ANDREW LIPPA’S WHITE-HOT MUSICAL
BURNS UP THE TCR STAGE THIS WINTER
BY HANNAH SPINA
“Queenie was a blonde, and her
age stood still, and she danced
twice a day in Vaudeville.” This
is the opening line for Andrew
Lippa’s The Wild Party as well
as its source material, the book-
length narrative poem, “The Wild
Party” written by Joseph Moncure
March. The line ushers us into the
life of our heroine, or anti-heroine
depending on your view of her.
“A fascinating woman, as they
go,” writes March. Queenie is a
beautiful, complicated, magnetic,
fragile, and extremely sexual
woman who makes no apologies
for it. And when she decides to
throw a party, lives are changed
forever.
The story of “The Wild Party”
unfolds around just that, a party
that gets very wild. It is the 1920s
and Queenie is living with her
lover, Burrs, a Vaudeville clown.
Their relationship is tempestuous.
They are prone to hurting each
other physically, mentally, and
emotionally. Despite the pain
each inflicts on the other, there
is something there for both that
FALL MARQUEE | theatrecr.org
always pulls them back together.
After a time, the couple feels
their lives have grown dull and
they decide to throw a party.
Here enters a slew of characters
who create a raucous, thrilling,
unforgettable night. Two notable
guests are Kate and her new
amour, Mr. Black. Mr. Black has
a wandering eye and quickly falls
for the captivating Queenie. It
doesn’t take her long to return the
feelings of affection. With Kate in
pursuit of Burrs—mostly for the fun
of it—this intense love quadrangle
leads to an explosive conclusion.
March, primarily known for
more mainstream work, wrote
“The Wild Party” in 1926 but it
was not published until 1928.
According to the article “Inside
Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party”
by Scott Miller, that was because
it took him that long to find a
publisher brave enough to print
and endorse it. It was, in fact,
widely banned upon its initial
publication. It was deemed
far too risqué. But this was the
roaring ‘20s. The masses were
THERE WAS
SOMETHING ABOUT
THE BEGINNING
OF THE POEM, THE
DESCRIPTION OF
THAT WOMAN,
THAT SPOKE TO ME
PERSONALLY.
I JUST KNEW THAT I
WAS MORE EXCITED
ABOUT SOMETHING
THAN I’D EVER BEEN
IN MY LIFE.
– ANDREW LIPPA
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