The Wild Party: Lippa vs. LaChiusa

I'm sure there have been threads about this before, but none in the last year or so based on my searches.

I recently discovered the Andrew Lippa version of The Wild Party and absolutely fell in love with it. Of course, I've heard the story that both shows opened in the same season, LaChiusa's version on Broadway and Lippa's off-Broadway, but I'd never actually looked at either show. From what I've seen, people seem to be split down the middle over which version they like more. Having listened to all of Lippa's version and most of LaChiusa's version, I'm finding that I like Lippa's version more. I understand that LaChiusa's music is more of a pastiche of 1920's Vaudeville, but the gospel and pop-rock infusion of Lippa's is much more evocative and high-octane, and complements the innate melodrama of a play based on a narrative poem.

What are your thoughts on the shows? Which one do you like more? Also, have Lippa or LaChiusa ever commented on each other's interpretation of the material?

I prefer LaChuisa's. I like Lippa's as well, and I do think that score is more accessible to listeners out of context (plus Julia Murney is fab). LaChuisa's score is so complex and can be not as enjoyable when you're not watching the show.

^ Yeah but a recording is not supposed to explain everything in the show. That's why they made a play with, ya know, dialogue and everything.

I absolutely loved the La Chiusa WILD PARTY on Bway. It was riveting theater (most of the night) with brilliant performances, great design, and fearless direction by George C Wolfe. That show is what made me want to see the Lippa version in the first place.

Gotta say I liked the second one much much less, despite a great Idina Menzel wailing away. I found the score relentlessly the same, had too few characters to latch onto, gave no sense of the twenties, and frankly bored me much of the (shorter) time. The set design had one great trick when the decks split apart, but otherwise was mostly an empty stage. Give me George C Wolfe, Toni Colette, Tonya Pinkins and Eartha Kitt any day.

Updated On: 8/6/20 at 12:07 PM

I heard a recording of Lippa's Wild Party when he did a workshop at CSC. Marin Mazzie was Queenie and Sara Ramirez was Kate. When you hear it you discover why the Michael John version is so much better. For Lippa, his melodies were more important than plot or character. He moved songs from character to character. His original intent clearly gave each character their own musical theme. But when he moved the show to MTC, he swapped things around for the sake of keeping the energy up, not for the sake of character. This might have had something to do with the his director not being as theatrical daring as Wolfe. With the Michael John version, there is not a single note that isn't painstakingly specific to the character signing it. It's harder for the audience in the moment, perhaps, but infinitely more thrilling in the end. Michael John for the win!

I think the essence is how differently each piece treats the moment where Black and Queenie dance for the first time and have the initial spark that's going to lead to all the ensuing disaster. In Lippa it's "The Juggernaut" and it's wild and bluesy with screaming brass and Idina Menzel standing on a box and wailing to Jesus and it was a moment where the roof just blew off the joint and the raw animal lust between Julia Murney and Taye Diggs was unmistakable and you knew big bad things were going to go down.

In LaChiusa it's "Tabu" and it's a hypnotic African-drum seduction number where they have a quiet, intense moment of connection surrounded by this eerie beauty and the sense of time standing still while they're in this bubble. The magnetic draw between Toni Collette and Yancey Arias was unmistakable and you knew creepy bad things were going to go down.

They're both totally valid ways of dramatizing the same moment and each totally unique to the composer and they're my favorite moments of both shows.

Someone in a Tree2 said: "^ Yeah but a recording is not supposed to explain everything in the show. That's why they made a play with, ya know, dialogue and everything."

Thanks for the snark, your air of superiority really adds to the discussion.

The overwhelming opinion on this board is that the LaChiusa version is better, but I'm telling you that's really not the opinion of millennial circles by a long shot. There's a general lack of knowledge of the LaChiusa version, and that's mostly because of the recordings. Many of my friends refer to the LaChiusa show as "The OTHER Wild Party"

darquegk said: "LaChiusa’s show is a towering artistic achievement that I do not like. Lippa’s show is an uneven, melodramatic and sometimes shallow piece that nonetheless captures the grotesque silliness and camp of the novel much more for me."

This is exactly what I was trying to say in the original post. I like some of LaChiusa's songs, but I often feel like his music is all head and no heart. Lippa's music doesn't sound like the 1920s, but it absolutely sounds like a booze and sex-addled romp with dark twists and turns.

Updated On: 8/6/20 at 09:37 PM

Lippa's was...is....was very popular but LaChiusa's is the one with staying power.

CATSNYrevival said: "Did anyone see the Lippa version at Encores Off-Center? Didn't he rewrite the opening and closing numbers?"

I'm not particularly a fan of Lippa's version, but the changes he made to the show worsened it. "A Wild, Wild Party" opened the show for some reason, with "Queenie was a Blonde" and "Out of the Blue" cut, which kind of undercut the entire piece.

Lippa writes fairly generic musical theater-pop vocal showcase numbers and Wild Party is no exception. The songs are more accessible and work out of context, so they've found a great deal of life in schools and cabarets and auditions. The show itself is pretty shallow and focused solely on the Black-Burrs-Queenie melodrama romance triangle- everyone else is basically featured ensemble and don't really have much to do following their introduction numbers.

LaChiusa's score is more nuanced and period accurate and his version of the show actually expands the source material. All the party guests are developed- they have clear motives for being at the party and clear character arcs. The show delves into race and sexuality and how the characters are affected by society's views. It's just a richer take.