Cry-Baby, The Musical started life as Cry-Baby the movie written and directed by John Walters, set as are many of his movies in his hometown of Baltimore and starring a young Johhny Depp as the eponymous hero. In 2008 it arrived on Broadway as a musical with music by Adam Schlesinger, lyrics by David Javerbaum, and book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan. Now in 2025, it’s been revived at the Arcola in Dalston and what a delight it is.
The plot sets two groups of teenagers against each other. There is the square, conventional, nerdy Whiffles matched against the unconventional, rebellious Drapes – a bit like a sanitised version of the Jets and Sharks in West Side Story but with a lot more laughs. The leader of the Whiffles, Baldwin Blandish (played by Elliot Allinson) is in love with the strait-laced, Allison (Lulu-Mae Pears) but she’s fallen for Cry-Baby (Adam Davidson) who’s the leather-clad, rebellious leader of the Drapes but their relationship hits a bump in the road and Cry-Baby gets sent to a juvenile prison for a crime he didn’t commit. If this all sounds serious, it isn’t because Cry-Baby, The Musical has its tongue firmly in its cheek although in one song, ‘Girl Can I Kiss You With Tongue’ it goes even further!
The show starts at an Anti-Polio picnic in 1954 and the tone for the show is set when the organiser of the event says when trying to get everyone vaccinated, “Value the use of your legs”. In front of a giant stars and stripes flag (based on a painting by Jasper Johns), the action moves to various sites which are mainly depicted by painted signs of where the location is – it’s all very minimal but superbly conceived by Robert Innes Hopkins who also designed the excellent time-specific costumes. The choreography by Chris Whittaker is carried out with great energy from the mainly very young cast and is as good as you’ll see anywhere and in a tiny, cramped space too; how they manage to not kick anyone sitting in the front rows is a feat in itself. And whilst Cry-Baby The Musical isn’t a jukebox musical, those of us of a certain age will spot the influences of the songs ranging from Elvis Presley to Little Richard via Pat Boone and others from the period.
As good as those songs are, what makes Cry-Baby, The Musical zing and fizz are the excellent performances. The whole cast of seventeen are superb and work wonderfully together – they all seem to be having a great time and they throw themselves into the show with great dynamism and vitality. Allison, Pears and Davidson are superb as the leads and they’re ably supported by the rest of the cast. However, special mention must go to one of the older members of the troupe, Shirley Jameson, who plays Allison’s Grandmother, Mrs Cordelia Vernon-Williams. For the most part, she’s in the background, but then almost stops the show with her song Did Something Wrong Once. The other standout is Chad St Louis as Dupree W. Dupree one of the Drapes whose voice is so powerful that it almost strips the paint off the stars and stripes flag on the back wall. Watch out for him – he’s got a big future in musical theatre.
Director Mehmet Ergen (whose direction is spot-on) in his programme notes makes an analogy with the show’s divided groups with the current state of politics in the USA and the way everything is so polarised. He may well have a point, but at its core, Cry-Baby, The Musical is camp, fun, energetic, delightful and joyous. You may well see the underlying political point as satire, but if I were you, I’d get myself down to 1954 Baltimore (well 2025 Dalston) and just enjoy the sheer joyfulness of a fun-filled musical that has some superb songs, and wonderful performances.
Review by Alan Fitter
It’s 1954. Everyone likes Ike, nobody likes communism and Wade “Cry-Baby” Walker is the coolest boy in Baltimore. He’s a bad boy with a good cause – truth, justice and the pursuit of rock and roll.
Enter Allison, a strait-laced rich girl who trades her “Square” boyfriend, Baldwin, for the irresistible allure of Cry-Baby and his misfit crew, the Drapes. As rivalries intensify and hearts break, the city is turned upside-down in a rollicking tale of forbidden love and teen rebellion.
With infectious rockabilly hits like “The Anti-Polio Picnic” and “Girl, Can I Kiss You with Tongue,” Cry-Baby is a politically charged, laugh-out-loud cult classic. Described as “Romeo and Juliet” meets High School Hellcats”, this subversive musical directed by Mehmet Ergen, Artistic Director of Arcola Theatre, promises a toe-tapping, boundary-breaking good time.
Get ready for a wild ride—Cry-Baby is here to steal your heart!
Elliot Allinson – Baldwin Blandish
JR Ballantyne – Ensemble/Whiffle
Laura Buhagiar – Ensemble/Cover Mona, Pepper, Lenora
India Chadwick – Wanda Woodward
Omer Cem Coltu – Ensemble/Drape
Ellie-Grace Cousins – Ensemble/Dance Captain/Cover Allison, Wanda
Adam Davidson – Cry Baby
Joe Grundy – Ensemble/Whiffle
Ryan Heenan – Whiffle/Ensemble
Shirley Jameson – Mrs Cordelia Vernon-Williams
Michael Kholwadia – Ensemble/Drape/Cover Cry Baby and Dupree
Paul Kemble – Judge/Father O’Neill
Kingsley Morton – Mona Malnorowski
Lulu-Mae Pears – Allison
Jazzy Phoenix – Pepper Walker
Chad Saint Louis – Dupree W. Dupree
Eleanor Walsh – Lenora Frigid
Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan – Book
David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger – Songs
Mehmet Ergen – Director
Robert Innes Hopkins – Set and Costume Design
Chris Whittaker – Choreographer
Ashton Moore – Musical Director
David Howe – Lighting Designer
Matt Giles – Sound Designer
Jane Deitch – Casting Director
CRY-BABY, THE MUSICAL
Arcola Theatre
6 March to 12 April 2025