Adam Epstein has a big-deal opening on Broadway tonight: He's the lead producer of Cry-Baby, the second splashy musical based on a John Waters movie.
First came Hairspray, which hit Broadway and became a smash when Epstein (who was one of many producers on that show) was only 28. Now the Miami Beach-raised theatrical entrepreneur is 33, and he's been carefully nurturing Cry-Baby its journey toward Broadway and its celebrity-packed opening.
Set in Baltimore in 1954, the musical is about the bad boy (played by Johnny Depp in Waters' movie) who gets the good girl. It has a score by Daily Show producer David Javerbaum and Fountains of Wayne songwriter Adam Schlesinger. Mark Brokaw is the director, Tony Award winner Rob Ashford the choreographer. Hairspray book writers Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan did this one, too.
James Snyder plays the title role, with Elizabeth Stanley as his squeeze.
Cry-Baby is at the Marquis Theatre. For info, visit the show's web site. Hopefully, Epstein and company will all break a leg (figuratively, of course) tonight. And tomorrow, we'll see whether the show made the critics laugh or cry.
Probably the best Zoo Story I have ever seen, and I have seen eight of them in the past 30 years. The Mamet play also is very well done, very moving piece. Where did you find these actors??
Posted by: David Bryce | April 25, 2008 at 12:21 AM