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.”