Did the Reviews Go Wild for the City Center Encores! The Wild Party?

Lili-Anne Brown directs Jasmine Amy Rogers, Adrienne Warren, Jelani Alladin, Jordan Donica, and more in the Michael John LaChiusa musical.

March 19, 2026 By Andrew Gans, Logan Culwell-Block

Jasmine Amy Rogers and Jelani Alladin in *The Wild Party* (Joan Marcus)

Reviews are rolling in for the New York City Center Encores! staging of Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party, which plays the Manhattan venue through March 29. See what critics have to say about the limited engagement below.

Lili-Anne Brown is directing the Encores! staging with choreography by Katie Spelman and guest music director Daryl Waters at the baton.

VIDEO: See Jasmine Amy Rogers and Adrienne Warren Perform 'Best Friends' From The Wild Party

Jasmine Amy Rogers (BOOP!) and Tony winner Adrienne Warren (The Last Five Years) lead the company as Queenie and Kate, respectively, alongside Tony winner Tonya Pinkins, an alum of the musical's original Broadway cast, as Dolores Montoya; Joseph A. Byrd as Phil D’Armano, Claybourne Elder (Company) as Jackie, Evan Tyrone Martin as Eddie Mackrel, Jelani Alladin (Frozen) as Black, Wesley J. Barnes as Oscar D’Armano, Jordan Donica (Camelot) as Burrs, KJ Hippensteel as Gold, Andrew Kober as Goldberg, Lesli Margherita (Gypsy) as Mae, Betsy Morgan (Masquerade) as Sally, Meghan Murphy as Miss Madelaine True, and Maya Rowe as Nadine. Standbys Curtis Bannister and Kyrie Courter round out the company. Casting is by The Telsey Office.

Read the reviews below.

1 Minute Critic (Laura Zornosa)

CitiTour (Brian Scott Lipton)

Culture Sauce (Thom Geier)

New York Magazine/Vulture (Jackson McHenry)*

The New York Times (Helen Shaw)*

New York Stage Review (Michael Sommers)

TheaterMania (Zachary Stewart)

*This review may require creating a free account or a paid subscription.

Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.

Photos: Encores! The Wild Party at New York City Center

Adapted from Joseph Moncure March's poem of the same name by LaChiusa and original director George C. Wolfe, The Wild Party centers on a prohibition-era New York City house party being thrown by Queenie and Burrs as their relationship falls apart, an evening that becomes something of a rager thanks to a bathtub full of gin, ample cocaine, and a tragic orgy.

The musical premiered on Broadway in 2000 via Off-Broadway's Public Theater, earning seven Tony Award nominations the same year, including for Best Musical. In an apparent coincidence, the work premiered shortly after the world premiere of a separate musical adaptation of the same source material featuring a book, music, and lyrics by Andrew Lippa (The Addams Family). That work played Off-Broadway via Manhattan Theatre Club.

The production also features choreography by Katie Spelman, scenic design by Arnel Sancianco, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Justin Townsend, sound design by Alex Neumann, and hair and wig design by Tom Watson.

The production is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.

Visit NYCityCenter.org.