The Wild Party (LaChiusa) - The Other Palace

Went to this with an open heart yesterday, not really knowing what to make of the mixed reviews on here.

First impressions were good- the lobby has been given a funky makeover, and we had a peep upstairs at the new eatery, The Other Naughty Piglet which looks well worth a try on another visit.

The set looked delicious- a bare striped floor, an arc of vaudeville lights, and the band (and what a band!) set high above the stage (is it only me that loves to see the band as well as hear them?) But I’ve been tricked like this before: a great set doesn’t necessarily mean a great show…

Oh but this one was!

Congratulations to The Other Palace for managing to lure a heap of triple threat talent onto the same stage at the same time. It was an unbelievable pleasure to witness Donna McKechnie given the chance to dance again. And then we had Frances Ruffelle once again strutting her sultry stuff, John Owen Jones proving he was more than a chandelier-wielding, repentant bread thief, and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt thrilling and scaring the life out of us, a cross between Cruella Deville and Lesley Joseph minus her Anton.

This was one hell of a party, reminding me intermittently of Grand Hotel, Rodney Ackland’s Absolute Hell and just a sprinkling of Chicago. And from the off we know it’s only going to end in tears. Only Dolores, seemingly out of place because of her age, can see what’s going to happen, but in this hotchpotch of characters full of their own Look At Me attitude no-one is going to take any notice.

So the party rumbles on- a relentless, frenetic jazzy score playing all the way to the Act One finale. I just wanted to get up on that stage and bounce up and down on that bed with them all!

I have to admit that I’m rather taken with Young Mr McOnie’s skills- I loved what he did with the choreography for the open-air Superstar last summer- and here he manages to add his own distinctive but unpredictable style into this incredibly stylish, classy production. He creates a vast array of shapes and silhouettes- Kate smoking her cigarette up high on a balcony is caught in a shaft of light, Queenie and her mate dance as couples do in the privacy of their bedroom, and he conjures up of a moment of sheer menace from a single white-gloved hand which appears from behind a pillar. Burrs’ sinister Mr Cellophane is not about to be looked right through…

I loved the casting of the two women as ‘brothers’ (perhaps because it reminded me of an antique shop I once lived next to, run by twins who were ‘brother’ and sister) and I loved Black, who is white and who wears nothing but.

White light works it magic too, in as many forms as you can shake a stick at, from above, out front and behind, bathing the stage in strong, cold, warm and muted tones.

Like any party, there’s no one story, there are lots of stories just desperate to be told, and that’s exactly what we get here. But the tie that binds them all seems to be that everyone is covering up that part of themselves they can do without. With make-up, with bandages, with a name...

I’m glad I invited myself to this one. It was so good, I even managed to forget how uncomfortable the seats are!

Let me confess from the outset that I consider The Wild Party to be one of the landmark musicals of the 21st Century. The score isn't always pretty, but it is intoxicating, sophisticated and true. Anyone who fails to hear the astonishing beauty and power in songs like Black is a Moocher and People Like Us, in my view, has cloth ears.

It's a little surprising that this title should be chosen to open a venue dedicated to "new" musicals- but it's a very welcome production and one that fires on almost every cylinder. As Mallardo pointed out, this cast is utterly astonishing, (I was totally owned by Tiffany Graves). The actors and excellent band are hard-working, focused and thoroughly interesting. The lighting is highly atmospheric and in the limited space the set evokes the right mood, (even though the banisters were of the wrong period).

I do have a few reservations, though. Despite all the gyrating, this is a surprisingly sexless show- there is little actual touching and very little heat between Queenie and Black. Similarly, there is no real chemistry between Burrs and Queenie and overall all the angst was only ever on the surface for the angry clown- John Owen Jones just didn't have it in his eyes even if he could hit the notes with power. There was no danger in his physicality.

Miss Ruffelle was game and looked a million dollars, but again, didn't really dig deep- it was a superficial and unconvincing performance.

In many ways it was a gripping show, though, with just the occasional mis-step: I am afraid the Brothers have to be male- the casting of women did not create a new daring revelation of trans-gender issues; it made the "adultery" with Jackie seem like a desperate longing for a more "conventional" heterosexual relationship- a wish to be "normal". That is not what that relationship is about.

On the whole, it's probably the best production we could hope for in the UK, but it's still a mere shadow of the original Broadway show.

Am going to the matinee this saturday, cant wait!

TM, I was in my usual spot in the middle of the front row. I can't believe I didn't see you! And vice versa. I was hanging out in the foyer pre-show and was back there at the interval. James Gant from Death Takes a Holiday was sitting directly behind me.

Sorry it wasn't your thing. It's obviously mine. And yes, Ms Ruffelle definitely still has it going.

Looking back on it, yes it did seem somewhst obvious what was going to happen, especially the events in the second half. But jt still didn't stop it being shocking to watch, especially for how realistic events were portrayed.

Saw the matinee today. Hmmmm bit of a mixed bag. Plusses, an amazing cast a privilege to see Donna McKechnie over here, Frances Ruffelle, JOJ and Ako Mitchell excellent. JOJ is new to me and he has a great presence and voice. Minuses no plot and the band who were all brilliant were over miked. Three and half stars from me.

Dont see im afraid, just have to agree to disagree, but as you can tell (i hope) i did quite like and i ought to add, a musical for grown ups!

Am I the only one that found that just about halfway into the first act I was thinking "is this it, for the whole show?", not disliking it, but hoping more would happen, and then we meet VHB's character and it springs to life again?

A nice interview with Donna McKechnie:

www.broadway.com/buzz/187787/donna-mckechnie-star-of-londons-the-wild-party-on-working-with-triple-threats-a-chorus-line-memories-more/

She mentions that she's doing a cabaret in a couple of weeks but I can't find any info on that...?

If you haven't been to this yet or want to go again now is the time as the TheatreBoard Ticket Shop has some great discounts!

March Offer: Now just £29.50, saving up to 55%! Some seats just £19.50!

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