THE WILD PARTY

THE WILD PARTY--BW’s Music Theatre Program reaches levels of excellence that far exceeds those of college students

 
The Wild Party is a musical by Andrew Lippa, based on Joseph Moncure March’s 1928 narrative poem of the same name.
 
The Wild Party is a musical by Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe based on the same poem.  The poem was a sensation.  It was considered so lascivious that it was banned in many places when it was published in 1928.  In spite of the shunning, the poem was a success.  Ironically, the only success of March’s writing career.
 
To add to the confusion, both versions of The Wild Party opened during the 1999-2000 season, one on Broadway (the LaChiusa/Wolfe creation), the other off-Broadway (the Lippa concept).
 
The versions differ in format, but still contain the same story line of decadence, bathtub gin, uninhibited sexual behavior, and people who engender little reason to be liked.  The LaChiusa/Wolfe version is presented as a series of vaudeville acts.  Each segment is introduced by signs with titles of what “act” will be performed.  The Lippa version is a more conventional theatrical story with a beginning, middle and end. 
 
The Lippa version is now being staged by Baldwin Wallace’s nationally recognized Musical Theatre program.
 
According to the writer, the story is “about the masks we wear culturally and the removal of those masks over the course of the party [life].   Unfortunately, the characters illicit no reason to be liked.  They lead unproductive, rudderless lives, with seemingly no redemptive qualities.  They are self-centered to the degree that we really don’t care what happens to them.  There are no “good guys” to root for, no protagonists, only antagonists.
 
Victoria Bussert, the Queen of the BW program of the play, states in Director’s Welcome, “THE WILD PARTY is one of those true gems in the musical theatre catalog—a show filled with wildly eccentric characters set in the roaring 1920s with an extraordinary jazz score.”  (The score is dynamically played by Matthew Webb’s well-tuned jazz band, suspended high above the heads of the audience.)
 
She goes on to state, “Jeff [Hermann] and I decided to recreate the space [that we had develop for our 2009 edition of THE WILD PARTY at BW] but added more opportunities for an immersive experience.”  The stage design is a runway that is placed between segments of the audience seated on both sides of a long narrow stage, which creates no emotional space between the actors and the viewers.  (The effect is electric.)
 
Another change from the 2009 production was to use a slice from the LaChiusa/Wolfe version of the script, and have the leads perform their vaudeville act.  (A wonderful chance to give student actors expand on the usual acting experiences of the student actors.)
 
Bussert continues, “THE WILD PARTY is filled with dance, so choreographers Greg Daniels and Lauren Tidmore spent many hours creating totally original numbers filled with 1920/s physical abandon.”  (These are some of most sensual and abandoned dancing you will ever see on stage.) 
 
Featuring Costume Designer Charlotte Yetman’s see through, lots of skin-exposing glitz encrusted clothing that leave no question of cross-dressing, gym cut, sexual trasitioning/transitoned, impressively toned bodies.
 
The over-all effect is everyone being invited to a wild, wild party!
 
The story centers on Queenie, a well-known party giver and purveyor of bathtub gin and drugs, and her relationship with Burrs, a “clown” with a violent streak. 
 
They live a decadent life style that March indicates was the way the “in” Hollywood crowd lived during the swinging 1920s, the era of prohibition, speakeasies, uninhibited sex, orgies, eccentricism, acceptance of various sexual life styles, and wild parties.  (Obviously, the attendees, cannot be Evangelical prudes, as the goings-on, will cause that crowd to quickly run for the doors.)
 
During one of the parties, Mr. Black, a well-dressed, handsome, suave, seemingly wealthy man of impeccable manners appears.  Queenie falls hard for him, and incites Burrs into a jealous rage, with a tragic outcome.
 
(Note:  BW double-casts its shows so the students can have as many educational experiences as possible.  The comments here are for the Queenie cast which includes the talented Queenie (Mia Soriano), her equally talented playmate Burrs (Ricky Moyer), Mr. Black (Praise Oranika) and sensational Kate (Alexa Lopez).  Others in this assemblage are Bella Serrano, Jaedynn Latter, Eileen Brady, Noah Wohlsen, Mack Hubbard, Trey Milcowitz, Noah Rodriques, Zach Mackiewicz and Kate Day Magocsi.  
 
