Cry-Baby The Musical

Originally produced on Broadway by Adam Epstein Allan S. Gordon Élan V. McAllister and Brian Grazer James P. MacGilvray Universal Pictures Stage Productions Anne Caruso Adam S. Gordon Latitude Link The Pelican Group in association with Philip Morgaman Andrew Farber/Richard Mishaan World Premiere of Cry-Baby produced by La Jolla Playhouse Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director & Steven Libman, Managing Director

Cry-Baby: The Musical

Our major Musical Theatre production of 2023!

This has been a special year for our musical theatre program, with its move to being a resident company at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC). We are grateful to John Kotzas and his team for being so supportive and engaged in taking the QPAC relationship with Griffith University to this next level. We also give our thanks to the University—under Vice-Chancellor Professor Carolyn Evans and with the strong advocacy of Arts Education and Law Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Harrison—for their belief and investment in enabling this extraordinary partnership. It is particularly telling that this has happened this year— the senior class of tonight’s production were first-year students in our historic mainstage production of Grease at QPAC in 2021.

While the relationship with QPAC is distinctive in world terms, it would only have been embraced because there was collective belief in the quality of the program’s product. We are immensely grateful to Professor Paul Sabey for his vision and leadership in bringing the program to such an extraordinary level. In just over a decade from its inception, he’s created a program with unwavering standards and a world-class profile, with a teaching and admin team that espouses the values that Griffith holds dear. The achievements of our alumni—visible all across the country and beyond—is a further testament to the work of all involved.

The show itself is of course not only a culmination of three years’ work and talent evolution but also a major celebration in its own right. In Paul’s intro, he speaks in more detail of the production and people, so here I wanted simply to say how much the Conservatorium as a whole will be looking forward to the performances, building on strong positive memories of previous work involving the principal members of the production team. It is a privilege for the students to have access to such professional quality and we are immensely grateful to all for giving their time to be with us. Internally, our own team is similarly extraordinary and I want to acknowledge all involved in back-of-house (under Cameron Hipwell), front-ofhouse (with Michael Hibbard) and in the pit (led by faculty member Heidi Loveland).

The musical is an annual highlight for us because it brings together so much of what we are about across the whole Conservatorium, both in terms of curriculum and engagement. Thank you, too, to the Conservatorium’s Executive team— in particular Professor Peter Morris, Deputy Director (Engagement)— for their support, and to all in our administration who help ensure such an epic event fits so smoothly with everything that surrounds it.

Finally thanks to you, as a member of tonight’s audience, for being with us. Whether you’re a donor, a frequent attendee, an advocate for the arts, or a firsttime visitor, we value greatly that you see value in connecting with us. I wish you a wonderful evening and look forward to you continuing to connect with us and our art, in as many ways as make sense for you, alongside those close to you.

Professor Bernard Lanskey Director, Queensland Conservatorium

Storyboard and stage design sketches by Penny Challen

3 - Song 6 - Jukebox Jamboree

Welcome

It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you to our production of Cry-Baby the Musical, featuring the third-year musical theatre students along with the secondand first-year students. We have been delighted to welcome back Alister Smith to direct this production for us, Heidi Loveland to musically direct and Dan Venz to choreograph what I’m sure you’ll agree is an amazing production and showcase for this talented group of students.

This production is the result of an incredible amount of hard work from many people—too many to single out. However, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the performing arts teaching staff who have helped the students prepare for this production, the instrumental teaching staff and Heads of Department, the technical team for making this theatre come alive and the performing arts administration for their continued dedication to the students. It’s been exciting working again with our set and costume designer Penny Challen. Inspired by 1950s teen romance comic books, 1950s colour halftone printing, and Roy Lichtenstein, the set and props comprise 47 custom-designed print and projection files for more than 30 elements. This year there are nearly 200 costumes, totaling approximately 1000 individual items including:

36 petticoats

5 double-breasted windowpane plaid 1950s suits

A load of black denim

And just one very special leather biker jacket

Special thanks go to the Bachelor of Music students joining us in the band. Having the opportunity to experience orchestra pit work on a musical is a valuable part of their training, and I’m extremely grateful to each one of them.

