CRY-BABY: I'm Still Crying - 3/24/08- Page 6

Posted: 3/17/08 at 2:27pm

1. theres something wrong if the audience likes LENORA more than ALLISON. i know that Elizabth Stanley is very talented; either she or the director needs to develop more of a personality for her character, so we *CARE* whether she & CRYBABY get together.

2. the audience is never really given a reason to care about CRYBABY & THE DRAPES; in the film, you had CryBaby's grandma, RAMONA RICKETS, to show The Drapes's softer side & family loyalty. this is never communicated in the show. we're just supposed to like & care about CRYBABY because he's the title character.

(btw, whats the point of making PEPPER his cousin rather than his sister, as she is in the film? it doesnt seem to change the story & no mention of it is ever made again)

& back to point 1...SCREW LOOSE is the strongest & most memorable song in the show.

one thing i did enjoy very much was the opening number; because of the lighting & design, it reminded me of the film PICNIC, & i was very excited to see what comes next.

i thought the sets were clever & some of them even quite romantic.

but the only character who gave me a reason to care was LENORA.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 3:15pm

n69n, very well said (and definitely expressed what I wanted to say about the "caring" for the characters.)

[MiracleElixir]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 7:02pm

Hmmm. Crap. I'm seeing this on Thursday, row B, and am hoping I'll like it somewhat better than... well, everyone.. seems to have so far. Just two questions to those who have seen it:

1) About how long is the run time?

2) How does it stack up or compare alongside the most obvious comparison this season, "Young Frankenstein"? I finally got around to seeing it yesterday and was pretty much horrified.

Thanks!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 8:20pm

Many of you may be asking yourselves "why is withoutatrace not at the theater right now?" Well, here's your answer!

Carly Jibson was out again tonight!

I kindly asked the box office to exchange my ticket for next Monday, March 24. He asked the manager, and they were nice enough to exchange it for me. Carly had better be back in this show by next week. Ridiculous.

[BWayJunkie]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 9:24pm

Wow, I'm really surprised that so many people seem to be disliking Cry-Baby. I was at the invited dress rehearsal and loved it, along with the rest of the audience; although one can argue that they were somewhat obligated to love it. And although I used to work for one of its producers, I'm all for giving an honest opinion and I thought it was loads of fun. The dancing was amazing and the songs were witty. It made me laugh and kept me thoroughly entertained. I did feel that there were memorable songs, "You Can't Beat The System" and "Jailhouse Jubilee," which had an incredible/incredibly inventive yet too short tap sequence, in particular. The first twenty minutes I thought needed to be spruced up but were still ok.

There will never be a show that is 100% flawless. There is always something that people will find fault with; or WANT to find fault with. It has just begun previews so most likely, it will only get better. Compared with some of the other things that were and are on Broadway right now, Cry-Baby is worth it. Of course, this is only my opinion and all I can ask is that you give it a chance but ultimately make up your own mind and not let people here, on playbill.com or even in the Times reviews, when they do come out, sway you one way or another. I thought it was entertaining and in the end, why else are you going to see a Broadway musical? Like others have said, it won't change your life or make you a better person, so please do not enter the theater expecting it to, but it will entertain. I could go on and on, as evidenced by the length of this and my other post, but I won't. I liked it, and a lot of others seemed to as well. Its all a matter of opinion.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 9:26pm

Boy talk about a shill.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 9:30pm

and why do we have soo many posters just joining now to talk about CRY-BABY? It kinda reminds me of last summer when GREASE opened, huh?

J*

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=960203&dt=0&boardid=1 Updated On: 3/17/08 at 09:30 PM

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 9:36pm

This thread has become shilltastic with newbies yet those of us called out for our negative opinions have been here for some time. Go figure.

That being said, I hope the problems with the show are addressed to make this a success.

Updated On: 3/17/08 at 09:36 PM

[BWayJunkie]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 9:40pm

I don't recall calling anybody out. And I created a new account; I didn't just start watching Broadway shows. I wasn't trying to make anyone feel like their opinions mattered more or less or weren't worth posting. So calling me out or insinuating that my opinion doesn't matter or isn't worth posting isn't really necessary.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 9:47pm

^^^ dont worry about it... Were not picking on anyone...

I was just wonderin' bec. its the same case as GREASE last summer..and that's kinda bother me... bec.. it means that when all the (old & realiable) posters here who post a lot of reviews did not like it...and new posters keep saying how great it was....formula for DISASTER...

I could be wrong? but that was the exact formula for GREASE and PIRATE QUEEN.

J*


Updated On: 3/17/08 at 09:47 PM

Posted: 3/17/08 at 9:51pm

by all means go & see it.
i want it to be a success so John Waters will make a DESPERATE LIVING musical!

