Cry-Baby is a musical adaptation of the 1990 American teen romantic comedy film with the same title. This Tony-nominated musical (Book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, with songs by David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger) arrived in the UK this year after its initial Broadway run in 2008, directed by Mehmet Ergen at the Arcola Theatre.
While retaining the main idea of the story from the film, the musical makes some minor adjustments that allows the plot to move forward more logically. In 1954 Baltimore, teenagers are divided into two groups. The ‘Squares’ represent those born into wealthy, disciplined families, while the teens known as the ‘Drapes’ come from working-class families and have a rebellious attitude. The heroine, Alison (Lulu-Mae Pears), is a girl from a wealthy family who lives a seemingly peaceful life with the rest of her Square group, but she falls in love with ‘Cry-Baby’ Walker (Adam Davidson), a total Drape. This feeling also makes her realise that she has long wanted to stop being a good girl, and as she encounters Cry-Baby and his clique, she begins to change.
Although the stage (Robert Innes Hopkins) is quite small, it adequately conveys the atmosphere of an American high school in the 1950s. The entire wall behind the stage is painted as the Star Spangled Banner. There are also small flags in red, white, and blue hanging on the ceiling. Besides the audience, there are two road signs of Baltimore, each of which has ‘Cry Baby’ written on it in rose pink, almost covering the word ‘Baltimore’. There is a wooden platform on stage, which can be lifted against the wall when not needed. The location changes are shown by signs with different words written on them, giving the set a unified style. The colours of the lighting (David Howe) are all very vibrant, emphasising the lively and enthusiastic style of the show. Although there is little space for the actors to perform and they are often required to dance next to the audience, the intimacy is very appropriate for this production.
The songs written by Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger add some fun and uniqueness to this production. Whilst the rhymes are guaranteed, the songs also have a certain creativity and an almost somewhat absurd humour. As the teenagers are getting vaccinated, Alison sings I’m Infected with Cry-Baby, showing that they have been infected with affection for each other; and when the two are alone at night, Cry-Baby sings not a standard love song to Alison, but Girl Can I Kiss You With Tongue. Most of the songs have a rockability score which resonates with the period from the tunes. Even if you only watch the production once, there are a couple of melodies that can stay with you. In terms of songwriting, this project can be considered a success. As for the choreography (Chris Whittaker), the Squares and the Drapes have very different styles of dancing according to the style of their songs. The way the Squares dance is usually simple and delicate with minimal movements, whereas the Drapes are the complete opposite and are full of energy.
The costumes (Robert Innes Hopkins) are also very contrasting. While the Squares’ costumes are mainly blue and white, black is the major colour of the Drapes. Their personalities are also as divided as their costumes and are even heavily stereotyped. ‘The girl who seems to be well-behaved but wants to break the rules’, ‘The boy who seems to be bad but simply likes rock and roll’, ‘The seemingly decent but small-minded boyfriend’, ‘the girl who is obsessed with Cry-Baby for almost no reason’, these characters can almost be described in a few words. Moreover, the girls in Cry-Baby’s clique have no real differences in their personalities, and can only be distinguished by labels such as ‘a cool 16-year-old girl who is pregnant’ and ‘a cool girl with a scar on her face’. And Mrs Cordelia, the stern but caring grandmother, doesn’t make the production much richer either. Although every cast member plays the character accurately and has a precise delivery of the accent, it is hard for them to show anything more within the boundaries of the given scenarios.
Overall, Cry-Baby can be considered a successful adaptation, but it doesn’t break out of the typical American High School Romance story formula. In the setting of this story, one can see that the creators intended to show more than that. However, in an attempt to create an atmosphere of light-heartedness and humour, the story now simplifies many things, making the characters’ actions seem a bit unrealistic. As a result, the production does not express anything beyond the category of an American High School Romance, limiting itself to the scope of a buzzing and fun piece of musical theatre.
Cry-Baby runs at Arcola Theatre until 12th April 2025.
★★★☆☆ (3*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Charlie Flint
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