This year, the third-year students presented the musical revue Working: Localised in the Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. Following the season of Cry-Baby, they will work towards their final showcase (alongside the Bachelor of Acting students), before graduating in December.

Musical Theatre takes more than just being able to sing a few songs—it takes a commitment to the text, the music and the physicality. These students have worked extremely hard to be the best they can at all three and to them, I say thank you. Thank you for allowing us to provide you with the very best opportunities to help you develop into fine young performers. I’m excited to see them follow the paths of the many graduates from this program who are enjoying wonderful careers in performing arts, teaching or the many other related industries.

Once again, thank you for joining us here. I hope you have as much pleasure watching this wonderful production as we have had putting it on.

Professor Paul Sabey Head of Performing Arts

Synopsis

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.

Cry-Baby and rich girl “square” Allison are star-crossed lovers at the centre of this world. Fuelled by hormones and the new rhythms of rock and roll, she turns her back on her squeaky-clean boyfriend Baldwin to become a “drape” (a Baltimore juvenile delinquent) and Cry-Baby’s moll. At the other end of the topsy-turvy moral meritocracy of 1954 America, Baldwin is the king of the squares and leads his close-harmony pals against the juvenile delinquents, who are ultimately arrested for arson, sending the drapes all off to prison. It’s Romeo and Juliet meets High School Hellcats

Act One Act Two

A public park, a Saturday morning in Spring, Baltimore, 1954

The Anti-Polio Picnic

Mrs Vernon Williams, Baldwin, Allison and Company

Watch Your Ass

Pepper, Wanda, Mona, Dupree, Cry-Baby and Company

I’m Infected

Allison, Cry-Baby and Company

The banquet room of the Maidenhead Country Club, later that afternoon

Squeaky Clean

Baldwin, Whiffles, Allison

Nobody Gets Me

Cry-Baby, Teardrops and Squares

Nobody Gets Me (Reprise)

Allison

The Turkey Point Pavilion, that night

Jukebox Jamboree

Dupree

A Whole Lot Worse

Pepper, Wanda, Mona

Screw Loose

Lenora

Baby Baby Baby Baby (Baby Baby) Baby

Cry-Baby, Allison and Company

A romantic glade near the Turkey Point Pavilion, later that night

Girl, Can I Kiss You With Tongue?

Cry-Baby, Allison and Drapes

I’m Infected (Reprise)

Allison

The courthouse

You Can’t Beat the System

Cry-Baby, Mona, Wanda, Pepper, Allison, Judge, Full Company

The balcony of the Vernon Williams home / A Prison

Misery

Allison, Cry-Baby, Dupree, Pepper, Wanda, Mona and Company

Misery (Reprise)

Mrs Vernon Williams

Hi-Klass Jewelers, a store on a Baltimore neighbourhood street

All In My Head

Baldwin, Lenora, Allison and Cry-Baby

The prison farm, late morning, the Fourth of July

Jailyard Jubilee

Dupree

A Little Upset

Cry-Baby, Dupree, Prisoners and Guards

The Vernon Williams’ home

I Did Something Wrong Once

Mrs Vernon Williams

Star-Spangled Funland, later that night

Thanks for the Nifty Country

Baldwin and Whiffles

This Amazing Offer

Baldwin and Whiffles

Do That Again

Cry-Baby

Nothing Bad’s Ever Gonna Happen Again

Full Company

Director’s Note

The fundamental question a director must ask themselves before embarking on any production is “Why this show and why now?”. With Cry-Baby that answer is easy: a musical comedy social satire about gender politics, class war, racial inequality and religious tension, set against the backdrop of the Russian Red Scare and a global pandemic, seen through the prism of the American dream… Really couldn’t be more relevant, right?

