enjoying a newfound freedom that had kept them so buttoned up and rigid in the Victorian and Edwardian eras . So despite the banning , or maybe because of it , it was a hit . In Smith ’ s article he writes that the poem “ painted a vivid picture of a decadent and deadly all-night party in late 1920s Manhattan , capturing the potent cocktail of bewildered innocence and worldly cynicism , poised at the fiery peak of the Jazz Age , just a year before the Crash of 1929 , when nearly everything in America would collapse .”
He goes on to explain that the piece is “ a morality tale , a fable about how the singleminded pursuit of pure selfish pleasure almost always leads to destruction , and about the death of common civility in America .” It was written at the height of Prohibition , a time that revealed something rather frightening . With speakeasies and bootlegging rampant throughout the country , American citizens were blatantly demonstrating a disdain for the law enacted in 1920 to prevent the sale and production of alcohol , which they deemed ridiculous . But Smith writes about the stark reality that this mentality encouraged a disrespect for the law in general . “ If Prohibition was a silly law , maybe other laws were silly as well ,” says Smith . “ And with this new disregard for the law , came a companion disregard for other formerly accepted norms of behavior .” The
characters in “ The Wild Party ” show little regard for decorum or gentility . They all just want to have a good time .
With its over indulgent characters and glorification of all things tantalizing , set against one of the most glamorized decades in history , this scandalous poem lent itself perfectly for a staged version .
... A WILD RIDE OF LOVE , HATE , DEBAUCHERY , LUST , FRIVOLITY , AND DANGER ...
That ’ s exactly what Andrew Lippa thought when he came across it in a Barnes & Noble in 1995 . According to a 2015 interview with Playbill , Lippa was struck by the piece immediately .
“ There was something about the beginning of the poem , the description of that woman , that spoke to me personally ,” said Lippa . “ I just knew that I was more excited about something than I ’ d ever been in my life .”
He decided to write a musical .
His initial intent was to write it like Cats , just taking the poem verbatim and putting it to music . But he struggled with the third person narrative . Lippa wanted the characters to be able to use ‘ I ’ statements like “ I want ,” I am ,” or “ I feel ”. So while incorporating much of the lines of the poem into the show , Lippa also added his own lyrics and dialogue .
Andrew Lippa ’ s The Wild Party opened Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club on February 4 , 2000 . It starred several now household names like Idina Menzel , Taye Diggs , and Brian D ’ Arcy James .
Ironically enough , Lippa was not the only writer to be inspired by March ’ s work . Michael John LaChiusa , along with George C . Wolfe , wrote their own version which opened on Broadway on April 13 , 2000 , just two months after Lippa ’ s .
Theatre Cedar Rapids will be producing the Andrew Lippa version with its eclectic and exciting score , and a story that focuses intently on the four central lovers . The show is a wild ride of love , hate , debauchery , lust , frivolity , and danger . “ A fascinating story , as they go .” •
10 theatrecr . org | FALL MARQUEE