Overview
Synopsis
LaChiusa’s The Wild Party is based off of the 1928 Joseph Moncure March poem of the same name. The 1920s prove to be a rough time for Queenie, a Vaudevillian chorus girl, and her violent lover Burrs, a black-face Vaudevillian performer. When things start to get violent between them and Queenie pulls a knife on Burrs, Burrs suggests that they throw a party and invite all their friends to calm the fire. Queenie agrees and the party appears, complete with a collection of their rough and tumble chums: Queenie’s rival and friend, an “ambisextrous” drug addicted young man, a washed-up boxer, a black brother/lover duo, a diva, an ingenue, a lesbian actress and her morphine addicted girlfriend, and a mysterious escort who catches Queenie’s eye. The party slowly deteriorates from passion and pleasure-filled to its sobering tragic end. Illusions are stripped away as the guests find themselves back in the reality of who they are and what they’re facing in this world masked in glamour.
Show Information
- Music
- Michael John Lachiusa
- Lyrics
- Michael John Lachiusa
- Category
- Musical
- Age Guidance
- Mature Audiences (M)
- Number of Acts
- 1
- First Produced
- 2000
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- new york city, 1928
- Cast Size
- large
- Orchestra Size
- Medium
- Dancing
- Some Dance
- Licensor
- Concord Theatricals
- Ideal For
- Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Young Adult, Mature Adult, Early Teen Characters, Large Cast
Context
Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Baritone |
|
|
Ensemble |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Ensemble |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Ensemble |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Ensemble |
Female |
Alto |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Baritone |
Songs
The Vaudeville
- Queenie was a Blonde - Company
- Marie is Tricky - Company, Burrs
- Wild Party - Queenie, Burrs
Promenade of Guests
- Dry - Burrs, Jackie, Madelaine, Sally, Eddie, Mae, Nadine, Brothers D’Armano, Dolores
- My Beautiful Blonde - Brothers D'Armano
- Welcome To My Party - Queenie
- Like Sally - Madelaine
- Breezin’ Through Another Day - Jackie
- Uptown - Brothers D’Armano
- Eddie and Mae - Eddie, Mae
- Gold and Goldberg - Gold, Goldberg
- Moving Uptown - Dolores
The Party
- Black Bottom - Queenie, Company
- Best Friend - Queenie, Kate
- A Little M-M-M - Brothers D’Armano
- Everybody Has Their Secrets - Madelaine
- The Lights Of Broadway - Nadine
- Tabu - Oscar
- Taking Care of the Ladies - Black
- Tabu Dance - Sally, Oscar, Queenie
- Wouldn’t It Be Nice? - Burrs
- Lowdown-Down - Queenie
- Gin - Burrs, Company
- Wild - Company
- Need - Madelaine, Company
- Black Is a Moocher - Kate
- People Like Us - Queenie, Black
After Midnight Dies
- After Midnight Dies - Sally
- Golden Boy - Eddie, Brothers D’Armano
- The Movin’ Uptown Blues - Gold, Goldberg
- The Lights of Broadway (Reprise) - Nadine
- More - Jackie
- Love Ain’t Nothin’/Welcome to Her Party - Kate, Burrs
- What I Need - Queenie
- How Many Women in the World? - Burrs
- When It Ends - Dolores
Finale
- This is What It Is - Queenie
- Marie Is Tricky (Reprise) - Burrs
- How Many Women In The World (Reprise) - Burrs
- Queenie Was A Blonde (Reprise) - Company
- This Is What It Is (Reprise) - Queenie, Company
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
A play, musical, or opera that has been adapted from a written work.
A type of popular entertainment popular chiefly in the early twentieth century, featuring a mixture of specialty acts, such as burlesque comedy and song and dance.
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