The Wild Party: confusion!- Page 2

[eslgr8]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 7:55pm

I have found LaChiusa's music discordant and therefore not at all to my tastes, whereas Lippa's score: Wow! So many memorable melodies, just one show-stopper after another. In the end, it's a matter of taste. I do plan to listen to LaChiusa again, to give him a second chance, after having gotten to know Lippa's. Ask me again in a month.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 8:26pm

Ok, I have both and like them both but if I had to choose ONE over the other, I would have to choose Lippa's version. And no, munk...I am not 14 years old or a girl. I like LaChiusa's version because it is dark in tone and Eartha Kitt and Toni Collette are amazing. BUT, I like Lippa's because the talent pool as a whole are better in my opinion and it has Brian D'Arcy James in it who is right underneath Warlow in my book. Also, when I think of a party, I would rather go to the one in Lippa's version. It is so spastic and energetic and "Old Fashion Lesbian Love Story" is without a doubt one of the greatest songs out there for Musical Theatre. But, both are great in their own way but like I said, I prefer Lippa's version more.

[Raimiette]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 9:58pm

Overall I also prefer Lippa's version. I own both and they're both quite good but I like Lippa's better. In general I agree with Spider in why he likes it better. Especially for the Brian D'Arcy James factor...I love that man's voice!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 10:17pm

eslgr8,

I wish you could have SEEN the Lachuisa version -- you'd have a different opinion then (not perfect, but Wolfe's staging was remarkable in many ways). Definitely, listen to the score again -- it's brilliant.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 10:25pm

Thanks everyone. So the scores are really the things that are different, the stories are pretty much the same? Maybe I will get both of them. I was thinking of getting Lippa's because that is the one I have heard more about but now I want both.

[ChrisLovesShows]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 10:32pm

Get them both if you can. It's fun to hear the same (basic) story told two different ways. I and don't think anyone's mentioned it, but READ THE POEM. You will see what drew the composers to the material.

[futurewinnerbud]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 10:37pm

I like LIPPA's version better. I own both cd's, and have never seen any of them live. The performances, recorded at least, were ELECTRIC on LIPPA's CD, especially Julia Murney. I think there was a lot fo miscasting with LIPPAs though, especially with (dont shoot me) Taye Diggs. He just sounds weird all through the beginnign of the show until the "Juggernaut". The songs are much catchier, the flow better, there's more variety in the score, yet there is a melody that musically strings it together... I just think it is a beuatifully written score. I'm doing an essay about it right now actually... well about the poem more, but I'm using both CD's in my report. If you hate Lippa's, you have to admit that some of the songs in Lippa's songs are better. His "Queenie Was a Blonde" is INCREDIBLE!

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 2/7/05 at 11:59pm

I actually prefer La Chiusas "Queenie Was A Blonde" it sets the tone excellently, as both do for their respective shows, but the tune of La Chiusas is just catchier.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 12:07am

I just find all of LaChiusa's score to be more accurate of that time period, and it works so nicely with the story. And the Wolfe staging WAS BRILLIANT. He always does great work though, so I wasn't surprised.

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 12:09am

Funny someone mentioned "The Lights of Broadway" as an audition song as it is one of mine
Good luck finding the sheet music for LaChiusa's though, it recenty went out of print

[shira467]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 3:29am

I admit, I've never seen any of them, I was unfortunate in that sense. However, I developed a sincere appreciation for Julia Murney at the end of Lippa's version.

As for LaChiusa, his music doesn't really get me as much as others. It may be more brilliant as far as technicalities, but I'm almost bored with it. I do agree that it may be more suited to the time.

I think I need to go dig up LaChiusa again and listen to it again. Maybe I'll appreciate it more now....

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 3:43am

I LOVE both of them.

