 3/24/08- Page 4

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 2:58pm

LOL, well, the curtain was about to go up, and I was rushing them inside, all the while pantomiming to my treasurer "don't do it!" "don't say yes!" He was an awfully nice guy, and I half expected him to obey their wishes. He didn't!

[chris d]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 2:59pm

based on what I'm reading here, it seems like Mr. Waters is trying to remind the mainstream what he's all about.

[nealb1]

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

I have tickets to see "Cry Baby" next month and I'm really looking forward to it. Withoutatrace and I are good friends and we have very different opinions on some shows. We are mature enough to respect one another's opinions.

[barcelona20]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 3:15pm

I apologize to everyone else for having to read this, but I have been called out by the warm, friendly Liverpool.

To respond, this may be hard for you to understand through that thick skull of yours, but I do not search for negative things about PS. I was simply reading a review of Cry Baby, and someone commented on PS.

I felt that chris d should be aware that withoutatrace said the book of PS was terrible, but LOVED everything about ITH, which by every critic, and to quote the NY Times, the book was the "fundamental deficiency" of the show. It's called trying to give someone a frame of reference. Dude.

[Liverpool]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 3:17pm

yeah, you still cant let anyone negative comment about PS go without bashing ITH, its kinda pathetic actually. i mean, are you Stew or something?

[bbernardini]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 3:50pm

Wow. Just curious, how many of you that hated the music of "Crybaby" have listened to Adam Schlesinger's work in Fountains Of Wayne or Ivy? I'm a somewhat recent convert to Fountains Of Wayne, but I've found his songwriting there to be some of the most brilliant stuff I've heard in years. I realize that writing for a rock band isn't quite the same as writing for John Waters, but I'm finding it hard to believe that the songs are THAT awful.

Guess I'll find out Thursday night. :)

[barcelona20]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 4:12pm

Yes, Liverpool, I am Stew. You got me.

What agitates you so much about ITH having a poor book? Isn't that an accepted fact by virtually everyone? I was simply trying to make an argument that discredits withoutatrace's comments about PS, and used the most recent example of his love for ITH. I would be more than happy to have used something else, say if he professed his love for In My Life for example.

I know you prefer to resort to name calling instead of actually responding to my logic.

And I guess your skull is thicker than I thought.

Posted: 3/16/08 at 4:31pm

dont put me down as "did not like", put me down as "wanted to like"!


...& again, i want to say that i actually enjoyed the songs in their demo versions!

whoever is performing on the demos does a better job of landing the jokes. Updated On: 3/16/08 at 04:31 PM

[Liverpool]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 4:36pm

Um I'm not upset by ITH's poor book. I also thought the book was pretty weak, but the show was still amazing. Your need to tear it down every time someone makes a negative comment about PS is sort of sad and obsessive.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 5:10pm

This Passing strange Obsession and bashing Heights in the same breath is stupid....THEY ARE 2 VERY DIFFERENT SHOWS

Posted: 3/16/08 at 5:14pm

...& neither has anything to do with CRY-BABY!

[B3TA07]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 5:24pm

Neither are half as bad as Cry-Baby, also..

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 7:05pm

Here is a photo of me with Thomas Meehan....who should win a Tony for Best book for CRY-BABY..so there!

[bbernardini]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 7:29pm

Wow. There's already somebody selling a DVD of yesterday's show.

[BrianS]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 7:39pm

I wonder why all of the reviews gave this show ok to positive reviews in La Jolla when 4 anonymous posters on a chat board are so clear that it's an absolute train wreck.

I'm not in this show (though I do have friends that are in it), but I'm in another show and whenever I tell my friends at the theater that I read/post here, they roll their eyes and ask why since in their view, these boards are "mostly bitter theater queens who claim to love Broadway, yet tear apart almost everything from the sidelines because they weren't ever good enough to be a part of a Broadway show themselves."

Now (for the most part), I don't think that's true and I DO think this show needs work. But when the same small but loud group of people take so much joy in overstating how awful something is and how "you have to see it because it's so bad," I have to wonder why you can't appreciate that people are trying to create something great. And you know what? It's really hard. But this creative team and cast are not insulting the audience a la "Good Vibrations" by shoehorning a ridiculous plot into a Broadway show. These are talented people trying to make a truly funny show (which is much harder than making another sad/romantic show).

