The Wild Party Opens This Week- Page 5

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 4:30am

Taye Diggs was in the audience this evening...wonder what he thought....

[15minutecall]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 5:04am

"It's an awesome cast with some glorious vocals. But, I think, nowadays with Encores, it's like "Will this transfer?" And this one is just a dud in that regard."

RippedMan, I'm curious why you think Encores is now judged by whether the staged concert transfers. In 8 years, I can think of only 3 shows have made the leap. That doesn't seem like a lot to me. 

 

[jawjuhh]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 8:55am

Although I was generally unimpressed by the show, I am so happy to have seen Steve Pasquale live.  Not only is he ridiculously good looking, but his voice is out of this world.  When Act 1 ended, I swear there were chills around me.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 8:59am

RippedMan, I'm curious why you think Encores is now judged by whether the staged concert transfers. In 8 years, I can think of only 3 shows have made the leap. That doesn't seem like a lot to me.

I don't think RippedMan was saying that Encores productions are judged on whether or not they transfer. Rather, it seems like for every Encores production nowadays everyone wildly speculates on whether it's going to transfer. That really is a new thing -- I've been attending Encore productions since they started and it's really only within the last 5-10 years that it seems like every production gets "transfer talk".

 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 9:21am

Lippa's changes to the show were harmful rather than helpful. I spoke to friends who weren't familiar with the show and they were very confused at the top. Why cut the two great establishing numbers and start with a vaudeville scene where they sing about a party? It literally makes no sense.

That said, I still enjoyed the production immensely. Steven Pasquale and Joaquina Kalukango were phenomenal, and Sutton was a pleasant surprise (though she doesn't have all the notes that Julia Murney does.) Brandon Victor Dixon was a huge disappointment (to those of us who were excited about Josh Henry, especially), and I hated his extra riffing. A lot of the material for Black is just simple & melodic and he's riffing all over the place. Not the time or the place.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 9:40am

Does anyone else hear something similar happening with Sutton's voice? I need to know if i'm crazy LOL

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 9:43am

^ I just read your post about Sutton's voice and I have no idea what you're talking about. You didn't really explain it well.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 10:05am

I can try to be more detailed. Don't get me wrong Sutton still has a fantastic instrument. But personally being a trained vocalist i've noticed her voice has changed over the last six years or so. During her debut in Millie Sutton's vibrato and overall voice seemed more free and easy and specifically she used her breath more efficiently. This is sort of hard to explain. Let me use video examples to help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYmjDSpGmtE This is from her Millie days singing Gimme Gimme. Here her voice has a nice fast vibrato and her voice sounds supported and clear and it flows.  The main thing changed i noticed in her voice is the vibrato. The speed and sound of the vibrato can tell a lot about a persons voice. Here is a recent performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ePZkQ-9z64 she uses more straight tone here and when she goes into her vibrato there is a noticeable change (at least to me) in it's quality and speed. Her voice also sounds tighter. Like there is slighty more constriction. Her vibrato has become more wobble like and I was hoping someone could shed some light on maybe why that happened. This might just be my view and that's fine. I'm not trying to bash Sutton in anyway. I love her. I hope this is a slighty better explanation. I tried LOL

[jewishboy]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 12:09pm

I don't know, broadwayboy223. I think I disagree. I also don't think it is fair to compare Millie to Anything Goes, but not because of the age she was when she performed them. I think she's using a very specific character voice for Reno/Anything Goes (and I'm not a fan of that choice). But, her singing in Violet was just as strong to my ear as it was in Millie. 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 12:45pm

LightsOut90, I wish someone would have just handed Taye a book of music and put him on as Black! Would've been much better.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 12:53pm

Dixon's manipulation of vowels in "Poor Child" in order to riff more was ridiculous. He ends up singing "Chee-ild."

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 12:57pm

Agreed. He was trying to add his own flare or style where it doesn't belong. What he was doing made no sense.

[wicked1492]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 2:54pm

Main takeaway: Joaquina Kalukango is having the fvckin best 2 and a half hour audition for the industry all week.

 

That girl gives Kate a journey, a voice, an opinion, a place in the world, and I kept looking around the stage to see if anyone else was anywhere near her level: 0 Results Found. NOPE. She's stun-ning.

