History Literature / TheWildParty

* AdaptationalBackstoryChange: since the source material is a poem, the musicals have quite a lot of leeway to play around with the characters' backstories. Oddly enough, both musicals completely change some of the scant backstories the characters ''are'' given.

* AllMusicalsAreAdaptations: the 1994 reissue of the long-out-of-print poem directly inspired both [=LaChiusa=] and Lippa, resulting in the DuelingShows. In Lippa's version, the trope also occurs in-universe when the brothers d'Armano announce their newly-written musical ''Good Heavens'', which is based on Literature/TheBible.

->Queenie was a blonde, and her age stood still\\

->Queenie was a blonde\\
And her age stood still\\
She danced twice a week in vaudeville.

* MonsterClown: Burrs. Amusingly, Art Spiegelman depicts Burrs with a long face and rather pointed jaw, like [[TheJoker another]] comic-book monster clown.

* DepravedBisexual: In the [=LaChiusa=] musical, Jackie attempts to rape Mae's inebriated teenage sister.

-->'''Dolores:''' It's called, ''Good Heavens!''\\

-->'''Dolores:''' It's called, "Good Heavens!"
-->'''Man:''' Dolores, I'm a very, very busy producer.
-->'''Dolores:''' You gotta give 'em a chance!
-->'''Man:''' Well, can they write a tune? Can they inspire a nation? Y'know, "c'mon kid, c'mon kid, Alexander's Ragtime Band..." Now there's a great tune for ya. Can they touch [[Music/IrvingBerlin Irving?]]
-->'''Dolores:''' (Putting her hand on his crotch) ''I'' can touch Irving.
-->'''Man:''' ...His name's George.

* PreachersKid: In the poem, Jackie is the son of a preacher who was disowned by his father for being too much trouble. Neither musical uses this backstory, with the Lippa not talking about his past at all and the LaChiusa changing his estranged father to a wealthy banker.

* LoveDodecahedron: Queenie/Burrs/Black is the LoveTriangle whose violent resolution makes up the climax of all versions of the story. However, in all versions (especially Lippa's), Kate also intervenes with designs upon Burrs, forming a Love Square. Meanwhile, in [=LaChiusa's=] version, Jackie tries to lure Oscar d'Armano away from Phil, and there are a couple of allusions to funny business between Kate and Eddie, to the anger of his wife Mae. But both of these [[BetaCouple Beta Couples]] tenderly reunite over the course of the song "Golden Boy".

Provides examples of the following:

* YouHaveToHaveJews / [[ButNotTooBlack But Not Too Jewish]]: Gold and Goldberg. Jews make good theatrical producers, but they note other examples of Jews who have had to RaceLift themselves to success. Gold insists Goldberg change his name to the catchier and more marketable "Golden."

* [[BrotherSisterIncest Brother-Brother Incest]]: The Brothers d'Armano. Depends on the production; they may be NotBloodSiblings, but rather "brothers" in their show business act.

* MonsterClown: Burrs.

[[caption-width-right:182:"Burrsie, I think we're about due for a party."[[note]]Illustration by Art Spiegelman[[/note]]]]

* RaceLift: March's poem only specifies color in the case of Dolores (see AmbiguouslyBrown above), and ArtSpiegelman's illustrations -- which directly inspired both musical composers -- depicts the rest of the characters as white. However, in adapting Eddie, [=LaChiusa=] worked in elements from another narrative poem by March, "The Set-Up", with the result being that his Eddie is specifically black (premiered by Norm Lewis). Some allusions in Oscar and Phil's songs from the [=LaChiusa=] suggest black New York City culture as well, and indeed the show premiered with black actors in those roles: Nathan Lee Graham and Michael [=McElroy=]. Also, it happens that both the [=LaChiusa=] and Lippa productions cast nonwhite Blacks (Yancey Arias and Taye Diggs, respectively); while the original [=LaChiusa=] Kate, Tonya Pinkins, is also black. (Neither of these two characters was specifically written for any color in either version, though.)

* RaceLift: March's poem only specifies color in the case of Dolores (see AmbiguouslyBrown above), and ArtSpiegelman's illustrations -- which directly inspired both musical composers -- depicts the rest of the characters as white. However, in adapting Eddie, [=LaChiusa=] worked in elements from another narrative poem by March, "The Set-Up", with the result being that his Eddie is specifically black (premiered by Norm Lewis). Some allusions in Oscar and Phil's songs from the [=LaChiusa=] suggest black New York City culture as well, and indeed the show premiered with black actors in those roles: Nathan Lee Graham and Michael McElroy. Also, it happens that both the [=LaChiusa=] and Lippa productions cast nonwhite Blacks (Yancey Arias and Taye Diggs, respectively); while the original [=LaChiusa=] Kate, Tonya Pinkins, is also black. (Neither of these two characters was specifically written for any color in either version, though.)

* CampGay: Again, the Brothers d'Armano.

Considered extremely racy for its time, it wasn't allowed to be published until two years after it was written, and even then with only a very limited run (750 copies). ''The Wild Party'' was adapted into a poorly-received [[TheFilmOfTheBook film]] in 1975, and two [[TheMusical musicals]] in 2000, one on Broadway (by Michael John [=LaChiusa=]) and one off-Broadway (by Andrew Lippa).

Considered extremely racy for its time, it wasn't allowed to be published until two years after it was written, and even then with only a very limited run (750 copies). ''The Wild Party'' was adapted into a poorly-received [[TheFilmOfTheBook film]] in 1975, and two [[TheMusical musicals]] in 2000, one on Broadway (by Michael John [=LaChiusa=]) and one off-Broadway (by Andrew Lippa).

* WimpFight / CatFight: The Brothers d'Armano, after Jackie gives Phil a kiss.

* CompositeCharacter: Sally, Madelaine True's blissed-out lover in the LaChiusa version. Marche's poem mentions a Sally as an afterthought among the guests, of whom we know only that she's accompanying a man who goes by Butter and Eggs, and that she was in the chorus of a musical. Later on, Marche describes another girl who sits "White:/Aloof:/Like stone", staring into the distance without a motion or a word, whom Madelaine True unsuccessfully approaches. It seems LaChiusa modelled his Sally after this character while borrowing the name from the other guest, which also makes this a very minor case of PromotedToLoveInterest.

* SidekickSong: Kate's songs in either version could qualify, but she's more of a full-fledged main character than a sidekick to Queenie. The Lippa numbers "An Old-Fashioned Love Story" and "Two of a Kind" are structurally the most similar to Sidekick Songs, being goofy, plot-irrelevant little asides for Madeleine True and Eddie & Mae, respectively. Because the [=LaChiusa=] musical is designed to distribute focus much more across the secondary characters and sustain little plot threads for them across the duration of the performance, there aren't really any qualifiers for a Sidekick Song there.

* MassiveMultiplayerEnsembleNumber: "Wild" in [=LaChiusa's=] musical. Good God. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee2Xk-6h7X4 See for yourself.]]