"The Wild Party"

Theatre review
"The Wild Party" at Ithaca College
The Ithaca Journal
November 13, 2008
745 words
"IC Theatre stages a hedonistic ‘Wild Party'"

full text here

IC Theatre stages a hedonistic ‘Wild Party'
BY MARK TEDESCHI • CORRESPONDENT • NOVEMBER 13, 2008

If you've ever found yourself held back from letting loose into a fit of base indulgence and reckless excess by that insistently cruel mistress called consequence, the Ithaca College Theatre Department may have a treat for you. Andrew Lippa's “The Wild Party” offers what its title promises: a rare invitation to engage in, and even to enjoy, unabashed hedonism.

Lippa (book, music, and lyrics) based his musical comedy/drama/Vaudeville performance on Joseph Moncure March's epic 1928 poem of the same name. March's poem, while well received critically, was initially banned across the U.S. for its racy content. In 1994, Art Spiegelmen re-published the poem with his own interpretive illustrations, and in 1999, Lippa wrote an Off Broadway adaptation of the poem (curiously at the same time his colleague, John LaChiusa, independently penned his own version for Broadway).

Though director Norm Johnson Jr. warns in the program notes “not [to] attach yourselves to the necessary visions of excess, the unbridled enthusiasm for defying laws, or the degenerate, almost too familiar, absence of morals,” it's difficult not to get caught up in the euphoric insanity of the first act.

At the height of the Roaring Twenties, Vaudeville stars Queenie and Burrs (Meredith Ashley and Eric Morris), join in matrimony only, according to Queenie, for their shared bedroom voracity. (Early on, it's clear that “The Wild Party” is for adults only.) With the hope of re-igniting their soulless relationship, Queenie suggests they host a party that can feature the antics of all of their madcap, devil-may-care acquaintances.

The guests show up, smartly clad in designer Alexander Woodward's delicious 1920s costumes. Two key invitees are Kate (Catherine Lena Staphani), Queenie's volatile best friend, and her recently acquired beau Mr. Black (Michael Haller), the only straight man at the party. A few other guests: Dolores (Rebecca Futterman), a prostitute; Eddie (Ryan DeNardo) a “pugilist,” and his lover, Mae (Jamie Amos); Jackie (Steven Dean Moore), the dancing phenom; Madeline True (Emily Brazee), a lesbian on the prowl; Nadine (Lindsey J. Bullen), the coveted minor; and the flamboyant d'Armano brothers (Jeffrey Schara and Kyle Johnson).

Soon into Act I, the party begins, and the momentum, fueled by alcohol and unrestrained impulse, never falters — a testament to Johnson's attention to timing and the talented triple-threat cast. The Mae West-meets-Stanley Kowalski chemistry between Queenie and Burrs ebbs and flows as they capitalize on the party's “unusual at best, unusually dressed” array of guests to test each others' limits. Queenie hits on Black, Kate hits on Burrs, Madeline hits on everyone, and everyone hits on Nadine; the collective sexual tension culminates in the climactic wee hours of the party.

Black is the only character not a caricature and the only to show any moral reservations, unfortunately designating him as the weakest of the bunch — though he is well-acted and voiced as he proves in the slow medley “Poor Child.” Of the dozen-plus songs in both acts, it's among the calmer moments; “Raise the Roof,” a raucous introduction to the party, “An Old Fashioned Love Story,” a hilarious lovelorn lament sung by Madeline, “Wild, Wild, Party,” a shameless “Biblical” story featuring the d'Armano brothers, and “Life of the Party,” a contest in outrageousness, energize the audience and challenge the cast's physical capabilities. Adam Pelty's choreography during both the upbeat songs and the subdued portions let the dancers perform a range of styles. And numbers like “Maybe I Like It This Way” and “Let Me Drown” further showcase Ashley's and Morris's respective vocal talents.

The spoken-word poetic dialogue of “The Wild Party” complementarily cooperates with the production design; Kelly Syring's bi-level set, influenced (especially about the warped window frames) by German Expressionism, under Steve TenEyck's red, blue, and purple lights, distances the audience just enough to enhance the fantastic nature of the party.

The music, directed by Brian DeMaris, comprises a lush diversity of instrumentation (electric guitar, muted trumpet, slap bass, etc.) played in swinging jazz beats with minor tinges of melancholy, enhancing the Act II theme of post-recklessness malaise.

The saddening turn toward the end doesn't feel unnatural, but it does seem compulsory in the “what goes up” sense. “The Wild Party” both celebrates the hypnosis of substance-stoked tumult and warns against its inevitable aftermath. It's easy to for the party's guests to believe their glee doesn't have to turn dour, but everyone knows what followed the Roaring Twenties — and I'll bet some people still know what follows an evening of too much bathtub gin.


Michael Haller plays Mr. Black and Meredith Ashley plays Queenie in Ithaca College Theatre?s production of Andrew Lippa's musical "The Wild Party." (Sheryl Sinkow)

Meredith Ashley plays Queenie in Ithaca College Theatre's production of Andrew Lippa's musical "The Wild Party.” (Sheryl Sinkow)