 

Who would've ever known "Life of the Party" could

1. be such a heartbreaking journey and

2. be ever so true to the night

[burntplains]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 5:45pm

still some reasonable tickets on stub hub for the 2pm tomorrow.

 

https://www.stubhub.com/the-wild-party-new-york-tickets-the-wild-party-new-york-new-york-city-center---main-stage-7-18-2015/event/9234052/

 

[mamaleh]

Posted: 7/17/15 at 11:08pm

Tommy Tune was in the audience this evening.  

Sutton Foster did seem somewhat miscast, but the audience was totally with her from scene one.  Pasquale brilliantly conveyed Burrs's insecurities, brutality and self-loathing, in addition to having the best voice of the cast IMHO. 

[sing_dance_love]

Posted: 7/18/15 at 12:03am

Was there tonight as well.

The great:

- Joaquina Kalukango. Echoing everything that has been said so far. Her performance was absolutely sensational. Vivid characterization, thrilling vocals, and captivating. 

- Stephen Pasquale. Really surprised me with the skill with which he handled the humor, and his voice is just tremendous. After the way he attacked "What Is it About Her?" and that final note at the end of Act 1, I just kept repeating "WOW".

- Miriam Shor. Completely nails her number. So frustrating that she's given next to nothing else to do.

- The singing in general. At times it really did feel like the EVENT this night could have been. The end of "Poor Child", the counterpoint in "What is it about her" and "Make Me happy", were all truly exciting.

The OK:

- Sutton Foster. Professional, and handled the scene work really well, as of course we knew she would. The numbers she is given really don't work, and her voice really lacked the edge and intensity that can make a lot of this music exciting. Always a joy to see her onstage, nonetheless.

The Not-So-Good:

- Brandon Victor Dixon. No magnetism, embarrassing amount of unnecessary riffing, with no true passion or really anything to justify it even a little.

- The Choreography. Either completely underwhelming (the juggernaut), or entirely unnecessary (the life of the party). Pretty disappointed in the staging as a whole.

- The Changes. Truly, not one was for the better. The opening does not work, and robs us of any chance to establish any feeling for any of the characters or situationally get our bearings before the party gets going. The lyric changes to "come with me" were eye-roll inducing, and the finale is truly ludicrous. Such a lost opportunity to make the most of what is great about this show, lost in revisions that make it even more flawed.

ALSO, there was a scary scenery malfunction moment when a curtain was caught on a string of lights during "Let Me Drown" and would not detach after attempts at raising and lowering the curtain throughout the first half of the number. So distracting, but Pasquale didn't break for even a moment.

Updated On: 7/18/15 at 12:03 AM

[gstrus2]

Posted: 7/18/15 at 12:09am

I was there tonight and agree 100% with sing_dance_love. Joaquina was divine. So glad she will be in the Color Purple this fall. Really disliked Mr. Dixon, wishing I could see what Joshua Henry would have done with the role.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 7/18/15 at 1:27am

I really do not think Janine is thinking much about transfers when she is working on the summer season. Maybe that is untrue in the case of Violet; but it feels like she is gathering friends whom she trusts and enjoys working with and getting them involved not only in the performing and artistic side but the selections of the summer seasons. With Groff he basically communicated through his friendship with her that if she would ever like to do A New Brain he would love to be in it. I am sure Sutton had some part in The Wild Party Selection. In a way Janine has mounted a summer company of sorts where some people return annually to play new roles. She has created a safe atmosphere for artists to work outside their comfort zones and audience members, young and old, to share in the experience. This was a great summer season in all respects.

 

[3NU]

Posted: 7/18/15 at 5:03pm

Just got back from the matinee.  I read all your posts before going, and I was getting worried that I had made a mistake buying a ticket lol. I'm glad to report that the actor's vocals sound a lot better (and more convincing) live than they do on the press recordings.  I still wish I could have seen Joshua Henry in the role of Black, though (one of the reasons I bought a ticket in the first place... *grumble grumble*). 

ALSO, I didn't see anyone mention this before, but if you go to the City Center's free, pre-show Lobby Project event, you can meet Jeanine Tesori! She was super kind to me as I blabbed on about how happy I was that she won the Tony and how much I adore Violet.  

By the way, speaking of meeting people, is there a stage door for Encores! shows? I read on another posting that someone met one of the actresses.  

