The Other Palace 13 February – 1 April. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
What a party! The gin, skin, sin and fun that are promised burst from the stage in this fast and frenetic show.
Based on the scandalous 1927 poem by Joseph McClure March, Michael John LaChiusa’s musical had a short run on Broadway in 2000, and is the first production at the relaunched St James Theatre, now rebranded as The Other Palace and with a mission to try out and refine new British musicals, and musicals new to the UK.
Vaudeville clown Burrs suggests throwing a party to his lover, dancer Queenie (they’re mid-fight and she has a razor to his throat at the time). Queenie’s best friend Kate brings her lover Black along, giving him permission to mooch. But Queenie and Black begin to fall in love. LaChiusa and George C Wolfe split the events into three main sections: – The Promenade of Guests, introducing each character with a hint of their backstory; The Party, sex, dancing, gin, drugs and more sex; and After Midnight Dies – where reality hits as everyone crashes after their highs and excesses of the night. With guests including a lesbian stripper and her stoned new lover, a bisexual playboy, a boxer and his white trophy wife, her 14-year-old sister, two theatre impresarios, a faded Vaudeville diva and a “brothers” double act, you can understand why the poem caused outrage when it was first published. Now, after jazz era shows like Cabaret and Chicago, some of the characters seem familiar, but The Wild Party makes Chicago look like it’s set in a convent.
Director Drew McOnie keeps a Vaudeville feel, with the orchestra (led energetically by Theo Jamieson) on a balcony above the main stage, and multilevel staircases that recall both apartment blocks and backstage areas. McOnie also choreographs, brilliantly. The jazz rhythms and beats of LaChiusa’s score are evocative and captivating, matched effortlessly by McOnie’s choreography. The cast move around the stage in gloriously organised chaos, slipping into defined synchronicity in a beat. The routines around the gin-filled bath tub and bed are inspired. The energy fills the theatre, and when the hungover songs begin, you’re grateful for a few moments of calm. The dialogue has been described elsewhere as clunky, but I thought it fitted perfectly in the show – risqué Vaudeville one-liners and cheesy exposition just like 1930s film comedies.
The cast are all stunning. Everyone brings something special to their role and ensures that they are all memorable. Standouts are Genesis Lynea and Gloria Obianyo as the brothers D’Armano – moving sinuously around the stage in unison, matching gestures and totally nailing the jazz style. Tiffany Graves as Miss Madeline True is comedy gold, proclaiming her love for the nearly unconscious Sally at every opportunity. Victoria Hamilton-Barritt is a force of nature as Kate, with a voice that sounds as if she has swallowed a sack of gravel and washed it down with a barrel of whisky. Frances Ruffelle and John Owen-Jones should be given their own channel on television. I could listen to them sing all day. Queenie is a tough character to relate to – shallow and selfish, but with an air of vulnerability, and Ruffelle is perfect. Owen-Jones’ Burrs is full of simmering violence and resentment, and his solo numbers are simply amazing. Donna McKechnie steals the show as Dolores, full of one-liners and tales of faded glory, and revelling in her Mama Rose moment with When It Ends.
The Wild Party might be a bit too wild and full on for some, but LaChiusa’s musical has been brought to full blooded life in this barnstorming production. Get a ticket. It’s the party of the season.