The producers of the new musical Cry-Baby, which opened last night, may be crying in their cereal this morning as they read the reviews for their new show.  I am sorry to report that the notices are not that good. 

Cry-Baby is based on the John Waters film of the same name, set in Baltimore in the Eisenhower era when the town was divided between "squares" and "Drapes" (the less desirable element in the town).  It is a Romeo and Juliet tale about a young rich girl who falls in love with the bad boy crooner from the wrong side of the tracks.  The title comes from the fact that the rocker boy can not shed a tear ever since his parents died when he was a child (a point that figures heavily in the plot).

The show boasts the talents of relative newcomers James Snyder and Elizabeth Stanley, alongside the ever wonderful Harriet Harris (as Stanley's upstanding mother).  Mark Brokaw directs and Rob Ashford provides dazzling choreography.  Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan take on the book duties and David Javerbaum and Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger created all new songs for the show. 

The show got mostly favorable notices during its pre-Broadway tryout in San Diego.  But, here in NYC the critics have not been as kind.  It appears that the majority of the reviews today are mixed to negative.  Reviewers seem to feel that the show is lacking a special spark.  Let's take a closer look at what some of the critics had to say.

David Rooney - Variety - click HERE to read the entire review

Despite a fairly negative review, Rooney has much praise for Snyder and Harris as well as the choreography, but bemoans the "vanilla" nature of the show and the insufficient score.  He goes on to write...

"...it's perhaps not surprising that watered-down Waters has yielded a flavorless Broadway musical that revels in its down-and-dirtiness yet remains stubbornly synthetic. There's a lot of talent, sass and sweat onstage, particularly in the dance department, plus a sprinkling of wit in the show's good-natured vulgarity. But somehow, it never quite ignites."

"Snyder smolders with mock intensity as the troubled outsider with the Elvis moves, supplying easy charm in his line readings and musical numbers. But like Amy Locane in the movie, Stanley struggles to make anything out of bland Allison, a personality-bypass who stops the show dead anytime she's centerstage."

Ben Brantley - New York Times - click HERE to read the entire review

Brantley finds little to like in this new production, but (to be fair) he doesn't really hate it either.  He singles out both Stanley and Snyder for lacking in their roles but does highlight the choreography of Rob Ashford positively. Here is one of the more colorful quotes from Mr. Brantley...

"Brace yourself for a shock, gentle theatergoer. There's no delicate way of putting this. "Cry-Baby," the latest Broadway musical based on a John Waters movie, is ... tasteless. When I said "tasteless," I meant without flavor: sweet, sour, salty, putrid or otherwise. This show in search of an identity has all the saliva-stirring properties of week-old pre-chewed gum. (Not to be tasteless.)"

Clive Barnes - New York Post - click HERE to read the entire review

Barnes offers a mixed review for the show.  He seems to have enjoyed parts of it, but ultimately feels it is not as good as Hairspray.  Again, Stanley gets knocked and Snyder gets a good nod.  Here is more...

"The performances are unlikely to set the Styx on fire, but Snyder - looking like a squeaky-clean James Dean - sang well and was charming, if lacking a touch of sleaze, in the title role. Unfortunately, Stanley as the bubbly heroine who wants to be debubbled was little more than a cipher."

"The clowns have the best of it. Chester Gregory II does a lovely Little Richard turn as Dupree, Alli Mauzey nuttily delights as Cry-Baby's crazy fan, and Christopher J. Hanke makes a pompously square and nasty villain. Best of all is Harriet Harris, an epitome of ditz, with a smile continually subsiding into a knowing leer, as Allison's triumphantly arch grandmother with the imposing moniker of Mrs. Vernon-Williams."

There have been murmurs on the Rialto about a closing notice for the show; it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks.  With reviews like this and the lack of buzz for the show, it seems that Cry-Baby may be left off the list of nominees for Best Musical.  That won't help business.  This new musical will need to see if it can sell tickets based on John Waters' name and some business from those that loved Hairspray.  We will be watching this closely over the next few weeks to see what happens.

Have a great weekend and I will...

~ See You On The Aisle