Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
lovinlovett
Stand-by Joined: 7/18/05
#0Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 6:35pm
Please forgive me, I'm sure this has been covered numerous times.
I'm trying to decide which version of "The Wild Party" to purchase. What do you suggest??
Thank you!
#1re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 6:49pm
A) use le search function. This was recently discussed
B) why not buy both?
C) LaChiusa's is my favorite
"Picture "The View," with the wisecracking, sympathetic sweethearts of that ABC television show replaced by a panel of embittered, suffering or enraged Arab women" -the Times review of Black Eyed
commasplice
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/29/04
#2re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 6:52pm
A couple threads on this:
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=891223
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=844422#948791
And I agree with C.
#3re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 6:57pmLaChiusa's is simply more appropriate...
stonewall2
Broadway Star Joined: 9/12/04
#4re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 7:00pmLippa!
"I'm mad, you're mad. we're all mad"...
The Cheshire Cat
temms
Broadway Star Joined: 7/21/04
#5re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 7:03pm
A neutral answer - you shouldn't really compare them, they're two vastly different shows by very different composers that just happen to be based on the same source material. That's fascinating enough, in and of itself, to see how two people view the material differently. Whether one thinks one is better or worse than the other is purely subjective.
So, if you like the "serious" newer shows (Guettel, Ricky Ian Gordon, Tesori, etc.) then you need to have the LaChiusa in your collection.
If you like the poppier-sounding newer shows (Yazbeck, JRB, Schwartz, etc.) then you need to have the Lippa version.
If you are interested in both types of shows, then you probably need to have both recordings. As I said, they are totally different shows beyond the fact that they are both based on the same poem. It's not like asking whether the original or revival recording is a better choice for a particular show. In this case, they are both very worthy scores on their own individual merits.
#6re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 7:14pm
temms deserves MAJOR props for mentioning ricky ian gordon!
*high five*
"Picture "The View," with the wisecracking, sympathetic sweethearts of that ABC television show replaced by a panel of embittered, suffering or enraged Arab women" -the Times review of Black Eyed
ashley0139
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
#7re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 7:26pmYou should have both in your collection, I think. They are just so different.
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
Updated On: 1/20/07 at 07:26 PM
#8re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:16pm
I agree with temms in principal. Such works should be listened to and appreciated on their own merits rather than arbitrarily compared because they have the same source material. That having been said, I can't stand the Lippa musical but find LaChiusa's mesmerizing.
In my experience, the Lippa recording tends to *really* appeal to people who come across it in certain ways, such as the following manner: They love Wicked, so they love Kristen Chenoweth, so they get You're a Good Man Charlie Brown and love My New Philosophy by Andrew Lippa, so they get Lippa's Wild Party and love it too. I don't think it's just Wicked-fandom running amok, but their musical tastes seem to follow a certain pathway that leads them to the show.
That's not to say that any or all of you who like Lippa's work do so for that reason, but it's one illustration of one type of musical fan for whom Lippa's work may really resonate.
Temm's example of people who are into Guettel, Gordon, and others seems equally apropos as an indication of someone who may prefer LaChiusa's piece. I'd certainly put myself in this latter category.
#9re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:18pm
Use the search engine.
To answer your question, Lippa.
#11re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:26pm
Taken from a brilliant review at amazon.com. Please read, it is hysterical.
As you may be aware, there are two musical versions of WILD PARTY: this one, written by Andrew Lippa, which premiered off-Broadway, and another version written by Michael John LaChiusa which premiered on Broadway.
Much debate rages in theatre circles about which version is better. In the interest of helping you, the consumer, make an informed decision about which one would better suit you, I have a simple multiple choice quiz you can take. Answer honestly, then scroll to the bottom to tabulate your results (NO PEEKING!).
1.) I think musical theatre is primarily _______.
A) entertainment
B) art
2.) I think RENT and WICKED are bright, shining pinnacles of musical theatre.
A) True
B) False
3.) In a musical, my biggest requirement for songs is:
A) that they be pretty, hummable and toe-tapping.
B) that they be vital to plot and character development.
4.) I think a musical's score should accurately reflect the time period in which it is set.
A) False
B) True
5.) Speaking broadly, I think Stephen Sondheim is _______ while Jonathan Larson is ______.
