Julia Murney’s Queenie may be a hard act to follow, but the extraordinary
Tami Tappan Damiano proved herself every bit up to the challenge as she
triumphed in Musical Theater Guild’s one-night-only “concert staged
reading” of Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party at the Alex Theatre in Glendale
tonight.

“Staged reading” cannot begin to describe this miraculously almost fully
staged production, directed by the brilliant Nick DeGruccio and
choreographed by the always stunning Lee Martino. Equity rules may insist
that actors carry scripts, but since this musical is almost sung-through, rules
were bent quite a bit tonight as the divine Tami T.D. performed almost
entirely off book! (And the entire production was mounted (per Equity rules)
with only about 2 dozen hours of rehearsal.)

Tami Tappan Damiano is a truly marvelous singer and actress. I’d seen her as
“herself” in the Charles Strouse benefit concert two weeks ago. I scarcely
recognized her tonight as she transformed herself into the tragically self-
destructive Queenie. What a rich and powerfully expressive voice! Her
renditions of Out of the Blue, Maybe I Like It This Way, and How Did We Come
To This were among the dozen plus numbers receiving extended cheers from
the dazzled audience.

Her co-stars were more than up to the challenge of performing opposite her.
Eric Anderson was sensational as Burrs, Misty Cotton dynamic and sexy as
Kate, and David Engel sang perfectly and ignited the stage as Black.
And then there was the supporting cast! Beth Malone an adorably funny
Madeline True on a quest for a perfect Lesbian Love Story; Sam Zeller and
Jennie Fahn as the comically mismatched pugilist Eddie and his “two-feet-
shorter” girlfriend Mae; oh so cute Jeffrey Christopher Todd and Joseph Sark
as gay lovers Oscar and Phil; and superlative dancers Shell Bauman and
Yvette Tucker. The entire cast deserves mention: Brandon Alameda, Kristi
Holden, Richard Israel, Bets Malone, and Larry Raben had smaller parts but
did them sublimely.

The orgy scene had me gasping!

I sat next to two a couple who’d seen the LaChiusa version in New York and
were astounded at how much “better” this one was. I’m not sure if “better”
is the word; I’ll have more to say on that after seeing LaChiusa’s this summer.
But try as I might, I just can’t get into M J L’s (for me overly) complex and
discordant music. On the other hand, Lippa’s songs are each and everyone
a showstopper; he has created a truly memorable score.

The entire ensemble of tonight’s performance deserves credit for their
professionalism, total commitment to the project, and the truly amazing
results of their labors. This is what pros can accomplish!

--Steven Stanley
     June 6, 2004