[BWayJunkie]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 9:53pm

Eh, its all cool J*.. lol.. Funny though, I haven't seen Grease mostly for that very reason. I've only heard things about it from people who were fans of the show, which I never watched, or from posters on forums. I do give lots respect to those who continually post on forums though, because that is an ever-growing way of spreading the word of a show and a great way of letting others know how they felt.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 9:54pm

old posters panning the show (who saw the show) + newbies lovin' the show with no history of posting before = DISASTER



J*

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 9:56pm

I might to catch this the next time I am up in NY with a cheap ticket. I too hated the demo. Even though I know this is not my type of musical, I like to give most new stuff a shot. I haven't seen the film though and don't intend to.

[chris d]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 9:56pm

i want it to be a success so John Waters will make a DESPERATE LIVING musical!

I think that might be better as an opera.

[Trish2]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 10:01pm

I'll reserve my take until I see the show of course-but this photo??? This is the "hunk" of the show? And yes, i m speaking of the one with the hair. He looks a bit too "happy" no?

[noodles2]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 10:18pm

it was really bad casting...really bad.......not his fault. dont blame james.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 10:25pm

"This thread has become shilltastic with newbies yet those of us called out for our negative opinions have been here for some time. Go figure. "

I was just about to post the exact same thing. It's definitely gotten very shilly in here. What's interesting is that whenever someone posts a negative opinion about the show, 3 or 4 people rush into this thread to contradict it, within minutes of each other. Are there really that many Cry Baby perusing the board at once? Hmmmm....

Posted: 3/17/08 at 10:50pm

speqaking of, shouldnt people be back & reporting on tonights show by now?

[jaystarr]

Posted: 3/17/08 at 10:52pm

I think they must be recuperating and disinfecting their ears bec. they are INFECTED!

(that's a joke, okay)

J*
Updated On: 3/17/08 at 10:52 PM

[BWayJunkie]

Posted: 3/18/08 at 12:58am

Because I'm "new," should I never post my opinion? I wasn't jumping in to challenge anyone. Sorry that I was just posting an opinion. Isn't that what a forum is supposed to be about. Why have I suddenly become the bad guy?

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 3/18/08 at 2:13am

I saw the show tonight. I never thought I would say it but...I really did not like it. They have taken one GIANT step back since La Jolla and the show is significantly worse.

They got rid of some of the biggest laughs and best moments and replaced them with mediocre bits. I hope they can figure out how to fix it...and fast!

James Snyder also was not as sharp as he was in La Jolla...maybe he just needs some time to grow into the role? I remember thinking he was a weak link towards the beginning of the La Jolla run but he improved tremendously by the end.

[stageishome]

Posted: 3/18/08 at 2:15am

Kind of off topic BUT - would anyone be up for PMing me info on how to get the demo? I'd be totes thankful!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/18/08 at 2:29am

I have the demo, and (thanks jayy) but I hate it. It's horrible. I really wanted to see the show because I like Christopher J. Hanke. I'm not sure why, probably because we look similiar and have the same vocal range, but I just wanted to see it, but $54 seemed a little high to me (compared to student rush tickets), so I passed. I kind of wish I had seen it, since everything is commenting on how bad it was, but I staged doored it and the people at the stage door seemed genuienly excited about the show. I'll have to see it if it's still playing this summer, or tours.

[Love4Theatre]

Posted: 3/18/08 at 2:35am

Since all these new people are creating accounts to support Cry-baby, I decided to join the bandwagon. I was excited to watch cry-baby down in la jolla after reading reviews and enjoying the movie as a teenager. However, the show is a big disappointment in many ways. It is corny, cheesy, and far from being funny. The entire audience was not responding to the poorly written jokes. The songs were extremely bland, the only thing that was great was the dancing. I'm surprised no one has commented on the book, the climax and ending of the show come so abrubtly and the resolution is just plain silly, and immature. I don't want to spoil any more of this show for anyone as the show is already rotten. If you want to go to the theatre strictly for entertainment, see any other show playing on broadway as this is by far the worst thing to hit the great white way. Or if you enjoy watching the epitomy of bad broadway musicals for entertainment, then this is the show for you. I'd also like to point out that as paying customers of a bad show, people who talk about the show are entitled to express their opinions b/c they have paid money and time. So I have the right to say this show is by far the worst thing I have ever seen. If anything, the negativity is creating a bigger fan base, b/c this show is so bad, you really have to see it. You always read on these boards things as "the show is still in previews," and has a lot of changes to make before opening night. As if thats going to make the difference between a crappy show and a hit. Perfect examples are pirate queen, or young frankenstein. Many people who bashed the show said its still early and in previews and sure enough, not much improvement by opening. Im not too sure how much has changed in ny, but it sounds like the same mess of a show it was when it was here in southern california. Quick question for those who have seen this mess, Is the show still at about an hour and forty five minutes? and have they changed the ending, or
SPOILER
do they still have one girl dressed as a pie and another girl dressed as a lucky strike cigarette package?
If that isn't a sign of how bad it is, go see the show for yourself.
Updated On: 3/18/08 at 02:35 AM