Posted: 7/15/15 at 3:51pm
Thanks for posting that! This just affirms my original thought. Steven is the main reason to see this, although he did seem to lack a little of the crazy that BDJ had. Sutton seems a tad miscast. And everyone else seems to be way oversinging. (I realize the songs lend itself to that)
Posted: 7/15/15 at 4:47pm
"Thanks for posting that! This just affirms my original thought. Steven is the main reason to see this, although he did seem to lack a little of the crazy that BDJ had. Sutton seems a tad miscast. And everyone else seems to be way oversinging. (I realize the songs lend itself to that)"
Steven Pasquale IS the main reason to see this or any other show he's in, IMO. I agree that Sutton Foster seems miscast but I also thought she was wrong for 'Reno Sweeney' in ANYTHING GOES...and look how that turned out! 
Updated On: 7/15/15 at 04:47 PM
Posted: 7/15/15 at 5:01pm
""Thanks for posting that! This just affirms my original thought. Steven is the main reason to see this, although he did seem to lack a little of the crazy that BDJ had. Sutton seems a tad miscast. And everyone else seems to be way oversinging. (I realize the songs lend itself to that)"
Steven Pasquale IS the main reason to see this or any other show he's in, IMO. I agree that Sutton Foster seems miscast but I also thought she was wrong for 'Reno Sweeney' in ANYTHING GOES...and look how that turned out! "
THIS!
Posted: 7/15/15 at 5:30pm
The show runs slightly under 2 hours with one intermission included.
Posted: 7/15/15 at 5:38pm
I think Sutton is perfectly cast, and I see Steven in everything he does, so I'm WILDLY excited about seeing this on Saturday!
Posted: 7/15/15 at 6:22pm
I also am on a mission to see Pasquale in everything he does.
Updated On: 7/16/15 at 06:22 PM
Posted: 7/15/15 at 7:01pm
I just watched the clip posted it looks good!
I have never been a fan when composers go back in and change lyrics to songs in show's so I am a little nervous that they changed a lot of lyrics and it looks like the changed the speed of "raise the roof" and slowed it down 
I hope Sutton brings vocal fireworks!!! she has a lot to live up to since we are all so used to hearing Julia Murney's amazing vocals!!!
Posted: 7/15/15 at 7:42pm
So excited to see this tomorrow night! I wasn't sure if I was going to buy a ticket or not, and then somebody I follow on twitter offered theirs up for free. Love technology.
Posted: 7/15/15 at 7:58pm
^ God knows I wish that happened to me lol I'm so broke I can't afford it at the moment But I know it will be a great show.
Hopefully they will document it somehow. And I don't think it's fair to judge Sutton's being able to fit the role on that reel that really didn't show much. Wish I could see it...
Posted: 7/15/15 at 8:17pm
Sutton Is she supposed to sound bored when saying raise the roof
Posted: 7/15/15 at 10:42pm
I saw this tonight. I was not been familiar with either version of the Wild Party, but I got the OBCR last week and spent a week listening to it and really was a fan (especially of Julia Murney!). I was a bit saddened to see some of my favorite songs are no longer in this version (Queenie Was a Blonde, Out of the Blue, How Did We Come To This? are all gone and I'm sure I'm missing more changes).
That said, I thought it was a beautifully directed and performed production. Steven Pasquale sings his face off, as does Brandon Victor Dixon. Joaquina Kalukango is INCREDIBLE as Kate, and Miriam Shorr is brilliant in her small role (She looks so ready to go into Chicago in that costume). Sutton is lovely in the part, but the role definitely seems diminished.
Overall I thought this was a great night out. It is definitely a flawed show that has some strange book issues, but I think the score is great and it is being given a first rate production. The costumes are fantastic and the orchestra sounded great. Encores is 3/3 this summer for me!
Posted: 7/15/15 at 10:43pm
For those who have seen it....Are these clips indicative of how Brandon Victor Dixon sings the whole score? That is a LOT of 'riffing'....hopefully it just seems that way because of the moments chosen for this sizzle reel, because the idea of him singing around the melody for the whole evening is enough to keep me away. That kind of ornamentation usually comes across as more self indulgent and less an acting choice....in my opinion.
Posted: 7/15/15 at 10:46pm
Surprisingly, I really didn't like this musical. Everyone sang well (especially Pasquale) and the choreography was fun to watch, but most of the time I wasn't very interested in the main action and ended up watching the background action. The ensemble was very active.
I'm a little bummed considering how much I loved Encores! A New Brain; this just wasn't my cup of tea.
Posted: 7/15/15 at 10:57pm
I have to agree with CatasrophicDay....very little kept my attention tonight and I had really high hopes for this one. So much talent on stage performing (what I feel is ) a pretty mediocre musical.
And Undercover: the clip is very representational of the singing this evening. The cast either "riffed" or went full American Idol. Not a lot of subtly going on.
Updated On: 7/15/15 at 10:57 PM
Posted: 7/15/15 at 11:02pm
I was there tonight and I unfortunately rank this as one of the lesser Encores offerings of the past few years, although the fault lies squarely with the material and not the performances.
