Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.

It seems like a lot of geek cinema is making its way to Broadway these days. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is one of the few shows that hasn’t gone dark during the current stagehands strike, and we’ve gotten a number of reactions from you guys about that one.

HAIRSPRAY, of course, has already gone from screen to stage and back to screen, and now CRY-BABY is workshopping with an eye on the same sort of success. Can it happen for Waters twice?

Hi Cool guys,

You've got Ain't-it-Cool movies, anime, television, and occasionally music and books, so how about a review for an Ain't-it-Cool musical? I thought you might enjoy, so here it goes.

Last night I attended a performance of the new musical Cry-Baby at the La Jolla Playhouse here in San Diego. It runs through December 16th and then will be going to Broadway. The last LJPH musical that did that was Jersey Boys, so we'll see what happens with this one. Cry-Baby is based on John Waters' 1990 movie of the same name. Yes, just like Hairspray. Also just like Hairspray, it's set in Baltimore - this time in 1954 - and deals with social issues - this time class tensions rather than racial tensions - and is a send-up focusing on teenagers trying to make their way in changing times.

The plot is simple. Very simple. However, the musical overall was tremendously entertaining.

Our two protagonists meet at the Anti-Polio Picnic, where all the teenagers are getting their vaccinations. Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker and Allison meet and fall in love at first sight, but Allison's grandmother isn't so sure about him. She tells him he's a "NOKD - Not Our Kind, Dear." You see, Cry-Baby is a Drupe (rebel greaser) and Allison is a Square (good girl). (Rather like Danny and Sandy from Grease.) Cry-Baby has a gang of tough girls behind him and Allison is protected by her suitor Baldwin and his barbershop quartet-like group the Whiffles, yet when Cry-Baby crashes the country-club talent show and is refused a chance to play, he convinces her to sneak out and join him at the local watering hole. After he performs for her, they go out to the dock but the joint burns down and Cry-Baby is framed for arson. That, and the accusation of his fanatical stalker Mona that he has impregnated her, test Allison's feelings for him, and it goes on from there.

The music is great and the lyrics are hilarious. It's a mixture of 1950s-style rock, doo-wop, soul, and country, poking fun at elitist snobs among other things. The lyrics are just plain witty and unexpected and funny. (Minor spoilers ahead.) Some examples: when Allison and Cry-Baby first meet, Allison sings that her polio innoculation must have been contaminated by Cupid - a fire is burning through every part of her body - yes, "Iiiiiiii'mmm INFECTED!" Or Mona, singing to Cry-Baby: "I've got a screw loose . . . so if you want me, just look for a loose screw!" Or when they are behind the nightclub and Cry-Baby asks Allison "Can I kiss you . . . with tongue?" Or after they are separated, they are in "Misery, agony, helplessness, hopelessness, heartache and woe - whoa whoa whoa whoooooaaa!" The lyrics and music were written by David Javerbaum, Emmy winner and head writer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and Adam Schlesinger, bassist for Fountains of Wayne and Oscar nominee for the title tune from That Thing You Do!, the 1996 movie whose music he composed. John Waters, by the by, acted as a consultant.

Oh, I forgot to mention the dancing. There's good dancing, too. This is a musical that is nearly non-stop singing and dancing, with only a little bit of talking, and there were a few jokes in the spoken sections that fell flat. I found the music always enjoyable, with a representation of a variety of genres, and most of it upbeat and energy-filled. I think that if you can handle a musical, this would be one of the more enjoyable ones to see, and your girlfriend would have a great time (yes, I am female), and you will both leave the theater smiling.

What shall you call me . . . you may call me Good Girl.