Party People

"A brilliant collaboration of talents, highlighted by the finest ensemble cast that I have ever had the privilege to behold. More than that: it is a very fine play…It couldn’t be more timely. Director Liesl Tommy has done a masterful job here and she couldn’t have done it without Millicent Johnnie’s rousing choreography…I’ve never written these words before: 'Party People' is an important play. So, please do yourself a favor, and RUN to see it." Full Review

“At times, ‘Party People’ is confusing as it tends to blur time and place so that it is not always clear what is happening in the present and what happened in the past. The show also has several false endings before the real one which is hauntingly moving. ‘Party People’ which is too long and could use a bit of tweaking is nevertheless a powerful, inventive investigation into a history and an era which has almost been forgotten in a time when many of the same issues are still being fought.” Full Review

"A rousing, raucous play-with-music...The entertainment, which begins the powerful, if from time to time polemical, work—and is choreographed to a foot-stomping, arm-raising fare-thee-well by Millicent Johnnie—is something to behold...Sly and leavening humor crops up occasionally...Considering what’s afoot nationally right this minute, 'Party People' has the potential to stir up as much of a societal kerfuffle as 'Hair.'" Full Review

"The combination of historical documentary and a meta-theatrical plot can be difficult to navigate at times...But the structural foibles are easy to look past when you consider the power of its performances and its staggering, gut-punching relevance...In the aftermath of an election cycle featuring some of the most racially charged rhetoric in decades, this is a work that has taken on a different kind of resonance and urgency...That makes it one of the most important shows on stage today." Full Review

"'Party People,' a raw, raucous new musical, is protesting injustice and intolerance–both in the past and the present. It’s a bold, brave semi-documentary…This provocative work looks back on two radical political groups from the '60s...Interviews and conversations are interspersed with a mélange of hip hop and Latino song-and-dance numbers performed by a vibrant company of multiracial performers…Kudos to the OSF for keeping the historic home fires burning." Full Review

"The inclusive casting of all ages and ethnicities unites to tell the story as an informative presentation of this sensitive material. With bilingual songs and dialogue, dancing and reciting spoken word, this cast is a dynamo...Liesl Tommy’s direction is exciting and adds an energy that is explosive...This show is passionate, tempestuous, turbulent and a must-see in this political climate." Full Review

"It's preaching to the choir, of course, and knows full well what buttons to press-like a crack at Donald Trump's expense-to get the responses it seeks, but for all its freeform dramaturgy, stereotypical characters, and simplified conflicts, it has an infectious nonstop energy and point of view that you enjoy for its performative values while also discovering that it might influence your behavior, even if you're not a Marxist-Maoist ideologue." Full Review

"Millicent Johnnie's choreography imitates the rebellious demands for freedom that these demonstrators took to the streets, backed by a lively musical score of Latin, funk and soul...After an election that has left many feeling that their rights and physical well-beings are in danger (yes, there is a mention of our president-elect) 'Party People' is enormously relevant, as Americans keep finding new ways to band together to express their outrage and work for change." Full Review

"Director Liesl Tommy uses every theatrical device she can find to recreate 40 years of history...A mostly excellent cast of black, brown and white actors, led by longtime UNIVERSES members Willie Ruiz, Mildred Ruiz-Sapp and Steven Sapp, portrays a full panoply of characters…At nearly three hours, the show could use some pruning and yet there are many moments of sheer exhilaration, particularly for people unhappy with the current political situation." Full Review

"An unusually timely work. Those old rallying cries certainly still pack a powerful rhetorical punch, which reverberates throughout the lively musical sequences…Under Liesl Tommy’s direction, the play can also become clunky whenever it tries to shift from a provocative Brechtian approach to a more self-effacing naturalistic style. There is nonetheless a continual sense of messy vibrancy here. The ensemble genuinely seems to be trying to work it all out on stage." Full Review

"I’m not sure if knowledge of history will save us from repeating it, but I know it can’t hurt. For this reason alone, I would urge you to see 'Party People'...It’s riveting, fast-paced, well-written and performed by a versatile and talented cast...Hard questions, asked with sensitivity and unbearable timeliness, 'Party People' will resonate with everyone who sees it whether you lived through the '60s or not. Kudos to everyone involved." Full Review

