The Jaxx Theatre

WILD PARTY

LA STAGE RAW TOP 10 - RECOMMENDED

“[For] sheer razzle dazzle that rivals some of the big-budget enterprises at the Pantages, just one more freeway exit down the road, this particular production will quite simply blow you away.

The mastermind behind this undertaking is Jeremy Lucas, Jaxx’s artistic director, who not only co-produced, directed and choreographed, but also did the costumes and crafted the sets, along with co-scenic designers Colin Tracy and JD Torres Morabito. Having directed and choreographed the West Coast premiere of Party in 2006 when the principals were already in place, he now gets to reprise the show with his own chosen cast.

And what a cast it is! The superlative performers are headed by Madelyn Claire Lego as the beautiful, disenchanted Queenie, who persuades her obsessive and volatile lover, vaudevillian clown Burrs (Kyle Stocker), to throw this boozy, hedonistic, Prohibition-era party. Whitney Vigil plays Kate, the blowsy former femme fatale who still nurses a powerful yen for Burrs. When outsider Mr. Black (Chris Louis), Kate’s date for the evening, wanders into the festivities and falls hard for Queenie, the scene is set for inevitable tragedy.

In a taut staging, Lucas’s choreography is a fetching fusion of 1920s period dances and Fosse-esque modernism, with an elegiac ballet sequence, performed by Morabito, thrown in for balance. Jamie Humiston did the excellent sound, while Justin Kelley-Cahill contributed the misty lighting, which is crucial to the slightly off-center and surreal ambience.

Music director Adam McDonald, who also conducts the live band, masterfully blends his talented performers’ voices. Torch songs abound, but novelty numbers include amusing turns by Emily Rafala as a lovelorn lesbian on the make and Christopher Robert Smith and Mary Louise Lukasiewicz as a punch-drunk fighter and his squeaky-voiced girlfriend.”

Reviewed by F. Kathleen Foley

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"There's probably not enough time to get the word out about the intoxicating Jaxx Theatre production of Wild Party.

But I'll try.

LA, please don't miss this one. It's a Fitzgerald-esque story set in the 1920's where lovers can't be trusted, and best friends become rivals. It's got it all. Super love triangle-within-a-triangle, high-stepping dancing with intricate choreography, passionate torch songs with show-stopping performances, palpable sexual tension, and a great feel. Yes, feel. Director, Jeremy Lucas, welcomed the audience into a room right out of the Roaring Twenties, complete with gramophone, settee and brass bed. Strains of Bessie Smith set the mood along with a time-travelling haze that always does the trick. And that room we entered belonged to Queenie (Madelyne Claire Lego) and Burrs (Kyle Steven Stocker,) two young lovers who wanted more from life and to stop bickering, so a party with all their edgy friends was their choice.

And then, to get the party really started, Kate enters and blows the roof off the place. Whitney Vigil's rip-roaringly bawdy entry song was "Look at Me Now," which reached higher heights every verse and resulted with her on top of the table, hitting the high note. Several numbers later we are introduced to the gender-bending of "An Old-Fashioned Lesbian Love Song," delivered with suave irreverence and smart interpretation by Emily Rafala playing Madeline True. Clearly an audience favorite (although every song received rousing applause,) the clever lyrics full of double entendres coupled with Rafala's sassy delivery had us wanting more.

And then there was Jackie, played by co-producer and ensemble member, JD Torres Morabito. His pansexuality and devious smile endeared him to us all. His solo dance was smooth, enticing, and full of great bodily arcs, emitting the quiet solace of an erotic ballet.

The dancing choreography was exciting, inventive and never predictable. Their timing impeccable with everyone in sync. And they sang Lippa's enjoyable melodies that sometimes wandered into modern jazz land, with confidence and sharp precision. The score was so much more evolved than your typical Charleston-type music. The orchestra in the high rafters of stage right were responsible for all the in-key singing and timing. Adam McDonald's arrangements and direction were inspiring. Five musicians sounded like twelve and never overstayed their welcome. They supported the singers and framed the performance beautifully.

A mishmash of morals leads us to the denouement when the gun fires and someone falls. It was bound to happen and if you want to know who, well, you have two weeks. Two weeks to see and hear some of Los Angeles' best. Madeline Claire Lego stopped the show several times with her emotional delivery and star vocals. Kyle Stocker also brought the crowd to its feet with his singing. And their cross-stage duet with their lovers is still in my ears. But come if only for the finale, Lego's eulogy over the body is the best of the best with the full ensemble complementing her.

This production is Broadway bound so grab your fedoras and cloche hats, your cigarette holders and flasks of bathtub gin, because the party is starting at Jaxx Theatre.”

Reviewed by Chris Cassone for Discover Hollywood

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"Director and choreographer Jeremy Lucas ably whips up his large cast into a no-holds-barred ensemble…”

Reviewed by Don Shirley for Angeles Stage

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GREASE

“Some of the most remarkable aspects of this production, as Randal Kleiser [Director of the iconic 1978 film] concurred with me, was the ‘choreography and immense talent.’ Each and every member of this cast has their chance to shine on stage, each one, a rising star. I would say that Stephanie Torres, who plays the interloping Patty Simcox, is a prime example. The choice of ‘Grease’ by producers Jeremy Lucas; JD Morabito; and Charisma Zenetzis is a bold one, for the movie solidified the careers of so many actors and was an icon in the archives of film history. Sadly, the untimely death of Olivia Newton John, at age 73, has shocked the world, so all the more reason for young people like Jaxx Theatricals to take the reins and ‘ride the horse up into the sunset.’ The conservatory has done these kids well, which is evident in this dazzling production. I have expectations for a bright and dazzling future for each cast member, as they tackled a historical and noteworthy opus that has electrified audiences worldwide, and put on one of the greatest renditions possible.“
~Bonnie Priever, Curtain Up

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RENT

“Rent” Worth its Weight in Gold @ Jaxx Theatre

My first experience seeing “Rent,” the iconic musical extravaganza, was in 1996, at the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway. Now, celebrating its 25th anniversary, the talented young members of Jaxx Theatricals rise to the challenge of bringing an upbeat, vibrant revival of Jonathan Larson’s classic show to the Jaxx Theatre in Hollywood. Much to my pleasant surprise, this group of powerhouse superstars, directed and choreographed by Jeremy Lucas,  [Music Directed by] Jill Burke, after only three weeks of intensive rehearsals, brought a Broadway caliber show to this stage west of NYC.
~Bonnie Priever, Curtain Up

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