Favorite Wild Party

[BenKaye]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 4:18pm

Hey everybody, I'm a bit new to this board, so I'm just interested in which version of "The Wild Party" they prefer.

Personally, I like the LaChiusa version better, what do you guys think?

[strelimyn]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 4:23pm

I'm more partial to the Lippa version.

[pinoyonbroadway]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 4:27pm

I'd have to agree with you Ben. I kinda like the LaChuisa version better, mainly cause I like how the score and the tone of the show is closely related to the time period of March's poem. I also enjoyed Lippa's version too, but I found it a little too modern for my taste (if that makes any sense).

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 4:33pm

Lippa, by far.

[tazber]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 4:36pm

they are so completely different it's hard to compare.
But I play Lippa's far more than LaChiusa's.

[me2]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 4:41pm

Someday I'll get the Lippa version, but I am a big, big fan of LaChiusa's music in his version. There are so many great songs it in, though "People Like Us" probably tops the list.
Broadway Blog: Tips for the Young Theatre Connoisseur

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 4:45pm

LaChiusa's is more for a listener who appreciates Sondheim. LaChiusa writes on that kind of level.

Lippa's is fun pop music, and more for people who enjoy high belting and screaming.

[ShiksaGoddess2]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 4:54pm

I enjoy Lippa more. I do like LaChuisa's, but I prefer Lippa's.

[BenKaye]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 4:55pm

Yeah, LaChiusa is alot like Sondheim, and being a Sondheim fanatic myself, I guess that's why I like it more than Lippa's.

And although Lippa's version is good as well, I can't stand the electric guitar in the orchestra.

[bobby_luvs_bway]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 5:01pm

I like them both; but I find that while I listen to Lippa's songs more often, I listen to LaChiusa's entire score as it flows better with the story. Does that make any sense? I need more coffee.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 5:43pm

I prefer LaChiusa's, but that doesn't say too much; both shows are deeply flawed (Lippa's is too cheesy, LaChiusa's is too repetitive).

[MrSweetNAwful]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 6:46pm

LaChiusa, by far.


I think neither got the poem completely right, somethings are missing/better in each version. But I do prefer LaChiusa's. The music stays true to the time period (As much as I love the hook in Juggernaut...cmon, an 80's electric guitar does not belong in a show set in the 20's). I also prefer the performances on the album for LaChiusa's (except for Yancey as Black). I studied LaChuisa's last semester for a script analysis class and fell even more in love with it, how deep *all* the characters are, the decicion to make it a one act and how it both mirrors vaudeville and mashes it up with contemporary musical theatre. Not to say Lippa's doesn't have any depth (...) I just haven't looked to deep into his.

I don't really mean to insult anyones taste (as you can tell), I think saying Lippa's is for fans of screaming is a bit much, I just think, though Lippa's is a better adaptation of the poem, LaChiusa's is a better stand out musical.

Updated On: 1/10/08 at 06:46 PM

[ashley0139]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 7:08pm

I am very attached to Lippa's version for many reasons. However, the shows are so different it's impossible to compare. I adore LaChiusa's version as well. They are different shows for different moods, and I feel bad that the shows always have to be compared. I know it's inevitable, but I just think of them as two completely separate things.

[me2]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 9:49pm

I do like high belting and screaming . . . I just may have to check it out sooner (provided it's the same "screaming" as in WICKED).
Broadway Blog: Tips for the Young Theatre Connoisseur

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 9:53pm

^ Yes, it's the same screaming as in WICKED. Considering it's from Idina Menzel. She riffs and screams her head off on TWP recording.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 10:50pm

I like both but prefer Lippa's the most. If I had to choose a "wild party" to attend, it would be that one. Plus the music is VERY infectious.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 10:56pm

WHEN IT ENDS and THIS IS WHAT IT IS are more powerful and emotionally fulfilling than anything in Lippa's version.
Updated On: 1/10/08 at 10:56 PM

[BenKaye]

Posted: 1/10/08 at 11:50pm

The songs in the LaChiusa version have much more emotional depth to them.

And although some people might argue, I do agree with the whole "Songs don't fit the time period" thing. And not only that, I just think that the songs are better, overall.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 1:41am

LaChiusa. Miles better than Lippa's. I've played in the pits of both shows. Not only is LaChiusa's version more intricate, layered, and emotionally fulfilling, it's an intriguing and daring piece of theatre. Sure, it's flawed, but it is pretty ambitious. Lippa's music is really catchy, but that's about it for me.

~Steven

[BrianS]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 1:53am

"Catchy" songs aren't such a little thing. It's the difference between the total grosses of Wicked and Light in the Piazza. Piazza has a much more sophisticated (and I would say beautiful) score, but there is something to be said for connecting with a larger audience.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 2:12am

Hey, I never said catchy was a bad thing. I love me some catchy, cheesy musical theatre [at times]. But it doesn't necessarily make for a better show. Enjoyable maybe, but not better. With your analogy, there must be something to be said about Mamma Mia. Does that make it a better show than Sweeney Todd? Certainly not. Will more people flock to see the movie version with Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, "that girl from Mean Girls," familiar songs, and a slew of hot, shirtless guys rather than that one with Johnny Depp, Professor Snape, and that woman in all those Tim Burton movies singing songs about cannibalism and slitting throats (wait, this is a musical? I'm leaving!)? Probably. And yet, will I be one of those people seeing Mamma Mia the second it comes out? Heck yes!

~Steven

[mallardo]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 2:32am

La Chiusa's piece is one of the great original musicals of the last two decades, Lippa's is nowhere close to it in quality. That said, I notice there are many more amateur productions of Lippa's show simply because it's do-able by a less talented cast and orchestra. This might explain some of its popularity. That, and the fact that Idina was in the origional cast.

But any straight on comparison must favor LaChiusa.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 2:50am

I think both versions have top-notch casts. Lippa's version (cast recording-wise, haven't seen it live) has Julia Murney's haunting Queenie at the center of the show surrounded by great performances by D'Arcy James (why is he so underrated?), Taye Diggs (even if he is not as enigmatic as Yancey Arias comes off in the LaChiusa recording), Idina Menzel (I find her to be giving a really fun performance on the cast recording even if her--and Lippa's--version of Kate lacks the kind of edge, sexiness, and insecurities that LaChiusa and Tonya Pinkins added to their version of Kate), Alix Korey, et al.
LaChiusa is to me more fulfilling in terms of the nuances in the score. "People Like Us," "Queenie Was a Blonde," "Wild Party," "Welcome to My Party," and "Best Friends" are just really fascinating, thrilling--some heart-breaking--pieces. Toni Collette, Mandy Patinkin, Tonya Pinkins, and Eartha Kitt are great on the cast recording. LaChiusa's is my favorite but I don't think Lippa's is bad.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 8:47am

LaChiusa's is my favorite version. I don't own the Lippa one, but heard it once. Maybe if I heard it again...?

[Elphie3]

Posted: 1/11/08 at 11:52am

Now to be fair, I haven't seen both of them live. I prefer the Lippa version (though I wish they had done more with Nadine) but what I've heard is...

Pure score - Lippa
Seeing the show - LaChuisa