Bway-Bound Cry-Baby Delayed at Seattle's 5th Avenue

Cry-Baby will move directly to Broadway from its world premiere in Seattle. However, due to a shortage of suitable Broadway theaters this spring, the New York producing team and The 5th Avenue Theatre have agreed to postpone the Seattle Cry-Baby debut until a Broadway venue becomes available.

The delay will allow the creative team to further develop the production and prepare for its 5th Avenue premiere at a later date. The 5th Avenue Theatre will replace Cry-Baby with its own production of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story in the exact same February 2007 time slot.

David Armstrong, producing artistic director for The 5th Avenue Theatre, elaborated, "Whenever we make the decision to integrate a pre-Broadway world premiere into our season line-up, we know we must be flexible. Delays are always a possibility and premieres are often postponed for a variety of reasons. The trick to remaining successful in the theater business is to be creative and resourceful. We are committed to presenting the highest quality musical theater and will be working diligently with the New York producers in the coming months to secure new dates for Cry-Baby at our theatre."

Cry-Baby is based upon the Universal Pictures film written and directed by John Waters, who will also participate in the creative process of the musical. Much of the Hairspray producing team will return, joined by Imagine Entertainment Chairman Brian Grazer. The Tony Award-winning creative team will include the Hairspray book writers Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan as well as Adam Schlesinger (bassist/songwriter for Fountains of Wayne) and David Javerbaum (Emmy Award-winning writer for "The Daily Show"); the latter two will pen the score.

The show is "set in the hysterical high-throttle world of 1954. Eisenhower is President, Rock 'n' Roll is king, and Wade 'Cry-Baby' Walker is the baddest boy in town. His ability to shed one single tear drives all the girls wild ­especially Allison Vernon-Williams. A rich, beautiful 'square,' Allison finds herself irresistibly drawn to the dreamy juvenile delinquent and his forbidden world of rockabilly music, fast cars and faster women. Will Allison become a high school hellcat to win her man?"

Buddy is "one of the most requested musicals among subscribers, and The 5th Avenue Theatre is thrilled to have the opportunity to produce this smash hit musical about one of the greatest rock 'n roll icons of all time. Buddy charts the meteoric rise of the legendary Buddy Holly, from his country roots in Lubbock, Texas, to his groundbreaking debut at Harlem's Apollo Theatre and, finally, to the fateful concert with Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in Clear Lake, Iowa. Packed with raw energy and an infectious beat, this rollicking tribute to one of the giants of popular music is sheer unadulterated fun," state press notes.

The 5th Avenue Theatre is in the process of notifying subscription ticket holders of the change. Subscribers are instructed to use their original Cry-Baby tickets to attend Buddy on the same performance date and time.  Tickets will not be reissued. Individual tickets to Buddy go on sale to the general public November 17, 2006 and will range in price from $20 - $73.

Information about Buddy's cast and creative team will be released in November.

"The 5th Avenue Theatre is Seattle¹s premier musical theater. In 1980, the non-profit 5th Avenue Theatre began producing and presenting top-quality live musical theater for the cultural enrichment of the Northwest community. The 5th Avenue Theatre maintains a subscription audience of 23,000 and an annual attendance of more than 200,000."

Visit www.5thavenue.org for more information.