The American dream is an ideology that states: “That every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” This is an expansion of the passage from The Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. Cry-Baby tears these beliefs apart and exposes fundamental issues within the fabric of America’s DNA. This is what makes this piece so wild. It dares to point a finger at the great superpower that is America through one of the greatest American art-forms, the Broadway musical.

Being a John Waters baby, this piece is steeped in the queer-counterculture and riddled with transgressive comedy. This musical is sharp, witty and packs a nihilistic punch while being dressed in bubblegum optimism. Like its older sister Hairspray, this musical paints a very dark image of society. It uses comedy as a way of drawing the audience in and then igniting action of social change. The 1950s defined what a teenager was. Before this time, the generation really didn’t exist. It was artists such as Elvis who gave voice to an entire generation stuck in a conservative world, wanting to escape and find liberation away from the grip of their parents. With that in mind, we looked towards teen pop art of the ‘50s for design and performance inspiration. For our production, we turned to the comic-book and B-film style of the '50s as a way of exploring the work. We leaned into the irony, sarcasm, melodrama and noir-nostalgia. These kinds of musicals are a director’s dream. They play in a high style and give the actors so much room to play and build the ridicules. There is a knowing wink that both the performer and the audience share, which allows for an excellent night at the theatre.

Alister Smith Director

Creatives

Professor Paul Sabey

Producer/Head of Performing Arts

Alister Smith Director

Heidi Loveland

Musical Director

Dan Venz

Choreographer and Associate Director

Emma Whitefield and Daniel Erbacher

Assistant Choreographers

Penny Challen

Set and Costume Designer

Keith Clark

Lighting Designer

Andy Griffiths Sound Designer

Megan Shorey

Vocal Support

Dr Melissa Agnew

Voice / Dialect Coach

Jason McKell

Fight Director

Michelle Miall

Intimacy Coordinator

Alister is a proud Melbourne/Naarm-based Greenroom Award winning theatre director and dramaturge. He is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts (Theatre Directing) and The Arts Academy Ballarat (Company 2004, Music Theatre Performance). Alister is the founder and Artistic Director of The Smith Company and The Actor Workshop. He works extensively with performing arts students within the university sector working with the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), Federation University (formally The Arts Academy), the National Theatre Drama School and the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU). Alister’s most recent work Elvis: A Musical Revolution is an international premiere and is about to embark on a national tour. Most recently Alister has directed the national tour of Cruel Intentions: The 90’s Musical (Australian premiere—DVE) which has just completed playing across the country as well as the international tour of The Wedding Singer (Australian premiere—DVE). His creative highlights include: Into the Woods (Federation University); Fiddler on the Roof (Footlight Productions); 42nd Street (QCGU); Grease (QCGU and QPAC); Romeo and Juliet (Essential Theatre); Bring It On: The Musical (Australian premiere—DVE); Heathers: The Musical (Federation University); Macbeth (Essential Theatre); London Road (QCGU); The Drowsy Chaperone (VCA Music Theatre); The Boys (VCA Theatre); Much Ado About Nothing (VCA Theatre); Chicago (Federation University); Les Misérables (QCGU); The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Federation University); Wicked (Footlight Productions); Project: Hysteria A Tennessee Williams Exploration (TBC Theatre Company); Femme Fatale (Melbourne Fringe 2015); URINETOWN! The Musical (VCA Music Theatre); Slavs! (The National Theatre Drama School); Pacific Overtures (Watch This Theatre Company and Manila Street Productions); Penelope (Red Stitch Actors Theatre); Himmelweg (The Smith Co); Behind Closed Doors (Red Stitch Actors Theatre); Tribes (The Melbourne Theatre Company); Hose (MKA Theatre of New Writing); John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt (VCA); The Threepenny Opera (The Smith Co).

Heidi holds degrees in music, performance, and education. In recent years, she has provided musical direction for Opera Queensland, Rachael Beck, Martin Crewes and Queenie van der Zandt. She has musically directed numerous productions for Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University’s Bachelor of Musical Theatre including Working: Localised; Heathers: The Musical; 42nd Stree; Putting It Together; The Wedding Singer; Grease; It’s Only Life; Legally Blonde: The Musical; London Road; Elegies; The Drowsy Chaperone; Les Misérables; Dogfight; Company; West Side Story; The Secret Garden. She has also been musical director of the touring productions of Personals; Godspell; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Elegies for Angels; Punks and Raging Queens; and Working; as well as the graduating Musical Theatre Showcase Tours.

