And I thought it was gorgeous and forthright. What some people found grotesque or nightmarish, aggressive, others found to be honest reflections of America... reflections that have been borne out by the grotesque nightmare we are living in as we enter the third decade of this insane 21st Century.
These are arguments about taste and aesthetic, rather than merit or technique. And I get it - I think the reason both Wild Parties failed was that a general audience didn't want to spend time with these dark characters in that claustrophobic little apartment. For most people, it's a deeply unpleasant experience. Perhaps akin to realizing that you are living in a country where half the population supports a political movement that believes Jewish space lasers cause forest fires.
For me, the only place where the Broadway Wild Party stumbled was in its first 15 minutes (which are, alas, the worst 15 minutes to get wrong). LaChiusa and Wolfe were going for something in the stylization of the pre-party intro that didn't quite make sense, which didn't set up the story well. That production excelled when it was in glorious, ever-spinning three dimensions, and trying to do the opening in a flat, 2-D presentation just sucked all of the air out of the experience. |