"A passionate ode to the radical histories of the Black Panthers and the Young Lords, exploring the necessity and danger of revolutionary dissent. Its timing couldn't be more apt…Between scenes, montage-style song and dance sequences explore the history of the parties, black and Puerto Rican identity, and the new generation's anxieties…These sequences are raucously enjoyable, but it's the quieter moments that sink in." Full Review

"In the current political climate, it may be the most frightening and exciting piece of theater now up...'Party People' derives its language, vibrant and volatile, from actual interviews. Yet the storytelling is less than cohesive...It is too long, too unfocused and perhaps too democratic...Yet in a room full of people distraught and enraged by the election of Trump, 'Party People' felt heartbreakingly timely and intensely necessary." Full Review

"Powerful and intelligent documentary theater—although the documentary theater part struggles for attention amidst all the other elements of this lively, sprawling, overlong play/musical/multi-media hip-hop performance art piece...'Party People' is full of intriguing historical tidbits, exciting choreography, rhythmic singing, galvanizing fist-pumping, suspenseful encounters and poignant moments–too full, actually. It’s overstuffed and unfocused." Full Review

“A wildly ambitious and overstuffed homage to grassroots activism and in-fighting among the Black Panthers and the Young Lords…’Party People’ is nothing if not kinesthetically engaged…The piece is a researched yet original blend of docu-musical, family comedy, live video and hip-hop, defiantly unstable and sprawling...As it is, 'Party People' is a galvanizing education for the young (or ignorant) and a provocation to everyone to take sides." Full Review

"The production is a fierce blend of song and dialogue. It is often too shrill and overstated, but the show has guts and furthermore, ties the past to the present in ways that proclaim issues yet to be resolved...The entire show is extremely intense, and although it gets repetitive and over-long, its passion commands attention and appreciation, and the overall perspective adds to our remembrance of those turbulent times." Full Review

"This is rich, rich material and the biggest problem with 'Party People' is that it tries to mine the entire lode, raising fascinating questions but never exploring them in enough detail...'Party People' runs about two and a half hours, but that isn't nearly enough time to deal with the teeming cast of characters or to consider the complex, troubling issues that it raises...If 'Party People' is something of a mess, it's a lively, provocative one - riveting and irritating in equal measure." Full Review

"A powerful and provocative piece of art about art and activism spanning generations...'Party People' is more of an idea than a well-made theatrical story. Tommy would have been better served to allow the story to unfold rather than hammer a message in...This ensemble carried the weight of the world on their shoulders. They worked wondrously as a unit...But there was something off with 'Party People.' With disconnect and lack of cohesion, 'Party People' is not as strong as it could be." Full Review

“Two young men are introduced in the process of putting together an evening of performance art to explore the ways in which the activism of their forebears might be carried out in the present. This apparently includes gassy monologues, overacting, and a mortifying clown show…However much this history needs to be explored, merely relating facts and demonstrating atrocities does very little to elucidate the matter. Brutality comes to seem not just the cause of action but a motive in itself." Full Review

"Something of a mess, with so much on its mind that it ends up not saying much of anything at all…None of it, though, makes following the myriad plot threads any easier; there are just too many for any of them to receive the necessary amount of development time, especially given the raft of musical numbers applied on top...It also does not help that only a few of the performers, who are all skilled, are charismatic enough to jolt you into the realm of caring.” Full Review

"Doesn’t live up to its grand ambitions...The cast has massive energy, singing, dancing, reciting tirelessly. But they’re pushing boulders uphill: The evening is overstuffed, overlong, and overblown. There is much emotion, little of it used to build character from caricature, and the complexities and legacies of both Panthers and Lords feel unexplored at the end of the exhausting night’s work. It’s not a fun party, nor a rewarding one." Full Review

"Nonstop music, movement, and energy undergirded by scant thematic substance…As Primo, Ruiz portrays the most insufferable theatrical creation in recent memory…It all feels incredibly exploitative with very little redeeming value…Liesl Tommy delivers a production that does little to clarify the haphazard script and regularly skimps on the basics of efficient direction…This is unfortunate since this tireless cast seems more than game for any physical challenge thrown their way." Full Review

“An exciting and provocative history lesson…It is a much-needed addition to our dialogue; although it is sometimes difficult to follow, the overall effect is intense…The main problem that arises while watching this provocative musical is that the young curators seem foolish in comparison with their elders. This may very well be the point, but it is also a structural problem…The musical numbers representing the historic battle become the most powerful moments of this uneven musical.” Full Review