Cry-Baby's Mauzey Is Totally Crazy

Sometimes, you get a unique opportunity to bear witness to a very special event and in your bones, you know that someday you will be able to say to your friends, "I was there!" OK, I am a big John Waters fan and got to see Cry-Baby The Musical recently the weekend after its official opening. One of the standout performances was from a young actress named Alli Mauzey. I have to say, she was absolutely terrific and played the role with perfection to the hilt, complete with great nuances. This is someone I predict is going to become a big star and we are seeing the beginning of a long and prosperous journey onward and upward for Mauzey.

Mauzey's credits include Hairspray in the Broadway cast and national tour, City of Angels for Reprise! LA, the West Coast Premiere of The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) at Laguna Playhouse, and 110 in the Shade at the Pasadena Playhouse. She can also be heard on Toon Disney's animated series A.T.O.M. as the butt-kicking heroine Lioness. 

Fortunately for me, I got a chance to talk with her about her role as the schizophrenic wack-job Lenora and the show, which I now bring to all of you…

TJ:  Congratulations on Cry-Baby, Alli. I have to say that your performance was truly wonderful. You must be so excited!

MAUZEY:  I am super excited! It's been so much fun because I have been a part of it since the very first reading. It's been a long time coming. And it's so fun to finally do it on Broadway.

TJ:  When was the first reading?

MAUZEY: About three years ago, maybe. It was at least two and a half years ago, if I remember correctly. There's like a handful of us who have been together with it since the first reading. So, it's kind of fun that a group of us have gone through this journey together for two and a half to three years.

TJ:  Carly Jibson was part of the first reading, right?

MAUZEY:  Carly was and so were Christopher Hanke, Chester Gregory and Peter Matthew Smith. I think one of the dancers, Eric Christian, was as well. I think I am leaving someone out but there was like six of us.

TJ:  Has the show changed a lot since the first reading?

MAUZEY:  Actually, it has…my part especially. My part is a lot bigger now than it was at the very first reading. Actually, we used to have kids in the show. Two kids and they were Pepper's kids. By the time we did the workshop, they had cut the kids out. That's where Christopher Hanke and I sing that song, All In My Head, where all the different Allison's and Cry Baby's come out with us. That song was new in the workshop and that gave me more to do. And then, they've gone through different incarnations of the jail scene, where they tap dance with the license plates on.

They were really great with my part as far as letting me develop it to what works for me, you know? Ad-libbing, improvising, whatever. I think that's why my part has changed a lot and has grown.  Things like my friend that I talk to…I don't think I added that until the end of the first read or the workshop or something like that. That was something I developed early on. Little things like that. Little tweaks. It's very personal to me. I love playing characters and going for it.

TJ:  The audience response to your character has been really amazing.

MAUZEY:  Yeah, it's been really great. One of my favorite reactions is when I put my sucker in my top and hold it in my cleavage. One of the first times I did it, some people laughed and some people just went "Awww..." Like grossed out. It makes me laugh every night. She's a character you can kind of laugh at, I guess.

TJ:  Ok, I have got to ask you…it started with a cupcake??? What's that about?

MAUZEY:  Oh, no!! Where did you read that?

TJ: I do my research. Come on, spill...

MAUZEY:  I was actually coming to NYC to audition for something else, because I'm from LA.  So I came into town, auditioned for something else and my agent told me there's this new reading that's happening if I wanted to go in for it. It was literally right across the hall. So, the night before I left, I got up and pulled an old McGuire Sisters song that I thought would be appropriate and I didn't really look at the scene until I got on the plane that night. I couldn't prepare for it that much as I was preparing for my other audition, you know?

I remember sitting out in the hall after my first audition and thinking, "Ok. I need to go in there and do this. I need to do it."  So I needed a quick little stimulus to get me going. And for me, personally, cupcakes from the Magnolia bakery….I don't know if you've ever been there, but that was the first time I had ever tasted a homemade cupcake, not out of a box. It just made my mouth water…I love them!! So I went in and sang my song, Sincerely, and had that mouth-watering lust for cupcakes. To them, it looked like I just was just singing to a boy, but to me, I was singing about a cupcake I just had. I guess it worked!

TJ:  Is it hard for you to play "schizo" on stage?

