The Wild Party NYC Reviews and Tickets

"You could even say that 'The Wild Party,' which once seemed sweaty without ever feeling warm, has taken on some heat and, more important, a heart. These attributes aren’t quite enough to make the case for Mr. Lippa’s frantic portrait of a fête fatale as a fully satisfying musical...Though everybody loves a good party, watching two hours of other people’s revelry can grow monotonous. This is especially true when you don’t know or care about revelers who strike a single note of sloppy hedonism at the evening’s beginning and then more or less hold it until the sun comes up."
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"It would be hard to imagine a production, let alone one rehearsed and put together in only ten days, that made a better case for the material. This is not a thrown-together staging on a cheap, borrowed set; it is, somehow, a physically beautiful, thoroughly realized, and fully choreographed account of a complicated story...I really have nothing to criticize about this production, except perhaps to say that it sets the bar unreasonably high for future Off-Center seasons."
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"The last time Sutton Foster appeared at Encores,! the show went on to Broadway. That probably won’t be the case with 'The Wild Party.' This shindig’s strictly PG...Silverman’s staging and Sonya Tayeh’s choreography lack energy and raunch."
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"This staging by Leigh Silverman tends to drive so hard it pushes you away. But there are moments that are just right. The best moments come as Queenie, Black, Burrs and Kate blend their voices...The delicious vocal arrangements by Chris Fenwick make these scenes the real life of this 'Party.'"
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"It tends to veer in and out of focus, and some parts are better than others. The production is similarly uneven, often more stagnated than wild. Lippa's rewrites for this production are, to say the least, questionable...Given the piece's demands, it may have needed a longer rehearsal period than the kind afforded by the Off-Center series, and a more intimate venue than City Center. How about an environmental production where the audience feels as if it is part of the party?"
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"Lippa and director Leigh Silverman treat this concert staging not so much like an encore, but a second chance to fix the show's flaws. While this lack of preciousness about one's work is refreshing, the result is less than satisfactory: A dragged-out second act surprisingly devoid of stakes still mars an otherwise solid show. Thankfully, the main attraction remains largely in tact: unforgettable solo performances executed by a talented cast."
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"Leigh Silverman's production doesn't register as loud, fast, or, heaven forefend, 'wild' at all. This is a lullaby with a fervent blues streak...Absent any sort of a thematic or emotional anchor, the songs just lie there snoozing—would-be showstoppers in search of a show...Because we don't know who these people are or how they speak, neither they nor the show becomes anything close to real."
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"The show, as usual, belonged to Sutton Foster, who even when standing to the side and letting her 'guests' have a chance under the spotlight, somehow still managed to be the center of attention, not that she needed to try for that matter, but just watching her glow as she saw others perform was wonderful, her smile saying more than any song could."
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