Heidi has performed in the Brisbane seasons of Chess: The Musical, 9 to 5: The Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Muriel’s Wedding, Strictly Ballroom, The Sound of Music and backed the Brisbane leg of Natalie Weiss’ Australian tour. She is a regular audition accompanist and was rehearsal pianist for Matilda the Musical and The Sound of Music. Other recent engagements include the Queensland Symphony Orchestra Harry Potter In-Concert series, QSO Wave Festival and QSO Musical Theatre Gala.

Alister Smith Director

Heidi Loveland Musical Director

Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University: 42nd Street, Grease, Heathers the Musical, Urinetown. Other Theatre: Queensland Theatre: As You Like It, Drizzle Boy, First Casualty; Shake & Stir: Tae Tae in the Land of Yaaas!, Fourteen; Woodward Productions: The Mystery of the Valkyrie, A Very Naughty Christmas (AVNC) Cabaret Series 1-7, Sweet Charity, Yank! A WWII Love Story; Oscar Production Company: Boy&Girl Cabaret Series, Next To Normal, Spring Awakening; Brisbane Festival/Oscar ProCo: Razzle Dazzle Riot, Divine Bar and Arcadia Revellers; Melt Festival/Brisbane Powerhouse: Six Inches, Seven On Sinatra; Wax Lyrical Productions: Carrie! The Musical; QACI: The Addams Family; Hayward Street Theatre: Footloose, The Drowsy Chaperone, Legally Blonde, Xanadu; Jally Entertainment: Margaret Fulton The Musical; Pen2Stage: Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid; Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.: Dora The Explorer, Shimmer&Shine, The Ninja Turtles, Paw Patrol Live Shows; Andrew Kay and Windmill Theatre Co.: Bluey’s Big Play -Development; Wonderland Festival/Jacqueline Furey: Würst Almost All Male Review; Positions: Dance Director – Creative Generation-State Schools Onstage/QLD Government; Director – AVNC; Movement Director – The Mystery of the Valkyrie. Handle: @danvenz

Penny Challen trained at Queensland College of Art (QCA) and the National Institude of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) before becoming Resident Trainee Designer at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Whilst living in London, Penny designed productions for the Bush Theatre, Soho Theatre, Gate Theatre and RSC. She also worked with renowned designers Es Devlin, Rae Smith and Tom Piper creating and delivering over 40 mainstage projects for the RSC, Royal Opera House, English National Opera, National Theatre and others across Europe and the US. Locally, Penny has designed productions for Opera Queensland, Queensland Theatre, Belloo Creative, La Boite Theatre and others. She is the Co-Artistic Director (with Alicia Cush) of Little Match Productions, an independent music-driven production company based in Brisbane. Little Match creates new stories and compositions for Queensland audiences in contemporary contexts, with revitalising opera at the heart of their productions. Penny is a board member of the Matilda Award Executive Committee and holds an Master of Arts from Queensland University of Technology.

Keith Clark’s lighting design work includes Single Asian Female (La Boite Theatre Company); Boy Girl Wall and Packed (The Escapists); Handle with Care (Joymas Creative), De-Generator, Opposite of Prompt, Angel-Monster, and The Machine that Carries the Soul (Phluxus Dance Collective), Moon Spirit Feasting (Elision Music Ensemble), Juice (The Crash Collective), Kazka and Legend (Lehenda Dance Company), The Laramie Project (Forward Movement), The Wind in the Willows (La Boite Theatre Company) Die Opernprobe & Der Häusliche Krieg (Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program) and Tarnished (La La Palour). At the Queensland Conservatorium his lighting designs include Grease, Street Scene, Beatrice and Benedict, Iolanthe, Dido and Aeneas, and 42nd Street Improvised designs have been for such artists as The Necks, Jeff Lang, The Ordinary Fear of God, Aaron Goldberg, Kate Miller-Heidke, and Nakhane.

Keith’s designs for various productions have toured nationally and internationally to Europe and America. He is also a member of the award-winning independent theatre group The Escapists.

Andy Griffiths has been building his skills as a live sound and recording engineer over the past two decades, working with a range of independent Australian musical artists and groups to produce commercial quality releases that regularly receive support from radio and streaming services. During this time, Andy has worked alongside local production companies to put on community events and music festivals, working with some of Australia’s top musical acts such as Dragon, Shannon Noll, The Lyrical, Frenzal Rhomb & Deep Blue Orchestra. Highlights include Red Deer Music Festival, Carols on Kings Beach and the Commonwealth Games volunteer party. From 2017–2021 Andy was the AV specialist at Coomera Anglican College where he oversaw hundreds of events in that time including production managing the musicals Hairspray, Oliver! and Beauty and the Beast, all of which were sold out shows for the college. In 2022, Andy commenced work at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, including primary audio operator for the 2022 season of 42nd Street, and sound design and audio operation for the 2nd year musical performance of Heathers the Musical. This year he is sound designing and operating for the feature musical Cry-Baby

Dan Venz Choreographer & Associate Director

Penny Challen Set & Costume Designer

Keith Clark Lighting Designer

Andy Griffiths Sound Designer

Cast list

Performances

Thursday 3 August 7:30pm

Saturday 5 August 7:30pm

Thursday 10 August 7:30pm

Saturday 12 August 1:30pm

Cry-Baby

Allison

Mrs Vernon Williams

Baldwin

Dupree

Pepper Walker

Wanda Woodward

Mona (Hatchet-Face)

Lenora

Judge

Sister Officer O’Brien, others

Whiffle #1

Whiffle #2

Whiffle #3

Cry-Baby covers

Cry-Baby

Allison

Lenora, Teardrop Swing

Mrs Vernon Williams

Baldwin

Sister Officer O’Brien, others

Judge

Whiffle #1

Whiffle #2

Whiffle #3

Friday 4 August 7:30pm

Wednesday 9 August 7:30pm

Friday 11 August 7:30pm

Saturday 12 August 7:30pm

Misery Cast Agony Cast

Mackinley Brown

Charlotte Page

Eliza Vine

Matthew Casamento

Sophie Montague

Emma Wilby

Isabella Gaskin

Meg Hargraves

Juliette Milne

Benjamin Richards

Taylor Brown

Bradley J. Oakman

William Kasper

Michael Jarrett

Ben Peters

Aimee Jones

Natasha Dyson

Oliver Clisdell

Alexander Tye

Olivia Ayoub

Gemma Dandie

Izzi Kratz

Sophie Gulloch

Benjamin Richards

Taylor Brown

Bradley J. Oakman

William Kasper

Michael Jarrett

Matthew Casamento

Isabella Gaskin

Taylor Brown

Madelene Kirkwood

Nick Smith

Imogen Alexander

Oliver Palamara

James Macaulay

Jack Ryan

Finlay Underwood

Olivia Ayoub

Gemma Dandie

Michael Jarrett

Sophie Montague

Mackinley Brown

Natasha Dyson

Aimee Jones

Bradley J. Oakman

Alexander Tye

Taylor Brown

Isabella Gaskin

William Kasper

Charlotte Page

Eliza Vine

Matthew Casamento

Sophie Gulloch

Izzi Kratz

Ben Peters

Emma Wilby

Oliver Clisdell

Meg Hargraves

Juliette Milne

Benjamin Richards

Ensemble

Third year students

Olivia Ayoub

Mackinley Brown

Taylor Brown

Matthew Casamento

Oliver Clisdell

Gemma Dandie

Natasha Dyson

Isabella Gaskin

Sophie Gulloch

Meg Hargraves

Michael Jarrett

Aimee Jones

Willliam Kasper

Izzi Kratz

Juliette Milne

Sophie Montague

Bradley J. Oakman

Charlotte Page

Ben Peters

Benjamin Richards

Alexander Tye

Eliza Vine

Emma Wilby

Band

Keys

Heidi Loveland

Guitar 1

Jeremy Stafford

Guitar 2

Lawson Mackriell

Drums

Abigail Chardirchi

Second year students First year students

Imogen Alexander

Juliette Coates

Kaylen de Gersigny

Madelene Kirkwood

Ally Long

James Macaulay

Alyssa Mastromanno

Ashley McLaren

Sophie Moman

Jay Monck

Faith Oosthuizen

Oliver Palamara

Ebony Portelli

Jack Ryan

Charlotte Sligar

Nick Smith

Finlay Underwood

Max Baldock

Niamh Cadoo-Dagley

Ellie Carragher

Connor Chadwick

Sage Del Carmen

Chloe Flanagan

Brydie Hall

Ella Harding

Samuel Henderson

Olivia Horne

Kate Hudson-James

Vuni John Kamilo

Christina Keen

Tamatea Kratzmann

Croft Phillips

Charlie Preston

Mateja Sardelis

Cooper Swain

Orlando Vella

Sampson Wilkop

Bass

Regan Hickey

Reeds

Abbey Schumacher

Flute / piccolo

Keisha Neale

Production credits

Production Managers

Amy Hauser, Keith Clark

Company Stage Manager

Amy Hauser

Deputy Stage Manager

Carli Griffin

Assistant Stage Manager

Erin O'Shea

Head Mechanist

Darcy Adam

Flys

Dylan Smith, TJ Wells

Head Electrician & Lighting Operator

Stu Cochrane

Follow Spot Operators

Jed Stoneman, Helen Ashdown

Sound Operator

Andy Griffiths

Sound Technicians

Tobias Trstenjak, TJ Wells

Venue Sound

Eleanor Steels

Technicians

Ben Gibson, Isabelle Markham

Set Builders

La Boite Workshop, A Noble Event

Costume Coordinator

Desley Macpherson

Wardrobe

Karen Arnold

Dance Captains

Emma Wilby, Oliver Clisdell

Voice Captains

Matthew Casamento, Natasha Dyson

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Queensland Conservatorium supporters and donors.

Philanthropy plays a vital role at Queensland Conservatorium. Only through your support can our students experience valuable learning opportunities through productions such as this one.

To invest in the future of music and performance in Queensland, contact us on +61 (0)7 5552 7218 or email giving@griffith.edu.au.

Conservatorium staff

Professor Bernard Lanskey Director

Professor Peter Morris Deputy Director (Engagement)

Associate Professor Donna Weston Deputy Director (Learning and Teaching)

Dr Alexis Kallio Deputy Director (Research)

Professor Paul Sabey Head of Performing Arts / Program Director, Bachelor of Musical Theatre

Jacqui Somerville Program Director, Bachelor of Acting

Heidi Loveland Lecturer in Musical Direction

Megan Shorey Lecturer in Performance (Musical Theatre)

Stuart Jones Conservatorium Manager

Connect with us

/queenslandconservatorium

@qldCon_Griffith

@qldcon

Cameron Hipwell Technical Team Leader

Michael Hibbard

Front of House Operations Manager

Dr Natalie Lewandowski-Cox Executive Officer (Engagement)

Clare Wharton Operations Administrator

Daniel Fossi Ensembles Administrator

Keith Clark, Amy Hauser, Len McPherson Technical Officers

Dominique Fegan, Cathy Healy Performing Arts Administration

Grace Royle, Joshua White Venue Officers

Liz Tyson-Doneley Administration Officer

griffith.edu.au/music

griffith.edu.au

queenslandconservatorium.com.au

Griffith University acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work, and pays respect to the Elders past and present.

Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University

140 Grey Street, South Bank Qld 4101

Concert enquiries: +61 (0)7 3735 6241

Correct at time of print.