MAUZEY:  Honestly, I hope I'm playing it correctly. For me, it's all very real and in the moment. So, it's not hard. I will say this though…it takes a lot of energy out of me because it's a little intense. The fact that Lenora has got this obsession helps me as I just focus on the obsession, which is chasing Cry-Baby around. Anybody that is that obsessed with something has got to be a little crazy, right? I am talking to somebody who's not there and to someone looking on at this, it's kind of crazy. It's real fun for me.

TJ:  Now, your song, Screw-Loose, has been described by many people as a Patsy Cline-like performance.

MAUZEY: Yeah! Well, the song I think was originally a take off of the song Crazy that Patsy Cline sang and DJ and Adam, who wrote the music, thought what if someone we wrote a song about a girl who is crazy for someone that's sung by someone who actually IS crazy. So, the lyrics took on a whole new meaning with that behind it. I tweaked it a little bit. It all should to sit in my lower register and I started taking some stuff up the octave, which I think added to the craziness of Lenora because it just added up to her being really intense. It added real colors to the zaniness, you know?

TJ:  And it works like a charm. Now I understand there is a definite connection between you and John Waters?

MAUZEY: Definitely. I have now been in two of his shows, Hairspray and now Cry-Baby. I had actually not seen the movie Cry-Baby until after I was cast in the show. I wound up renting the movie and getting familiar with it that way.

TJ:  Now I read someplace about you referring to John Waters as "your pimp"??? What's that about??

MAUZEY:  He is my pimp!! And I can actually say that!! It's very funny….his lawyer in LA is actually my current manager's husband. So, they happened to be at opening night in La Jolla and she was asking him beforehand if there was anyone there she should look out for and he said to let him know if she saw anyone of interest and he would introduce them. So they saw the show and afterwards, he found me at the party in the midst of a lot of people. He stopped his conversation and the conversation I was having and pulled me over to introduce me. It wasn't until later I thanked him when we started rehearsals before the previews here. I told I had signed up with her and really appreciated it and all. He said, "Well, I hooked you up with your manager. I'm your pimp!" So my manager and I kind of joke about that. Not many people can say that about John Waters…but I can!!

TJ:   OK, so now that you're in New York, you need to join the list of New York actors and do an episode of Law and Order!

MAUZEY:  Sure. Special Victims Unit. I want to be a special victim. (laughing)

TJ:   Now on to find out what you like outside the theatre when you get to be Alli Mauzey. What is your favorite NYC restaurant?

MAUZEY:  One of the places that I love to go to is John's Pizza, but I prefer the one in the West Village, the original. I love the one in Midtown but the West Village location has got its own charm in the atmosphere. It's a little beat up but I love the rawness and it is very original. It's really small and real quirky. I love it!!!

TJ:  Who's your favorite author?

MAUZEY:  You know, I love reading about people. I was reading this book about Mother Teresa recently. It's the same with movies. I love watching the documentaries lately. It's like people watching. I almost feel like I'm in on something I shouldn't be in on, you know? I think that's why I like playing characters so much. I like to get inside people's brains.

TJ:  OK, when you're not on stage, what is something that you enjoy doing in your down-time?

MAUZEY:  Anything outdoors really. I love playing in the Broadway Softball League on Thursdays. It's one of my favorite things to do when I do Broadway. It's really a lot of fun. I love outdoor stuff! I remember when I was doing Hairspray in Chicago and I joined an indoor soccer league and it was so much fun.

TJ:  Do you have a favorite movie?

MAUZEY:  I gotta tell you…Forrest Gump is the movie that I absolutely love.  I guess a movie that I could quote the most is The Three Amigos. I think as far as comedy goes, that's a good movie. I could probably quote the entire movie. I love that movie…I love the people in it. I actually have a signed poster by the director who did the movie that a neighbor gave me.

TJ: And now, the million dollar question, if you weren't in your current profession, what would you be doing as a job?

MAUZEY:  Umm, you know, I can't imagine not doing something with the arts in it. I would probably be a teacher of the arts. I'd like to do something with kids. Find something with people that are in need, whether that's in a nursing home or handing out meals…things like that. Something that I could use my skills like teaching or working with kids. I love kids!

Thanks to Alli and you can catch this little spitfire's performance in Cry-Baby The Musical, now playing at the Marquis Theatre at 1535 Broadway.  Performance times are Tuesdays at 7PM, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8PM, Wednesdays & Saturdays at 2PM and Sundays at 3PM. For tickets, you can visit the Box Office at the Marquis or call Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4100 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.  For now, folks, ciao and remember, theatre is my life!

Cry-Baby Photos by Joan Marcus