Ray of Light to Open Andrew Lippa's THE WILD PARTY in May

Ray of Light Theatre, San Francisco's non-profit musical theatre company, is excited to announce the upcoming run of the lurid prohibition musical favorite, Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party. Set the night before the stock market crash of 1929 that served as the beginning of the Great Depression, The Wild Party follows lovers Queenie and Burrs as they throw the party to end all parties in their Manhattan apartment. The Wild Party runs May 20 through June 11 at the historic Victoria Theatre and features some of the Bay Area's best talent.

"The Wild Party is a show we should have done years ago, as the script and score bring the type of raw and passionate storytelling we have become known for, to the stage," said Jason Hoover, artistic director for Ray of Light. "Setting The Wild Party the evening before the start of the Great Depression will bring us into the world of the late 1920's, an era with ideals of living life on the edge, which couldn't be more contemporary. We can't wait for audiences to experience this pulse-raising piece live on The Victoria Theatre stage."

Based on a poem of the same name by Joseph Moncure March, Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party introduces us to a cast of colorful characters who live a decadent life on the precipice of collapse. Female lead Queenie's wandering eyes land on a striking man named Black, while his date Kate sets her sights on Queenie's lover Burrs. As the decadence reaches a climax, so does Burrs' jealousy. Gun in hand and inhibitions abandoned, Burrs turns on Queenie and Black. The gun goes off - but who was on the receiving end of the bullet?

The Wild Party is directed by Jenn BeVard, music directed by David Aaron Brown and choreographed by Alex Rodriguez, and features Jocelyn Pickett as Queenie, Paul Grant Hovannes as Burrs, RaMond Thomas as Black and Alexandra Feifers as Kate.

Photo by Erik Scanlon