A) overrated / genius
B) genius / overrated
6.) In a musical, I think the score should:
A) wash over the audience and be easily digestable.
B) require its audience to listen carefully.
Pencils down!
If you scored three or more A's, you will be happier with the Lippa version of this show, as it is a typical book musical in the modernist vein, with an emphasis on musical numbers that function like set-pieces rather than plot points.
If you scored three or more B's, you will be happier with the LaChiusa version of the show, as its score is more stylistically appropriate for the time period. It also develops its characters through music rather than through the script, with an ironic post-modern approach to the subject matter that doesn't attempt to dispell the moral ambiguity of its characters.
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy."
-Charlie Manson
#12re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:35pmI'm sure it's only a matter of moments before someone asserts that we LaChiusa fans are artsy, fartsy elitists who look down on Lippa fans. Well, if so I plead "guilty as charged."
#13re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:41pm
I prefer LaChiusa's, but I don't think that Lippa's is bad - he wrote a fine, if generic score for the show. When listening to the album, it functions (atleast for me) as more of a pop-album than a show. There are fantastic performances on that CD, and some really intriguing melodies. It is by no means of the word a failure, and if LaChiusa's version didn't exist, Lippa's would not ever have gotten so much scrutiny.
Still, despite the comfort of Lippa's version, nothing tops LaChiusa's. It was robbed from top to bottom at the Tony Awards. Toni Collette gave one of the best performances I have ever seen, and the League should feel embarrassed that they let that award go to someone else, and to someone so undeserving.
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy."
-Charlie Manson
snl89
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/4/05
#14re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:45pmfor me, its lippa :) but, I mean, obviously, anytime you get idina menzel onstage I'm gonna like it, and even moreso when Taye Diggs is up there with her! haha. But really, the rest of the cast is also just awesome, and the music is amazing
I don't need a life that's normal. That's way too far away. But something next to normal would be okay. Something next to normal is what I'd like to try. Close enough to normal to get by.
#15re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:52pmI agree with you, munk (as I usually do). Toni Collette's performance was just, wow. I found Heather Headly's Aida just fine, but Mazzie and McDonald were both better, in my opinion. And at the top of the list should have been Collette's performance, which was frightening and intriguing and had me glued to my seat.
ashley0139
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
#16re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:52pmIt is obvious from the first questions of that quiz which answers go to which composer. I in fact answered most (if not all) of the questions toward LaChiusa but I still love the Lippa version. Plus, I love both Sondheim and Larson.
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
#17re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:52pmAll you who keep saying Lippa, do you even KNOW the LaChiusa version?
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy."
-Charlie Manson
#18re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:53pmI prefer Lippa's, but I guess I'm a little biased because I just love everyone in it. But yeah, that's my answer. :]
One time, Patti LuPone punched me in the face...
It was awesome. - theaterkid1015
It was awesome. - theaterkid1015
#19re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:57pm
I like both. I prefer the Lippa. The modern pop score makes the nature of the story and characters more accesible to the contemporary audience.
Scores do not need to reflect the period. Take JCS, Les Mis., Reefer Madness, Aida, or ...Forum.
"If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it." -Stephen Colbert
ashley0139
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
#20re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:58pm
All you who keep saying Lippa, do you even KNOW the LaChiusa version?
Yes.
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
#21re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 8:59pmMunk- maybe it's the Idina Complex :-P
"Picture "The View," with the wisecracking, sympathetic sweethearts of that ABC television show replaced by a panel of embittered, suffering or enraged Arab women" -the Times review of Black Eyed
#22re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 9:02pmIt is absoLUTELY the Idiggs complex.
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy."
-Charlie Manson
#23re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 9:06pm
Idiggs.
never heardthat one before. it's good. 
"Picture "The View," with the wisecracking, sympathetic sweethearts of that ABC television show replaced by a panel of embittered, suffering or enraged Arab women" -the Times review of Black Eyed
timote316
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/04
#24re: Which Version of 'The Wild Party' Do You Prefer?
Posted: 9/3/06 at 9:12pmI've heard both, and Lippa's is more accessible, easily. I haven't listened to LaChuisa's all that much, so I can't make an accurate decision. I will say that I enjoy Lippa's very much, however.
Videos