Video: Inside the Sitzprobe For CRY-BABY at the Arcola Theatre
Performances run 6 March - 12 April 2025.
By: Stephi Wild Feb. 27, 2025
The company and band for Cry-Baby, The Musical played together for the first time at their Sitzprobe this week, as seen in new footage released by Arcola Theatre. The footage shows the 17-strong cast (the largest ensemble for a production in the theatre’s history) performing various numbers from their upcoming UK premiere. Check out the video here!
Opening next week at Arcola Theatre, the Tony-nominated cult classic from the makers of Hairspray tells the love story of Allison, a straight-laced rich girl and member of the ‘squares’, and ‘Cry-Baby’, the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Ditching her Square boyfriend, Baldwin, Allison and Cry-Baby’s romance intensifies gang rivalries, and the city is turned upside-down in a rollicking tale of forbidden love and teen rebellion.
Set in 1954 Baltimore, Cry-Baby, The Musical is a politically charged, laugh-out-loud cult classic, with infectious rockabilly hits like “The Anti-Polio Picnic”, “Screw Loose” and “Girl, Can I Kiss You with Tongue”. Described as ‘Romeo and Juliet meets High School Hellcats’, this subversive musical promises a toe-tapping, boundary-breaking good time.
The musical, which was originally presented on Broadway in 2008, is based on the Universal Pictures film written and directed by John Waters. The book was written by Mark O’Donnell & Thomas Meehan - who also wrote the book for Hairspray, with songs by David Javerbaum & Adam Schlesinger. Cry-Baby is presented by arrangement with MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL.
The cast includes Adam Davidson, Lulu-Mae Pears, ELLIOT ALLINSON, Jazzy Phoenix, Eleanor Walsh, Chad Saint Louis, Kingsley Morton, India Chadwick, Shirley Jameson, Paul Kemble, JR Ballantyne, Laura Buhagiar, Omer Cem Coltu, Ellie-Grace Cousins, Joe Grundy, Ryan Heenan, Michael Kholwadia.
The band includes James Green on drums, Lucy Gowen on guitar/ukulele, Nadine Lee on bass guitar, and Kaz Hamilton on reeds.
Cry-Baby is directed by Arcola Theatre’s Artistic Director, Mehmet Ergen, whose previous directing credits for musicals include Little Miss Sunshine (Arcola Theatre & UK tour), Fiddler on the Roof (Istanbul & Shanghai), I Can Get It For You Wholesale, The Cradle Will Rock,and Sweet Smell of Success - which won the What’s On Stage Theatregoers Choice Award for Best Original Music, (all at Arcola Theatre), and Lost in the Stars (Battersea Arts Centre).
Additionally, the creative team includes Robert Innes Hopkins as Designer, Chris Whittaker as Choreographer, Ashton Moore as Musical Director, David Howe as Lighting Designer, Matthew Giles as Sound Designer, Defne Ozdogon as Associate Designer, and Jane Deitch as Casting Director.
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