The Wild Parties

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 2/6/14 at 11:35pm

Hello all,
did any of you see either of the original productions of "The Wild Party"?
Were either of them good, and which one did you prefer?

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 2/6/14 at 11:56pm

Oh good. There are only 35 threads discussing this very topic. We needed more.

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/6/14 at 11:59pm

35? That's putting it lightly.

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 2/7/14 at 12:16am

I found a good thread for this,
sorry for wasting your time.

[Demitri2]

Posted: 2/7/14 at 12:20am

I truly enjoyed the Broadway production of THE WILD PARTY. George C. Wolfe's direction moved the show at a rapid pace. Toni Collette, Marc Kudisch, Tonya Pinkins and Eartha Kitt made me fans for life. I even enjoyed Mr. Patinkin.

But what impressed me most was Michael John LaChiusa's incredible score. Sitting in the second row orchestra I can't recall ever before being so overcome by what I was hearing. It was brash yet accessible and there were moments I kept saying to myself this is almost spiritually uplifting. What I liked best was the way one musical number would immediately segue into an even stronger melody line bombarding you with its glorious sounds. I remember wondering if I'd have the same experience listening to the cast recording when it was released. It remains one of my very favorite scores.

Although I enjoy listening to the other production the reason I prefer LaChiusa's work over Lippa's is because LaChiusa has caught the sound of the period. Lippa's score has a modern sound that is exciting at times but really doesn't depict the time period of Joseph Moncure March's text. And yes, it's just my opinion.

[elphaba.scares.me]

Posted: 2/7/14 at 12:48pm

LaChiusa's (which I love) definitely captured the sound of the era. Lippa's is popular partially because it has more stand-alone songs for people to belt at Chelsea Studios and Don't Tell Mama. And the Lippa cast was uniformly gorgeous and sexy (that album art...wow!)

[darquegk]

Posted: 2/7/14 at 2:04pm

Lippa's sounds less period but reflects the story and the tone of March's book better. LaChiusa's is more period and ambitious in composition, but uses the book's plot as a jumping-off to discuss the effects of racism and prejudice on the entertainment world of the 1920s.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 2/7/14 at 4:37pm

I listen to the La Chiusa version. I love Brian d'arcy James!!

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 2/7/14 at 4:57pm

^ I'm assuming those are two separate thoughts, chica, as d'Arcy James is in the Lippa Wild Party.

Posted: 2/7/14 at 6:53pm

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 2/7/14 at 7:42pm

Oh dammit I meant Lippa! Dammit!

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 2/7/14 at 8:10pm

Seeing both in the space of a month or two was dynamite-- a laboratory for how different artists make something radically different out of the same raw material. I found the staging of the Lippa show (jagged platforms splitting and reforming) thought-provoking and distracting, and nothing in the rock-tinged score stayed with me after it was done.

The George Wolfe/ LaChiusa production gave me everything I want in a Broadway show (except perhaps for a bit more heart). Dynamic characters, gorgeous pastiche score, pace and momentum and crazy goings-on on a smartly designed turntable set within a vast decaying apartment. Brilliant. Then when the chaos receded and 2 lonely people stood out on that balcony to sing "People Like Us", I was in Broadway heaven. It didn't all work as well as its best moments, but that was a night to remember.