After the success of securing a place at the Florida State Thespian Festival for its fall play Black Comedy and its one-act Elephant’s Graveyard, the Olympic Heights theatre department is now readying for a production of Andrew Lippa’s dark and exciting musical, The Wild Party. This will be OH’s most ambitious production to date due to the show’s demanding vocals, intense choreography, and challenging acting.

With all of these difficulties in tow as debut week rapidly approaches, the department is in full swing to meet and conquer the theatrical challenges.
Set in 1920s New York, the story focuses on Queenie (junior Juliette Condren) and Burrs (sophomore Seth Kutun) in their not-so-happy marriage. Queenie, who Condren describes as “confident and full of herself,” and Burrs, a “distraught yet charismatic clown” according to Kutun, have exited the honeymoon phase of their marriage and are growing bored of each other. In order to combat these marital doldrums, the two decide to throw a large, raucous and exciting party, hoping to reignite their marriage in the process.

Inviting all of their closest, and distant, friends the party rages through the night. In an unexpected twist, trouble-maker Kate (junior Jordyn Declemente) arrives, much to the annoyance of the hosts. As Kate’s ineffective flirtations with Burrs begin, her date for the night, a man known only as Mr. Black (sophomore Chris Volz) begins to prey on the troubled Queenie. With emotions running high and liquor running fast, the four struggle to keep the party as thrilling as possible, attempting to avoid the one wrong turn that could spell disaster for them all. The Wild Party, as Declemente remarked, promises to be interesting due to the fact that “it keeps the audience on their feet at all times—the variety of musical numbers makes it a show for everyone.”

This production is a benchmark for the department as the level of difficulty of the show challenges all of the actors – as well as the director, Ms. Polewski. The difficulties therein are described by Condren, who says, “These characters are so intense and stylized that you have to challenge yourself and grow to become such vivid characters.” Declemente also noted, “The difficult and unique thing about Wild Party, something that’s never been done at OH before, is that there’s no real break.” Declemente is referring to the fact that, excluding the opening scene, the entire main cast, as well as ensemble, is onstage for the majority of runtime, setting it apart from all other OH shows, including most theatrical pieces in general.

The actors have to adapt to accommodate the high-level musical, as Volz notes, “Not only did we have to work hard at rehearsal, but the amount of work we’ve put in on our own time as well is significant.” Declemente says that she had to adapt as a performer because “previous productions required me to learn my stuff and move on, but with this show it is important that the leads work together.” This synergy among the actors is what helps bring believability to the intricate and intimate characters.

The rehearsal process was also difficult in and of itself. Polewski says, “The triple threat of acting, singing and dancing all at the same time really drives our students to do their best at rehearsal.” Separately rehearsing the vocals, choreography and then bringing them together while adding movement and direction makes the rehearsal a layered process. Kutun also mentions that “transitioning from the classroom into the finished on-stage set,” brings another layer “of difficulty to the rehearsal process.”

Perhaps the most difficult part of rehearsing came from the decreased rehearsal time. While high schools, and Olympic Heights in particular, follow a format of a fall play and a spring musical, that is not the case this year. The Wild Party, now scheduled for the end of January, was originally set for the end of February. Due to a scheduling conflict – after being usurped from its originally scheduled month, the only other available time was January, drastically reducing the rehearsal time. With Black Comedy being performed in October and the District competition in December, planning, rehearsing and performing all these important events within a few short months puts a tremendous strain on the department.

But hard work does not come without reward. The production of this show has, against all odds, come together in a swifter than imagined whole. With aspects of singing, dancing and acting, as well as the figurative and literal moving parts, everyone agrees that “seeing and performing a final product,” as Kutun puts it, provides a great deal of satisfaction after the strain and stress. The cast recalls their favorite part of rehearsing—for Condren it was “seeing everyone working and coming together like never before.”

A quick, frenzied and frantic musical, the likes of which has never been seen before at OH, The Wild Party promises to be the best event of the latter half of the school year. Polewski encourages everyone attend, emphasizing “all the excitement it has to offer” and that “it is truly entertaining.” Polewski hopes that the selection of a piece like The Wild Party will encourage the average high schooler to spend a night at the theatre. With an exhilarating plot and a thrilling score to match, this pulse-racing musical brings out the best in the performers and showcases the best that Olympic Heights has to offer.