MUG readers: Click here for La Fille du Régiment.

I ENJOYED CRY-BABY!

There. I wrote it. I admit it. I confess it.

I mean, I realize it's not that big a deal to like the new Broadway musical Cry-Baby. I get the feeling that the general critical consensus is that it's all right, just not anything close to astounding. And I would agree that it doesn't come close to a number of fun-filled productions that I would consider its cousins, such as Urinetown, Little Shop of Horrors and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee—though I might be thought of as heretical for enjoying Cry Baby more than its sibling, Hairspray. But Ben Brantley put a harsh spin on it in The New York Times, and Michael Feingold offered a largely negative dissection of it in The Village Voice, so I'm also getting the feeling that its more appealing qualities might not be getting through in the media.

When I think about the brighter side of Cry-Baby, I think first of Alli Mauzey, who plays the obsessive Lenora. She's got fifth billing in the program, but she's tops in the show when it comes to enlivening it with comic talent and vocal ability.

Mauzey's performance seems to "click" more and more as the musical progresses, and I think that seems to be the case for the show as a whole. She has a good number in Act One with the Patsy Cline parody "Screw Loose," but everything seems to come together much better with the advent of Act Two, which opens with the strong "Misery, Agony, Helplessness, Hopelessness, Heartache and Woe" and then reaches a staging highlight with "All in My Head," in which masks help the production hit a bizarre note that comes close to what I tend to like most about the films of John Waters, whose movie Cry-Baby inspired this musical. Then comes an athletic novelty dance involving men and license plates, a disturbing and amusing confession from Harriet Harris as Mrs. Vernon Williams (who comes across as a Katherine Hepburn parody beside the Spencer Tracy of Richard Poe's Judge Stone), some funny riffing on "white bread" music, and the sardonic "happy ending" of "Nothing Bad's Ever Gonna Happen Again."

So don't treat Cry-Baby as if it had some sort of deadly and highly contagious disease. It's not perfect...but it's got Alli Mauzey and a strong second act with some outstanding numbers. I think some of the more negative critics would have acknowledged as much if they hadn't decided to emphasize the flaws in the production.

Here's a Theatermania video that offers glimpses from a preview of the production.



Source (4:59)

PICKET TICKETS: DYI WILLIAM FINN "TWIN BILL"

A Broadway show that is running despite the strike is the delightful 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, with music and lyrics by the gifted William Finn.

What makes this a special time for Finn and Finn's fans is that Make Me a Song, a revue of his music, is running about a block away from Spelling Bee. The production of this song sampler is a little rough around the edges, but it's a great complement to Spelling Bee, an opportunity to immerse onself in Finn songs from the Falsettos trilogy as well as relatively obscure shows such as A New Brain and Romance in Hard Times, which I regret missing. Plus there are the one-shot numbers. At the performance that I attended, attendees were encouraged to vote for their favorite Finn songs—it was really tough to choose! I hope that the run of this show leads to more productions of Finn's other works, if only so I can catch up with them.

Here's a song that's not in the revue: "Joe Papp" from Elegies: A Song Cycle. The video isn't great, but it's got spirit!



Source (2:48)

Photo from Spelling Bee: Joan Marcus

NATIONAL SPELLING BEE: TOP FINISHERS

This afternoon the Bee Keepers posted bios of the top finishers scheduled to compete tonight. They're all impressive, but I found a few items of especial interest.

Long Island's Prateek Kohli is a tuba-playing member of the Low Brass Union (LBU)!


























New Haven's Joseph Henares is a winner of "Back to School Week" Jeopardy!



























California's Evan O'Dorney crashed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee!


























Kansan Kavya Shivashankar is the youngest in the bunch. And she was the youngest finalist last year, too. An 11-year-old sixth grader, she watches the documentary Spellbound regularly!


























Many are classical musicians. Three are from Canada. And each and every one of them is a tough and talented competitor!

Read more at A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago.