Photo Flash: TYA's CRY-BABY Stars Get into Character at Clark's Elioak Farm

Drama Learning Center's professional training program for emerging young artists will present the area premiere of Cry-Baby the Musical this June. Adapted from the cult classic 1990 John Waters film, Cry-Baby follows the star-crossed teen romance between delinquent Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker and the rich and square Allison Vernon-Williams in 1950's Baltimore.

Recently, local photographer Bruce F Press went on location to Clark's Elioak Farm to capture images around the original Enchanted Forest attractions. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the stars in character!

"Since John Waters' original Cry-Baby movie has Howard County connections with scenes shot at the original Enchanted Forest in Ellicott City, I felt that doing a photo shoot at Clark's Farm would be a great way to pay homage to such an important part of this region's history," said Drama Learning Center Artistic Director Stephanie Lynn Williams, who also serves as director for the upcoming production. She continued, "We also love collaborating with other area businesses, and I am thankful that Martha Clark was as excited by the idea as we were. Additionally, I'm grateful to her for working so hard to preserve the legacy of the Enchanted Forest, and giving the pieces a second lease on life at her beautiful farm."

The Enchanted Forest opened in August 1955 in Ellicott City. After over 30 years in operation as an area attraction, the storybook theme park closed to the public in the early 90's. In 2004, the staff at Clark's Elioak Farm began the process of removing the installations from The Enchanted Forest, transporting them to the petting farm, and restoring them. That project was completed in 2015 when the final piece, the white Entrance Castle and Enchanted Forest storybook sign, came to their new home at Clark's. The castle and sign are featured prominently in many of the images captured by Bruce of Bruce F Press Photography. "It is incredibly gratifying to work with two institutions with deep local roots providing such rich entertainment and education to our community. Living between the old Enchanted Forest amusement park and Clark's Elioak Farm for almost 30 years, my family has an emotional connection to those historic fairytale fixtures which provide such a wonderful contrast for shooting the young actors from Drama Learning Center," said principal photographer Bruce Press. "[They look] just as they did for John Waters' comedic take on young love in 1950's Baltimore."

Drama Learning Center's Professional Training Company, TYA (Teaching Young Artists), presents its Spring production of Cry-Baby from June 16-24, 2017 at Drama Learning Center in Columbia. For tickets, visit www.dramalearningcenter.com or call 410-997-9392.

Lila Cooper as Allison and Nick Brogan as Cry-Baby on location at Clark's Elioak Farm. Photo courtesy of Bruce F Press Photography.
Nick Brogan as Cry-Baby and Lila Cooper as Allison. Photo courtesy of Bruce F Press Photography.
Lila Cooper as Allison and Mark Quackenbush as Cry-Baby. Photo courtesy of Bruce F Press Photography.
Lila Cooper as Allison and Mark Quackenbush as Cry-Baby. Photo courtesy of Bruce F Press Photography.
Lila Cooper as Allison and Nick Brogan as Cry-Baby. Photo courtesy of Bruce F Press Photography.
Nick Brogan as Cry-Baby and Lila Cooper as Allison. Photo courtesy of Bruce F Press Photography.
Mark Quackenbush as Cry-Baby and Lila Cooper as Allison on location at The Enchanted Forest at Clark's Elioak Farm. Photo courtesy of Bruce F Press Photography.