A John Waters weekend in Westminster
May 8—Cult favorite celebrity John Waters will appear onstage at the Carroll Arts Center with his new spoken word show, "End of the World," at 8 p.m. May 13. The original one-man presentation puts his famously insane and hilarious storytelling prowess on display.
"End of the World" is the all-new, fast-moving, comic monologue from John Waters about today's despair and diseases, though desires and desperation break through with an insane optimism that welcomes all audiences into a new dawn of depravity. From how to reinvent the movie business to embracing stupidity in an intellectual way and even to going beyond the limits of sexual transgression, Waters will mutate madness into hope and lead the audience to a joyous delirium ever after.
Fans can also purchase an additional ticket for Group Therapy, a short private post-show Q&A with Waters on the Carroll Arts Center stage. Group Therapy ticket holders will receive a free signed poster. There will be no opportunity to take photos during the show, but a selfie-opp with Waters is possible during this private post-show event.
General admission tickets are $75 and Group Therapy tickets are $50.
Also this weekend, the Film Lovers in Carroll County (FLICC) will present two screenings of Waters cult classic "Cry-Baby" (1990) at the Arts Center at 1 p.m. (captioned) and 7:30 p.m. May 12.
Johnny Depp heads up a supercool cast as the irresistible bad boy whose amazing ability to shed one single tear drives all the girls wild, especially Allison Vernon Williams (Amy Locane), a rich, beautiful "square" who finds herself uncontrollably drawn to the dreamy juvenile delinquent and his forbidden world of rockabilly music, fast cars and faster women. It's the hysterical high-throttle world of 1954 in Waters' outrageous musical comedy.
Born in Baltimore, John Waters's zany filmography also includes "Pink Flamingos," "Female Trouble," "Polyester," "Hairspray," "Serial Mom" and "A Dirty Shame." Like many Waters films, portions of "Cry-Baby" were filmed in Maryland with locations including the now-closed Enchanted Forest amusement park in Ellicott City, Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood, Reisterstown and even downtown Sykesville. Initially a box office failure, the film has become a cult classic since its 1990 release. In 2008, a stage musical version of the film opened on Broadway, scoring four Tony Award nominations.
The film runs 1 hour 31 minutes and is rated PG-13 for mild profanity, violence and sexual material. Tickets are $7 for adults; $6 for ages 25 and under and ages 60and up.
Tickets for both events can be purchased at carrollcountyartscouncil.org or by calling 410-848-7272. The Carroll Arts Center is located at 91 W. Main St., Westminster.
