NZ Premiere of Broadway show: Cry-Baby – The Musical
HE NZ PREMIERE PRODUCTION
OF
‘CRY-BABY’ - THE
MUSICAL
BOOK BY MARK O’DONNELL &
THOMAS MEEHAN
SONGS BY DAVIS JAVERBAUM &
ADAM SCHLESINGER
BASED ON THE UNIVERSAL
PICTURES FILM WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY JOHN
WATERS
DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER:
LEIGH EVANS
MUSICAL DIRECTOR:
KATE MARSHALL
DATES: 5-14
SEPTEMBER 2019
7.30PM WEDS-SAT, 4.30PM SUN
(NO SHOWS
MON/TUES)
VENUE: TAPERE NUI
TE AUAHA
– NZ INSTITUTE OF CREATIVITY
65 DIXON STREET, TE ARO,
WELLINGTON
BOOKINGS:WWW.TEAUAHA.COM
PRESENTED BY
WHITIREIA MUSICAL THEATRE STUDENTS AS PART OF THEIR 2019
PROGRAMME OF STUDY
NZ Premiere of Broadway show:
Cry-Baby – The Musical
The full cohort
of Whitireia’s Musical Theatre students are rehearsing
their bobby socks off in preparation for New Zealand’s
first ever season of Cry-Baby The Musical. Adapted
from the John Waters film of the same name, this campy and
wickedly subversive show will run for eight outrageous
nights at Te Auaha – The NZ Institute of Creativity from
5-14 September.
Musical Director Kate Marshall says the show has it all. “Fabulous singing, big dance numbers and hilarious dialogue. Cry-Baby the Musical has one of the best rock-n-roll scores I’ve ever worked with. It’s a full-on non-stop toe tapping extravaganza”.
It’s 1954. Everybody likes Ike, nobody likes communism and the city of Baltimore is a topsy-turvy moral meritocracy. Enter star-crossed lovers Wade ‘Cry-Baby’ Walker – the coolest boy in Baltimore – and wealthy ingenue, Allison, who’s captivated by the bad-boy’s pouting pursuit of truth, justice and rock and roll. Fuelled by hormones and the new rhythms of popular music, Allison turns her back on her king-of-the-squares boyfriend Baldwin to become a 'drape’, and Cry-Baby’s girl. The stage is set for a pitched battle between the squeaky-clean, close-harmony Squares and juvenile delinquent Drapes.
This is a story straight from the mind of John Waters,
the acid-witted king of kitsch behind cult-cinema classics
Hairspray, Pink Flamingos and Serial
Mom. The musical reimagining of Waters’ film boasts a
sharp-tongued book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan
(Hairspray), and insanely catchy songs such as
‘I’m Infected’ and ‘Girl, Can I Kiss You
With Tongue?’ by Adam Schlesinger (That Thing You
Do) and David Javerbaum (The Daily Show).
Premiering on Broadway in 2008, the show was the top choice
for Marshall and the show’s director and choreographer
Leigh Evans because of the way it would showcase the
students’ talents. “Our production of Cry-Baby
shows what ‘triple threats’ these young performers
are,” says Marshall. “I am extremely proud of the cast
for approaching the show with such professionalism,
enthusiasm and a sense of adventure.”