[Marianne2]

Posted: 7/18/15 at 5:12pm

Saw the matinee. Usually I am the lone opinion on things that were not well received by most. However,  I agree with most opinions here. I love the music and Joaquina Kalukango and Steven Pasquale were the best parts of the show. That said, I have never seen this show, so I figured being ignorant would help, but it didn't.  The book certainly left me confused.  Didn't get what was so crazy about the party. Or better yet, why Kate and Burrs were the only ones who seemed to be having fun. And I also did not see Sutton Foster as the lead in this. Totally not her fault at all. But, if Queenie is supposed to be a leading role, I didn't see it. 

Also, if they didn't make the changes people are talking about in this thread,  would I have understood it a little better? 

[Margo319]

Posted: 7/18/15 at 5:42pm

I wasn't familiar with The Wild Party (either version), and had never seen a performance so I went in blind.  I think a lot of the complaints on here are from people that saw the original, or the unchanged story.  Luckily for me, that wasn't an issue because I had nothing to compare it to.

I loved the set, the costumes, and the ensemble cast were all incredible.  Sutton Foster was great in the part, although being sexy on stage is new for her, as she stated in the interview.  Steven Pasquale was magical, his clear, powerful, masculine voice bounces off every inch of that massive theater.  Love him.  Perhaps, Brandon Victor Dixon read this message thread, because he wasn't riffing much this afternoon.  He was sweet, lovely, and his voice is beautiful.  I absolutely loved him in Motown, so I was excited to see him in this.  Joaquina Kalukango was riveting as Kate, I hope she gets cast in something amazing on Broadway soon.  Miriam Show was hilarious, as always.  

Again with nothing to compare it to, I thought it was a great show about a love triangle, featuring great songs.  That's about it.

Amazing chemistry between the entire cast and a really fun afternoon, overall.  

[disney_princess]

Posted: 7/18/15 at 5:55pm

I saw the matinee this afternoon and loved the show.  And I don't know what people are complaining about, Brandon has a soulful buttery voice and I loved what he did with his songs. That's called soul and it helped him relay his emotions to Suttons character. Joaquina was GREAT and Steven can sing anything to me and I'll just sit there. 

I had never seen a production before but knew the original cast album. The audience ate everything up. Glad I got my tickets weeks ago. 

Stage door was a mob scene on 56th street. If you want autographs, run after the show and park. 

[Margo319]

Posted: 7/18/15 at 6:02pm

"And I don't know what people are complaining about, Brandon has a soulful buttery voice and I loved what he did with his songs. That's called soul and it helped him relay his emotions to Suttons character."

 

THANK YOU.  Soul, baby. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/18/15 at 6:34pm

I saw the matinee and loved it. I'm still in the camp that this is the "lesser" of the two WILD PARTY shows, but it certainly shocked me how much I enjoyed it. I hadn't even listened to the original cast recording in years but I put it on as I was walking home and obviously noticed some of the changes immediately. But even with them, I thought it was a great show with great performances ("Chee-ild"'s aside) and I'm very glad I went today. 

[Actriz2]

Posted: 7/18/15 at 7:03pm

Saw the matinee. It was my first time seeing a full production of either Wild Party incarnation.

The cast is uniformly strong. Sutton did well with the odds - and posters here - seemingly against her, and I'll echo the praise for Pasquale (possibly the best male voice I've heard in NY in years) and Kalukango. I appear to be the middle ground on Dixon, for me he was satisfying in the role but I can list quite a few actors who would have served the role better. I will say, though, that I ate up Miriam Shor's performance and licked the plate clean afterwards. Talk about a show-stealer. The audience seemed to share those feelings.

Beyond the cast, I find little else to commend. Like I said, this is my first time seeing any version of The Wild Party, but even I could tell that Lippa's changes damaged the show. Everything about Act 1 seemed out of place, and I had no idea what was going on for the large majority of the first 20 minutes of the show. I assume that a few exposition songs were cut, and I truly have no idea what would provoke Lippa to do that?

Leigh Silverman's "small, leave a lot to the imagination" style worked wonders for Violet but did not seem right for this material. It seems like Tayeh tried to make up for this with her musical staging, but in the end it felt over-choreographed and that character songs (like Life of the Party) were unnecessarily turned into dance numbers.

Overall, this seemed like a classic case of a mismatch. It was a bunch of performances in search of a production that could support them. This one could not.