The final show of Playhouse on Park’s Season 17 Main Stage Series, ‘The Wild Party,’ opens on July 8.

Submitted

Playhouse on Park’s Season 17 finale begins this week with Andrew Lippa’s “The Wild Party,” a thrilling, jazz-infused musical running July 8 through August 16. The production is directed by Playhouse on Park Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director Sean Harris, choreographed by Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director Darlene Zoller, and music directed by Colin Britt.

Nominated for seven Tony Awards, Andrew Lippa’s “The Wild Party” is based on the poem by Joseph Moncure March and features a masterful jazz score that brings the excess and energy of the Roaring Twenties to life. The show follows a cast of larger-than-life characters whose lives and relationships unravel over the course of one unforgettable evening. What begins as a carefree night of indulgence quickly descends into a tense, dangerous game in which loyalties are tested, secrets are exposed, and passions spiral out of control.

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“The Wild Party” marks Co-Artistic Director Sean Harris’ last show with Playhouse on Park before transitioning into an Artistic Advisor role. Longtime collaborator Sasha Brätt will step into the position of Co-Artistic Director in the theater’s 18th season.

Harris is certainly going out with a bang with “The Wild Party.” “Darlene, Colin, and I worked on ‘Cabaret’ together in 2014,” Harris recalls. “That was the moment we realized how much we could accomplish in this space.”

Co-Founders Zoller and Harris had dreamed of producing “The Wild Party” for years, and Harris couldn’t imagine a more fitting way to close the season.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the 1920s – a world of glamour and decadence that concealed so much pain,” he said. “I love theatre that’s fresh, exciting, and a little risky. This show is all of those things.”

Mollie Downes as QUEENIE in THE WILD PARTY at Playhouse on Park. Photo by Imagine It Framed

Preview performances of “The Wild Party” will take place on Wednesday, July 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, July 9 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Regular performances run July 10 through Aug. 16, with performances Tuesdays at 2 p.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., followed by a cast talkback.

Additional morning performances will be offered on Thursday, July 16 and Friday, July 24 at 10:30 a.m., with all seats priced at $25 plus service fees.

Tickets for preview performances are $35. Tickets for regular performances range from $45-$55, plus a $3.50 service charge. Senior and military discounts of $2.50 are available, and patrons under 40 may purchase $35 tickets for any performance. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Playhouse on Park box office at 860-523-5900 ext. 10 or visit the theatre’s website.

Due to drug/alcohol use, strong language, violence, and sexual content, “The Wild Party” is recommended for audiences ages 17 and older.

About Playhouse on Park

Managed under the direction of Playhouse Theatre Group, Inc., Playhouse on Park is Greater Hartford’s award-winning destination for the performing arts. Playhouse on Park offers a wide range of thought-provoking, inspiring, and thoroughly enjoyable professional theatre productions that leave audiences often smiling, sometimes crying, and always talking about what they have just experienced.

For more information on “The Wild Party” or to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 860-523-5900 ext. 10 or visit www.playhouseonpark.org. Playhouse on Park is located at 244 Park Road, West Hartford, CT 06119.

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