Special notice to Trevor Gill-Snow for his sensational dance interpretation of “Jackie’s Last Dance.”  
 
CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  If watching decadence is your thing, you’ll be turned on by The Wild Party.  If you prefer being in the presence of characters who have redeeming values so you can feel empathy, this is not going to be your show.  The singers, actors, dancers, and the musicians are top-notch.  They reach levels of excellence that far exceed those of college students.  But, what else can you expect?  They are part of the respected and oft-revered Baldwin Wallace Musical Theatre Program.  Bravo!
 
(Added note:  THE WILD PARTY brings down the curtain on the Costume Designing career at BW of the brilliant, multi-award-winning Charlotte Yetman.  She, and her costumes, will long be remembered!!!)
 
THE WILD PARTY runs through November 19.  For tickets https://www.bw.edu/events/theatre-dance/

THE GREAT LEAP

 

THE GREAT LEAP at CPH is a slam dunk!   Roy Berko (Member---Cleveland Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association)   Lauren Yee, the author of THE GREAT LEAP, the Cleveland Play House production, which is now on stage in the Outcalt Theatre in the Allen complex, states of her play, “This is a play about basketball, but it is also a basketball play. The game is reflected not just in the subject matter but the rhythm, structure, language, and how the characters move through space. We also should have a sense that someone is always watching. We may or may not see any actual basketballs on stage.”   The play she is describing is the tale of an American basketball team traveling to China for an exhibition game.  It is 1989. There is stress between the countries. For two men with a past and one teen with a present and future, the game is a chance to claim personal victories on and off the court.    Underlying the game is an exploration of the cultural and political risks of both raising one’s voice and standing one’s ground.   “Not everyone in San Francisco’s Chinatown may think that Manford is the best point guard to play the game of basketball, but Manford does. And he is relentless.”   “Not everyone may realize that Saul, the men’s basketball coach at the University of San Francisco, is washed up. But Saul can see the writing on the wall, and coaching his team to victory in a rematch of a 1971 game against Beijing University is his last chance to prove himself.”   “Not everyone in China knows that Wen Chang, a former translator and current coach of the Beijing basketball team, doesn’t really want the apartment, the air conditioner or any of the perks associated with a Chinese man of his stature. But Wen Chang knows, and it makes him afraid.”   When Manford--a Chinese-American high school student with a chip on his shoulder and fine basketball skills, Saul---a foul-mouthed, washed-up coach of the University of San Francisco’s men’s basketball team, who credits himself with introducing the game of hoops to China, and Wen Chang—the observant and efficient coach of Beijing University’s men’s basketball team, come together in Beijing for the big game in 1989, they discover their meeting is about far more than basketball.    “One finds a mother, one finds a son, and all of them find courage.”   The CPH staging, under the direction of Esther Jun, is not only well-staged but clearly focused.  The characterizations are finely etched, the pacing nicely ebbs and flows with the energy of the writing, and the technical aspects are perfectly sewn into the production.   The creative use of Scenic Designer Yu Shibagaki’s meticulously created basketball court, makes each audience a member of the staging.  You are at a basketball court, not only cheering for a player and involved in the strategy of the game, but entwined in the lives of four people…three who appear on stage and one whose existence catapults the plot.      Michael Boll’s lighting enhances the action as do the sounds created by Melanie Chen Cole and projections of T. Paul Lowry.   Eric Cheung is captivating as Manford, the under-sized powerhouse point-guard, who has a maniacal desire go to China to play in a grudge basketball during the Tiananmen Square Protests.  His is a quality performance!   Amanda Kuo, is totally believable as Manford’s “cousin.”    David Mason clearly conveys the frustration and maniac drive of a man compelled to succeed, whether as a basketball coach and human being, but falling short on all levels.   Reuben Uy beautifully creates a Wen Chang, who displays the emotional control demanded by his culture, but which results in a life of frustration and unfulfilled personal satisfaction.   CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  THE GREAT LEAP is a well-written, thought-provoking play that gets a slam dunk production at CPH!  This is a must-see that uses the Outcalt stage configuration in epic ways.   The show runs through November 20, 2022.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to:  www.clevelandplayhouse.com Next up at CPH: I’M BACK NOW--Sara travels to Cleveland to meet her birth mother. As she strives to reconcile the legacy she thought she knew with her actual origins, Sara discovers that she is a descendant of the last woman prosecuted under the Fugitive Slave Act.                February 4-24 @ the Allen Theatre

