"I wrote to Stephen Sondheim last week after I had seen the 'Into the Woods' film," said Lippa. "I said, 'Even you, with this great score, you went ahead and rewrote things for the film...I was planning on rewriting The Wild Party a little, but now that I've seen 'Into the Woods,' I'm planning on rewriting it a lot, and thank you for that encouragement and that support.'"
"That is what Stephen Sondheim has taught me among many other things," he explains. "We can still go back to these pieces, we own them and they're ours, and we can make them better. That's what I'm doing with The Wild Party. I'm making some changes and people who know it really, really well, will see what changes I've made, but I think people who just think they know it, or know the record, won't even notice. But it's just going to be a much better show."
Lippa says that he is working on the changes with director Leigh Silverman and that Tony winner Sutton Foster isn't directly involved at this stage. "If she had any thoughts, and if she wanted to share them with me, I would love to talk to her about them," he adds.
Lippa is also currently involved in rewrites for the upcoming Off-Broadway revival of his musical John & Jen starring Kate Baldwin and Conor Ryan, for which he has penned a brand new song. Presented by the Keen Company, the show begins performances Feb. 10 at The Clurman Theatre. John and Jen premiered Off-Broadway in 1995 and is an intimate story about family connections and commitments.
The Wild Party is a tragic Jazz Age love story that follows 1920s party girl Queenie over the course of a decadent evening in the Manhattan apartment she shares with Burrs, a vaudeville dancer and clown. In a relationship marked by vicious behavior and recklessness (mirroring the time in which they live), they decide to throw a party to end all parties. All tickets to the Encores! Off-Center series begin at $25 and can be purchased at the New York City Center Box Office located at West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, through CityTix at (212) 581-1212, or online at NYCityCenter.org.
