Freshman Brooke Hale plays Queenie in this year's Ram's Head Theatrical Society musical. Remaining performances are April 20-22. (Image credit: L.A. Cicero)
It’s a Wild Party at Stanford’s Memorial Auditorium
This year's Ram's Head musical uses art to explore some of the darker areas of human behavior.
It’s spring, so it must be time for a full-scale Broadway musical in Memorial Auditorium. This year Ram’s Head Theatrical Society presents The Wild Party.
Go to the web site to view the video.
The production brings together approximately 70 undergraduate and graduate students in its cast, production team and orchestra. Ram’s Head intends the show to be a rallying place for students from all corners of the university to come together to engage in art and in intense questions of assault, abuse, violence and excess.
Remaining performances are at 8 p.m. on April 20, 21 and 22. Tickets range from $10-$25.
The Wild Party plot centers on a glamorous and frustrated couple, Queenie and Burrs. When the two get into a terrible fight, they decide to throw a wild party to defuse the tension. Things get out of control quickly when the beautiful Kate and her date, the inscrutable Black, arrive on the scene.
Inspired by the 1928 poem of the same name by Joseph Moncure March, Ram’s Head’s production of Andrew Lippa’s musical is intense, jazzy, dark and thrilling. Director Nathan Large, ’18, brings an artistic vision which seeks to explore the dichotomy between social constructs and internal desires, exploring how the individuals in this show are driven by their dangerous inner desires to perform destructive acts.
Nora Kelly, ’19, costume designer, explores conceptions of gender, working with a dramaturge and faculty with Stanford’s Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, to develop a new vision of 1920s clothing for this show. Lighting and production designer Stephen Hitchcock, ’18, set designer Garrick Fernandez, ’19, and technical director Robin Yoo, ’19, created a vibrant but gripping atmosphere through their innovative work.
The Wild Party aims to critique the 1920s culture of hyper-sexuality and substance abuse. The musical presents intense themes of sexual assault and relationship abuse, and the written program includes resources and information for those interested in learning more. Discussion panels after the productions on April 21 and 22 seek to facilitate a discussion about these critical topics through the lens of art.