All That Chat - re: Andrew Lippa on rewriting "Wild Party"

HOME ALL THAT CHAT ATC WEST COAST SHOPPIN' RUSH BOARD FAQS

LOGIN REGISTER SEARCH THREADED MODE

not logged in

Threaded Order | Chronological Order

re: Andrew Lippa on rewriting "Wild Party"

Posted by:	Chromolume 05:51 pm EST 01/21/15
In reply to:	Andrew Lippa on rewriting "Wild Party" - kieran 01:16 pm EST 01/21/15

I applaud Lippa's willingness to go back and reassess his own work. But for me, the crux of the problem with both Wild Party musicals - as much as I love both scores - is that there's simply not much of a story to dramatize. The poem may work on its own merits, but turning it into a theatrical property - especially with the the larger-than-life language of expressing emotion through song (which is, of course, what songs in musicals intrinsically do) - tends to reveal weaknesses rather than to enhance.

reply to this message \|

re: Andrew Lippa on rewriting "Wild Party"

Posted by:	Chazwaza 09:30 pm EST 01/21/15
In reply to:	re: Andrew Lippa on rewriting "Wild Party" - Chromolume 05:51 pm EST 01/21/15

Not to get into this old debate, but I still have to say... I think LaChiusa brilliant dramatized and musicalized the poem into a piece of theater... Lippa very much did not, in my opinion. I was on the edge of my seat, swept away by LaChiusa's Wild Party, invested in the characters, the concept, the party, the themes... I thought it was exceptional. Lippa's just misses the mark, and skates on the surface. It's like an adult wrote one and a teenager wrote the other.

reply to this message \|

All That Chat is intended for the discussion of theatre news and opinion
subject to the terms and conditions of the Terms of Service. (Please take all off-topic discussion to private email.)