Download “The Wild Party” Is At Best A 2 Hour Nap

The Wild Party” Is At Best A 2 Hour Nap
“The Wild Party” Is At Best A 2 Hour Nap
ENTERTAINMENT
March 14th, 2016
VOL 52 ISSUE 10
Theatre * Blondes *
Abuse * Clowns *
Drugs
HARRISONBURG-The world-renowned Forbes Theatre recently finished its
run of the not so wild musical, “The Wild Party.” A few theatre patrons were
interviewed as the play let out; the consensus was less than overwhelming. “I just
could not stay captivated; the whole play was just pretty dry. I wasn’t the only one
checked out, in the two and a half hours I endured this performance, I saw a girl get
re-tweeted by Rosie O’Donnell, and old man change his hearing aid battery and a
yuppie couple fight, decide to get divorced, make out, decide not to get divorced
and plan their “second honeymoon” on a Carnival cruise ship. It’s no doubt that the
run plans to end early due to poor ticket sales. I want my money back.” – Joseph
Angulo, JMU GTHEA 210 Student.
One hopes that a director in a theatre of this caliber is well versed in the basic
elements for a successful play, but she must have skipped that day of Theatre101.
To begin with, what even was the theme of this play? It seems to me like it told the
story of a fairly average couple throwing a fairly average party. What was director
trying to tell us “jealousy and anger will be our downfall” Please; you are going to
have to give us a little more consequence than an accidental shot to the stomach to
prove that one. All of the other characters were fine.
The plot was subpar. The problems of the characters weren’t nearly exaggerated
enough. So Burrs is a little rough with Queenie? So Kate wants a little attention,
and a little coke? Yawn. We barely saw anything resolved, I mean, Queenie sits at
the vanity at the end of the show, right back where we started, can I see a little
character development please? The problems of these characters just seemed a
little unrealistic in my opinion, Queenie, you’ve got a chorus men vying for you,
remind me again why your life is so hard?
The main characters in this show also just seemed to fall flat. The side characters
were where we really saw the meat of the story and conflict. A lesbian, boxer,
hooker, teen, producer, dancer, bimbo, and pianists. Although only a handful
of these characters got their own song and dance, we really got to know their
struggles in the play, and they can be called anything but one dimensional. For
example, Madelaine, the lesbian, sings the show’s deepest ballad, “An Old
Fashioned Love Story” which tells the true struggles of a lesbian in a
conservative world and her journey on the search of a soul mate. We didn’t see
this depth from the main squad. Queenie’s ballad, “Maybe I like it This Way”
does little to convince us of any sort of inner turmoil. By the end of the song,
she makes her feelings pretty clear; she likes it that way, congrats on taking a
stand Queenie!
The characters could have used some more expressive language to spice things
up. The supposed to be “epic” showdown at the end of the play between Burrs
and Black was tame. This dramatic language technique utilized an exchange of
dialogue, but ultimately there was little confrontation, no voices rose. Did I
come here to see a drama or an episode of Couples Therapy, where they
“calmly talk though their feelings with ‘I’ statements?” Additionally, Burrs
used a rather gentle tone with Queenie throughout the show, so I don’t see
what the big fuss about him is. He seemed like an okay guy. The play
attempted to utilize the narrative language technique in the opening number
“Queenie Was a Blonde,” but we learned little about her character. I know her
hair is blonde.
The director went rather low key in the aspect of spectacle. Despite the show
being called “The Wild Party” there wasn’t very much wild side action going
on here. The party-goers often just stood around and let the attention focus on
the main characters (double yawn.) Even the “orgy” scene was boring. A peck
on the check was as erotic as this play got. The costumes, weren’t true to the
era, I felt like I was watching a 1990s take on the 1920s in the 2010s. The
lighting additionally didn’t work to enhance the play. The red light on the
actors during the mildly physical scene was supposed to make the actors look
rageful or passionate but really just made them look like tomatoes.
For a musical, the pace of the score was choppier than the waters of the Jersey
Shore. It did little to enhance the storytelling. Blues, pop, rock, latin, PICK A
GENRE will ya?! They did a poor job of pairing the emotions of the scene to
the musical tone. “Make Me Happy”, is a simple plea from Burrs to his love,
Queenie, yet has more ups and down than a 6 Flags Rollercoaster. I don’t
know why the director would try to rile things up all the way at the end.
Shouldn’t things be winding down by now?
Overall, I’d give “The Wild Party” a solid 4/10. And that’s because I got to
catch up on some precious REM sleep. Hopefully in the future, Forbes will
pick a show with more sparks and a fewer clowns.