Some of my friends and I joke that you used to be able to tell a person's theatre personality by the question, Sondheim or Webber? But now that pretty much everyone's a Sondheim- ite, the question is now Lippa's Wild Party or LaChiusa's?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 11:22am

Lippa's score is good if you want some standard songs that can be sung out of context and can stand alone as more traditional musical theatre songs. I think LaChiusa's score serves the text better, though it is difficult to lift the individual songs from the score much like it is difficult to lift passages from the poem with any coherency. LaChiusa also rooted his score in the period with jazz, ragtime and vaudeville inspired themes. Lippa really didn't do much to represent the period, which I think is essential to the story unless the entire book was updated in some way. I've listened to both, but was never really drawn to Lippa's score. LaChiusa's is absolutely masterful. The next time I am in NYC, I'm going to see if they have it at the Lincoln Center Library. I really want to see how it was staged and witness Collette and Kitt's performances as best I can.

[insomniak]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 11:37am

I actually LIKED that Lippa didn't stick to the time period with the music. It seems that that's a pretty common complaint about his score, but I thought it brought a much-needed element to the table. There are plenty of twenties-esque scores out there, it would be all too easy to clone them with The Wild Party, but instead, Lippa added his own twist to it and did it quite well. The CD sounds great, in my opinion- sexy, wild and just like a party. The electric guitar and basslines weren't really glaringly obvious (exception being The Juggernaut). The overall sound is very unique.

My problem with the music is some of the lyrics. I don't like any of 'Queenie Was a Blonde' beyond Julia's solo opener; the rest is somewhat annoying. Some of it felt lazy, if that's the right word- like Lippa just didn't feel like coming up with anything creative ('By Now The Room Was Moving' comes to mind). I agree on Taye Diggs, futurewinner. I'm just not a big fan of his voice.

[insomniak]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 11:37am

I actually LIKED that Lippa didn't stick to the time period with the music. It seems that that's a pretty common complaint about his score, but I thought it brought a much-needed element to the table. There are plenty of twenties-esque scores out there, it would be all too easy to clone them with The Wild Party, but instead, Lippa added his own twist to it and did it quite well. The CD sounds great, in my opinion- sexy, wild and just like a party. The electric guitar and basslines weren't really glaringly obvious (exception being The Juggernaut). The overall sound is very unique.

My problem with the music is some of the lyrics. I don't like any of 'Queenie Was a Blonde' beyond Julia's solo opener; the rest is somewhat annoying. Some of it felt lazy, if that's the right word- like Lippa just didn't feel like coming up with anything creative ('By Now The Room Was Moving' comes to mind). I agree on Taye Diggs, futurewinner. I'm just not a big fan of his voice.

[insomniak]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 11:43am

I actually LIKED that Lippa didn't stick to the time period with the music. It seems that that's a pretty common complaint about his score, but I thought it brought a much-needed element to the table. There are plenty of twenties-esque scores out there, it would be all too easy to clone them with The Wild Party, but instead, Lippa added his own twist to it and did it quite well. The CD sounds great, in my opinion- sexy, wild and just like a party. The electric guitar and basslines weren't really glaringly obvious (exception being The Juggernaut). The overall sound is very unique.

My problem with the music is some of the lyrics. I don't like any of 'Queenie Was a Blonde' beyond Julia's solo opener; the rest is somewhat annoying. Some of it felt lazy, if that's the right word- like Lippa just didn't feel like coming up with anything creative ('By Now The Room Was Moving' comes to mind). I agree on Taye Diggs, futurewinner. I'm just not a big fan of his voice.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 12:22pm

I think my problem with Lippa's score was that it wasn't unique enough. There are plenty of twenties-esque scores, but LaChiusa created one that was very unique, in that it wasn't simplistic or totally upbeat. Lippa's score was quite generic in sound and tone with only the lyrics to help define the setting. Even Richard Rodgers usually included themes in his score that were influenced by the period or culture of the story to paint a musical backdrop to his shows. If you change Lippa's lyrics, the songs could very well be used in just about anything from the mid-80s to date. The songs are catchy and the performers sing very well, but I just didn't feel the score matched the material at all and was somewhat underwhelmed when compared to the amount of work and attention to detail given in LaChiusa's score.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 4:26pm

Great info! So can someone give me a basic story line?

[ashley0139]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 9:36pm

Can I get a summary here? Thanks!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/8/05 at 9:47pm

A synopsis for the Lippa version:
http://www.mtishows.com/show_plot.asp?ID=000234