 |
| Alanna Kalbfleisch photo by Ginny Medinilla |
highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)
Click here for more information on this production that runs through September 23rd.
"...(with) only a wisp of a plot and.. characters...you know very little about, so you can't really care much about their predicaments or their outcome. Fortunately, Andrew Lippa's adaptation of The Wild Party features a score that includes some truly gorgeous pieces of music and A/C Theatre Company's production, which appears to be its Arizona debut, stars several gifted actors who deliver some deliciously soaring vocals....Lippa's score is lush and evocative, though not exactly in the musical period of the show. His melodies and hooks are very effective at getting beneath the hardened exterior of the characters, and his lyrics greatly help to reveal the dissolution and restlessness they all feel. However, his book doesn't help to flesh out the characters who are so thinly drawn they are almost transparent. ...Director Robert Kolby Harper does a very good job in ensuring the atmosphere of the piece is full of seediness and sordid details while also getting fairly nuanced performances from his cast. However, with not much to go with, as far as depth from the book, they are mainly left with archetypal portrayals of jealousy, rage and regret. ...While I have some serious shortcomings with the book of this show, the same cannot be said of this cast, who are almost all giving exceptional performances. Alanna Kalbfleisch is simply stunning and intoxicating as Queenie. ...Joshua Vern injects Burrs with an abundance of pathos and pain underneath his controlling exterior. ...Ayanna Le Andre's ... exuberant delivery of "Life of the Party" is a huge highlight. ...While The Wild Party has some problematic issues with its plot and characters, who are nowhere near as dangerous, dark, intriguing, or interesting as they could be, A/C Theatre Company's production is infused with passion and flare and a cast who do excellent work in playing these desperate characters. While the plot is minimal and the show a bit long, I still recommend this production just to see the exquisite work and stunning vocals from the leads and to hear the exceptional music from the show's superb eight-piece band.... " -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)
"...A/C Theatre Company...has taken Lippa's work off the shelf and breathed life into it with sharply defined performances by Alanna Kalbfleisch (Queenie), Joshua Vern (Burrs), Ayanna Le Andre (Kate), and Shawn Hansen (Black)...If you thought it couldn't get much hotter in Phoenix (low 100's), director Robert Kolby Harper has turned up the heat with this scintillating edition of Lippa's musical, and his cast moves like feral beasts to the music of shadows and decadence (and conductor Steve Hilderbrand's perfectly tuned band). ...orrid, decadent, and chaotic. Nothing much redeeming. But, wildly engaging in its delivery is this tribute to the roar of another decade and its edgy underbelly....... " - Herbert Paine, Broadway World (click here to read the complete review)
No comments:
Post a Comment
In order to avoid spam, comments will be moderated. Anonymous comments no longer will be allowed. If your comment is from an actual person it will be approved and posted in a timely manner.