The Wild Party ★★★★★

There it was. The dreaded Playbill insert that tells audience members that a cast member is out. Unusual and unlikely at a New York City Center Encores! run, as their outings often run just two weeks. Worse yet, it was for one of the leads, Jordan Donica, the highlight of Lincoln Center’s recent Camelot, and one of the new leading lights of Broadway in the early years of what is certain to be a major career.

But the show goes on, and as Encores! productions have famously tight rehearsal schedules at the best of times, the standby who was tossed into Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe’s The Wild Party probably had very little notice. That thought was confirmed at the curtain call when the cast rejoiced ebulliently for Curtis Bannister, who knocked it out of the park as Burrs, the violent minstrel clown who, along with his dancer girlfriend Queenie (Jasmine Amy Rogers, the breakout star of last year’s Boop), hosts the titular soirée, a hedonistic and eventually violent gathering that would be hell to attend in real life but is grand fun to watch on stage, especially with a cast this strong.

Bannister’s leap into the fray seemed to add an extra frisson to the evening, and the ensemble of guests met the moment, among them the seemingly inseparable and incestuous D’Armano brothers, Oscar and Phil (Wesley J. Barnes and Joseph Anthony Byrd); “almost famous” stripper Madelaine (the va-va-voomy Meghan Murphy, who insanely has yet to perform on Broadway) and her new girlfriend, the morphine-addicted Sally (Betsy Morgan, somehow simultaneously hilarious and sad); wealthy playboy Jackie (Claybourne Elder, hunky and creepy), with his unlimited sexual appetite; would-be producers Gold (KJ Hippensteel) and Goldberg (Andrew Kober), who are nervously excited to hang out with the artists as they debate changing their showbiz names to appear less Jewish; boxer Eddie (Evan Tyrone Martin) and Mae (Lesli Margherita), a mixed-race couple who’ve brought Mae’s 14-year-old vaudeville superfan sister Nadine (Maya Rowe, delightfully naïve); and fading star Dolores Montoya (the inestimable Tonya Pinkins, the sole returning member of the original Wild Party Broadway cast), who’s shown up more for her career than pleasure.

It’s only when Queenie’s best friend and rival Kate (Adrienne Warren, glamorously cut-throat) arrives with her gigolo boyfriend Black (Jelani Alladin, smoldering in voice and appearance) that the party’s temperature rises. Burrs and Kate don’t get along, and Queenie and Black soon find themselves falling for each other in ways neither expected. As the night wears on, drugs, drink, and sexual shenanigans lead to betrayals professional and personal, and when the morning sun rises, so do consequences.

The Wild Party was originally a 1920s narrative poem by Joseph Moncure March that infamously found itself theatricalized twice during the 1999-2000 theater season. Andrew Lippa’s version premiered Off-Broadway at Manhattan Theater Club, and LaChiusa and Wolfe’s take opened directly on Broadway, with Wolfe directing. The two have many similarities, obviously, but neither fared as well as hoped. Despite a starry cast that included Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs, Lippa’s interpretation didn’t transfer to Broadway, and the one that did go to Broadway only lasted two months, even with Toni Collette, Mandy Patinkin, and Eartha Kitt leading the way.

One likely major reason neither show met their respective high expectations is that the source material is bleak, and seeing this Wild Party again is a reminder that the show is not overly friendly to audiences expecting fun songs and dances. LaChiusa’s score is complex and demanding, and Wolfe’s wicked sense of humor can’t uplift the book in its second half. Queenie and Burrs aren’t likable — she’s consistently frustrated and he’s angry — and almost all the guests are depressingly selfish from start to finish. Only Nadine really changes during the course of the evening, and her arc is far from joyous. And the ending is, well, less than happy; catharsis isn’t plopped into this party’s departing goody bags.

What director Lili-Anne Brown has done with this revival that improves upon the original Broadway incarnation is to amp up the joy and fun in the first half. The lighter touch at the start, especially the exuberant choreography by Katie Spelman, makes all that comes later more palatable. Also helping immensely is Arnel Sancianco’s set design, a marvelous playground that allows the audience to immerse themselves in the experience as characters move about in different rooms in the apartment; if you pay close attention, at different times you’ll see both Kate and Jackie make use of the upstage toilet. Kudos also to the Encores! orchestra led by Daryl Waters; they make LaChiusa’s zingy score truly soar.

Near the end of the show, Dolores enters for a dimly lit solo number and sings “I can tell you that no party lasts forever,” and she speaks the truth, as this one only has a weekend left. Don’t miss it. Even on a stage full of major talent, it’s hard to take your eyes off the sensational Rogers, who captures both Queenie’s restless sexual ambition on the outside and her heart’s internal longings. And as for Bannister, who gave a wow-wow-wow-wow-wow performance, he may not be at this party every night, but if we consummate theatergoers are lucky, he’ll be strutting his fine stuff on another stage very soon.