So to those of you crapping all over this show, I ask you why you think Variety and all those other critics said the show was good to great? How did ALL OF THEM get it SOOOO wrong?

I would give anything for any one of you to try to create even one scene and then I wish we all could come see it. I would love for you to see how hard it is to get 1 truly funny joke to really land. Then imagine trying to get 80 more. I know, I know, "I don't have to be able to write a great musical to critique one!" Of course you don't. But maybe if you tried to create something for once in your life where other people saw it and your talent was on display, you would be much more appreciative of those people trying to do something special and extremely hard that you either couldn't or wouldn't do in your own life.

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 8:02pm

As much as I loved CRY-BABY in La Jolla, it is true that the San Diego and LA reviewers tend to be more open-minded and less vicious than their NY counterparts. The San Diego Union-Tribune had an ultra-critical reviewer named Anne Marie Welsh (a Drama PhD) and they replaced her with James Herbert who is more open minded.

Charles McNulty who is the chief LA Times reviewer (and formerly of the Village Voice) tends to be very balanced in his reviews, although he did rip A Catered Affair to shreds.

As a general rule, NY Critics are much harsher than their Chicago, San Diego and LA counterparts. The San Francisco reviewers tend to be almost as bitchy as the NY ones, having slaughtered both Mambo Kings and Lestat (justifiably so, I might add).

NY audiences and critics are a breed apart. I remember seeing Imaginary Friends and Last Confederate Widow in San Diego where both shows received tremendous standing ovations. Both shows flopped terribly in NYC. Audiences outside NY go to the theatre with the attitude of going to be entertained. In NY, the audiences go with the attitude of "SHOW ME".

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 8:10pm

Brian S,

I totally agree with your sentiments. I wonder what kind of lives, if any, these people have?

[Steve2]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 8:16pm

I will be seeing this Saturday March 22. I am sure there are going to be differing opinions (as always here on BWW).

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 8:17pm

In defense of myself, if you read some of my other posts, when I really like a show, I say so. When I don't, I also say so. But to call someone who states a negative opinion about a show, "a bitter theatre queen" is totally out of line.

I went into last nights show, wanting to like it. I have never seen the movie, "Cry-Baby" so I had nothing to compare it to. I went in with an open mind. I stated what I liked about it, but unfortunately, it wasn't much.

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 8:23pm

Most people on this board remind me of the "MAN IN THE CHAIR" from Drowsy Chaperone. They sit at home and listen to old cast recordings and bemoan the state of Broadway.

Posted: 3/16/08 at 8:30pm

since you quote him in your sig, i assume you mean that as a compliment.

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 8:40pm

The Drowsy Chaperone is a comedy. I feel sorry for someone who sits at home and obsesses 24/7 over old shows.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 8:53pm

Just the other day, I looked back over the Xanadu First Preview, which had a number of severly negative reviews. Some said to see just to see how bad it was. And sure enough, a lot of people actually liked it!

So I say that, given the means or opportunity, one should give as many shows as possible a shot - whether because of, or in spite of, these early reviews.

[samwisefan]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 9:26pm

I also saw "Cry-Baby" during it's San Diego run. I thought it was a great show. It may not be the best show ever created, but I enjoyed the music, sets, performances, everything. (And I'm a huge fan of the film, so they had a lot to live up to.) I would definitely recommend seeing this show.

[Greekmusicalfan]

Posted: 3/16/08 at 9:26pm

BrianS, as a professional TV writer myself, I understand what you are saying and I agree ! However, this is a board where anyone can express his opinion ! I respect that right for everyone, even if some comments are infuriating ! Some people will love the show and some will hate it ! But both sides have an equal right to state what they think ! Their comments are personal and come from their personal taste and they should be taken as such ! I have no problem with people who say their opinion ! The tragic thing is when they think that only their opinion is the right one and everyone else's is wrong ! As if there is a right or wrong in art !!!