I know it has been discussed to death around here, but I find the Lippa version inferior to LaChiusa's in every way, but even so the changes that he (or whomever) made to this version were harmful instead of helpful.
A Wild, Wild Party has been moved to the top of the show and I think it plays much better in the middle when the party is actually building towards debauchery. Queenie has been given most of the lines now and she and Burrs perform it as their act. This strips the brother d'Armano of anything to do and they basically are just faces in the crowd.
Worse yet, Out of the Blue has been cut(!!) and these two changes simply set the evening off on the wrong foot. Queenie really needs her I Want song- essentially they try to turn Raise the Roof into Out of the Blue- but it deprives the audience of connecting with Queenie on a more emotional level and keeps Sutton from wowing until far later in the show.
Unlike LaChiusa's simply brilliant parade of guests that marvelously crescendo into Gin/Wild, the guests here are nameless faces in the crowd. Eddie and Mae still have their song, which doesn't really land, and Madeleine gets An Old-Fashioned Love Song, which Miriam Shor hits out of the park, but then the character doesn't make a peep again. Jackie's dance has been cut from act two. Jackie, the brothers, Sally, Madeleine, Dolores, Gold and Goldberg, Nadine; all such vivid characters and individual characters in the LaChiusa commenting on sexuality, gender and race are totally missing here.
What's left? Well the soapy love triangle (plus Kate) just leaves us teetering on the brink of the Jerry Springer edition of The Wild Party. There was a moment in the bathroom where Burrs told Black to leave and Black was like make me and the audience gave an oooooooooooh right on cue as if we were at a trashy talk show!
Luckily we had the ever so wonderful Steven Pasquale on hand, and his voice was in top form tonight. Oh man, did he do some powerful singing. Sutton was good, but the part has been hacked up- she has a new, weaker song at the end instead of How Did We Come to This?- and I think she would have been able to shine more with the role as originally written. Still, she's always an interesting performer and I would never want to miss her on stage.
Like I mentioned, Miriam Shor was a riot and the audience ate her up.
I found the evening largely unsatisfying. Would like to see what this cast could do with Broadway version.
Posted: 7/15/15 at 11:11pm
The changes to the beginning sound idiotic. Why, WHY would they do that?
Posted: 7/15/15 at 11:12pm
Also, have to agree. LaChiusa's has always been my favorite, though I do like parts of Lippa's score.
Posted: 7/15/15 at 11:16pm
A great cast performing a mediocre show.
Miriam Shore, Joaquina Kalukango, and Steven Pasquale made the strongest impressions. Sutton is wildly miscast, but she does what she can. There's no real emotional thrust to this WILD PARTY, which is a shame. And they've done a lot of hacking, cutting, adding, moving, etc. But it's still just "meh," and lacking an really strong emotional throughline.
Updated On: 7/15/15 at 11:16 PM
Posted: 7/15/15 at 11:58pm
Have to agree about Dixon's riffing/American Idolizing his songs. To be fair, the score allows for it, but it was a tad overdone. His big song sounds so anachronistic though and don't get me started on those guitar riffs in the orchestrations!
Hamilton uses hip-hop and R&B to subvert and turn history on its ear. It's a bold and conscious stylistic choice. This Wild Party feels not period specific out of laziness and poor judgement. It flirts with being the correct sound at times, but then feels wildly out of whack in other moments. And lyrics like, "Sh!t or get off the pot," well, they don't help build the proper milieu either.
Posted: 7/16/15 at 12:01am
All of these reviews sound really disappointing
I am going on Friday so I will see for myself. I had high hopes for this.
I hate when composers think they are making a show better by making major changes on shows that have a loyal fan base!
In regards to this statement:" Are these clips indicative of how Brandon Victor Dixon sings the whole score? That is a LOT of 'riffing'....hopefully it just seems that way because of the moments chosen for this sizzle reel, because the idea of him singing around the melody for the whole evening is enough to keep me away. That kind of ornamentation usually comes across as more self indulgent and less an acting choice"
I felt the same why while watching the clip to! I am disappointed that Joshua Henry dropped out he would have been perfection!!!
I wonder if they will try and move this to broadway like they did with Violet?
Posted: 7/16/15 at 12:05am
WTF! "Out of the Blue" is one of my favorite songs in the score. That's terribly disappointing.
Posted: 7/16/15 at 12:08am
AMEN!!!! and the new tempo in Raise the Roof sucks!!!
Posted: 7/16/15 at 12:08am
If you had the unfortunate timing of seeing Brandon Victor Dixon in Rent, you would know that he over riffs everywhere, at places where there shouldn't be a riff, so I'm not surprised to hear that he is doing that again here.
Posted: 7/16/15 at 12:09am
I completely agree. Out of the Blue feels most "right" in tone with what I think the story/period call for and maybe it's telling that it's one of the songs that was cut.
There is no song list in the program so I was quite surprised when Sutton didn't sing it. I assumed it was just going to be moved back a little, but as the act progressed it became clear we weren't going to get to hear it. I think Sutton would have really nailed it too.
Posted: 7/16/15 at 12:11am
I really don't understand how the two establishing songs of the show can be cut and substituted with "A Wild, Wild Party"
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