"The Wild Party" Returns

"Set during the Roaring Twenties, the show takes place at the Manhattan apartment of Queenie (Jasmine Amy Rogers), a vaudeville bombshell, and her man of the moment, the comedian Burrs (Jordan Donica). Guests include a former prizefighter, a pair of piano-playing twins, an "ambisextrous" playboy, a stage diva past her prime, and someone's kid sister from Poughkeepsie."

"From the dissonance of the orchestra's opening peal of brass, LaChiusa's version signals its allegiance to his source's snarling tone and, in fact, incorporates many of March's lines directly into the songs, as in the number introducing its antiheroine: "She liked her lovers violent, and vicious: / Queenie was sexually ambitious.""

"These are unhappy hedonists, boozing and fornicating for lack of fulfillment. A century on, the party crowd's arsenal of intoxicants has expanded, yet the underlying desperation remains constant, reflecting timeless human struggles with excess and emptiness."

The Wild Party is a musical adaptation of Joseph Moncure March's 1928 poem, revived by New York City Center's Encores! series. Set in a Manhattan apartment during the Roaring Twenties, the show centers on vaudeville performer Queenie and comedian Burrs hosting a gathering of eccentric guests including a former prizefighter, piano-playing twins, and a stage diva. Composer Michael John LaChiusa and director George C. Wolfe's version premiered on Broadway in 2000 for a brief two-month run despite seven Tony nominations and a notable cast. The same poem inspired a second musical by Andrew Lippa that also premiered in 2000. LaChiusa's adaptation incorporates March's original lines directly into songs, maintaining the poem's snarling tone and depicting unhappy hedonists pursuing intoxication and excess.

Read at The New Yorker