Ensemble’s DESCRIBE THE NIGHT is a lesson in Russian conspiracy theory with modern day implications

 

DESCRIBE THE NIGHT, which is now on stage at Ensemble Theatre, is Cleveland Heights native Rajiv Joseph’s 2018 Obie Award winner for Best New American Play.  Joseph was named a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play BENGAL TIGER AT BAGHDAD ZOO which starred the late Robin Williams in its Broadway run.  Many of his plays have had Ensemble productions.   Joseph is noted for his keen skill of writing about contemporary and historical events.  He is credited for his “having an ear for the heartbeat of the moment.”     Using a technique referred to as “ecstatic truth.” DESCRIBE THE NIGHT is a play about stories.  It begins with a historical fact and then spins outward, “like a fractal pattern with the truth as its seed but something grander than plain truth.”  It is fascinating, while often being confusing due to its’ covering an extreme length of time, with little help in keeping ideas organized.    Set in Russia over the course of 90 years, the play weaves the stories of seven men and women connected by history, myth and conspiracy theories.  Much like the typical Russian classic novel, the epic tale is filled with many names, references to historical events and places, and leaves ideas hanging.   The stories include references to many people, famous and unknown, including writer Isaac Babel, a Jewish Russian, a shy young man with dreams of being a successful writer, but traumatized from the Polish-Russo war, in which he served as a wire service journalist—a job he took in order to experience something in life he could write about.    Also noted is Nikolai Yezhov, a violent man, who in 1937-40, is the Head of Stalin’s Secret Police and his wife, Yevgenia.     Vova is a KGB agent In 1999-2010.  He is a politician of enormous stature. Deeply self-assured, yet terrified of the world.    Urzula, who in 1989, is an immigrant, living in Dresden. She is the grand-daughter of Yevgenia.   Mariya is a Russian, who is a journalist for a state-run newspaper. He was born and bred in Moscow and Mrs. Petrovna, a 70-year-old Russian, is the owner of a laundromat.    These characters are woven into a historical time line that includes such events as The Great Purge, the consolidation of the power of Joseph Stalin, the murder of Leon Trotsky, and The Katyn Massacre, a mass shooting of prisoners of war during World War that was a cold-blooded act of political murder. Despite overwhelming evidence of Soviet responsibility, Moscow blamed the Germans, and for the rest of the war Washington and London officially accepted the Soviet countercharge. When the Polish government-in-exile in London demanded an international inquiry, Stalin used this as a pretext to break relations between Poland and the Soviet Union. Also referred to is The Smolensk Plane Crash in which a plane carrying Polish president Lech Kaczyński crashed, causing Poland to lose a large sum of the country’s leadership. It happened at a time where Russia and Poland were starting to acknowledge Russian responsibility for the Katyn Massacre.    Without a knowledge of the events referred to in the play, it is often difficult to follow the story.  A series of visuals alerting to the year(s) and location might help keep the audience on-track.   Ensemble’s production, under the adept direction of the theatre’s Artistic Director, Celeste Cosentino, leads the audience on an interesting historical experience.  Though at times frustrating, the over-all effect is a fascinating.   The cast, Joe Pine, David Vegh, Laura Perrotta Ford, Aaron Elersich, Katie Wells, Kyle Huff, and Laura Rau, form a unified unit.  Each develops their characters effectively.    Capsule judgment:  This journey of myth, loss, power, and pain leaves a message of how historical facts, rumor and subterfuge tells a story that opens the door to the present day, which evolves from experiences of the past.  Anyone interested in history and philosophy should be captivated by this tale.    Ensemble’s DESCRIBE THE NIGHT runs through November 13, 2002 at Notre Dame College, 4545 College Road, South Euclid.   For tickets call 216t-321-2930 or www.ensembletheatrecle.org