Let's dispense with any preambles. Simply stated, Ray of Light Theatre's The Wild Party is astonishingly good. This could be a surprise, not necessarily because the troupe has conquered the material so masterfully, but because the material that has here been so enlivened had held such underwhelming promise. Not many people got to see the slick New York original, but I happened to be one of them, and its main impact was mild annoyance that I had wasted a theatergoing slot on such an unmemorable show.
There is nothing unmemorable about this Wild Party at the Victoria Theatre, where the combined abilities of the cast and creative talents have upped the ante in Andrew Lippa's ambitious if sometimes flawed musical. Within the first few minutes, you realize that this team knows what it is doing, and once that realization settles in, an audience feels confident in anything that comes along in the crazed cornucopia that unfolds.
One can speculate on why this production has so much more impact than the original, but one of the easiest reasons is that it is now on a proscenium stage that frames this quasi-vaudeville homage rather than what was basically a floor with risers that didn't provide a focusing structure. But that can't be the only reason behind the bracingly new connection it finds. More on that to come, but first a little context for what composer-lyricist-librettist Lippa was attempting in this impressively ambitious project.
Lippa, whose credits include The Addams Family, Big Fish, and the oratorio I Am Harvey Milk commissioned by the SF Gay Men's Chorus, looked to Joseph Moncure March's 1928 narrative poem The Wild Party for source material. By perverse coincidence, another team created its own adaptation of The Wild Party, and the productions opened and closed within several weeks of each other. Both have their champions, but neither was a commercial success.
The musical follows the basic story of the poem: Chorus girl Queenie and her lover, the abusive stage clown Burrs, have found temporary satisfaction together, but when it begins to wane, Queenie plans a gin-soaked party with enough sexual tensions to reignite the missing passion with Burrs. Jealousy, anger, sudden romances, revenge, and violence are all on the bill of fare, and not everyone is still breathing when the dawn arrives.
The musical itself does have its problems, but most are often swept aside in director Jenn BeVard's superbly crafted and imaginative production on Erik LaDue's atmospherically skewed set. The titular wild party is a messy, sprawling affair, but BeVard's staging is careful to focus on what's important and to maximize its impact. The show itself owes some of its style to Chicago, which presented many of its numbers as vaudeville acts, and with big-time help from choreographer Alex Rodriguez, the cast is in step with his cleverly rendered moves. Another major asset: Music director David Aaron Brown leading the full-bodied six-piece accompaniment from the keyboards.
The cast displays a depth of talent and a grasp of what the material requires. As Queenie, Jocelyn Pickett has a charismatic presence as a character who is both steely and needy. Paul Grant Hovannes connects with the contradictions of his character, the boyish but abusive Burrs. RaMond Thomas has quiet magnetism as the character Black, who becomes the catalyst for the party's turmoil. There are many more topnotch performances to be acknowledged, including Lizzie O'Hara as a Betty Boop-like character and Daniel Barrington Rubio as her pugilistic beau, James Mayagoitia and Zachariah Mohammed as foppish Frick-and-Frack brothers, Alexandra Feifers as a likably trouble-making guest, and Kathryn Fox Hart as an unsuccessfully on-the-prowl lesbian.
Lippa's score includes dirge-like passages, heartfelt ballads, and rousing show tunes. It doesn't all work, but it's always skillfully presented, and there are plenty of times when the pieces come together with exhilarating finesse. The opening-night audience seemed primed for a campy romp, but early hoots and hollers subsided when realization came that this is not that kind of show. There may have been a moment or two of readjustment, but to the extent that an audience can be read, a wave of awe soon arrived and never departed.
The Wild Party will run through June 11 at the Victoria Theatre. Tickets are $25-$40. Go to rayoflighttheatre.com.