Hi all! I am using Wild wild party, from the musical wild party. I have seen it done a competition lots of times. I am using for a group of 10-12 year olds. Should I edit out the word beer? Or am I being too conservative??

I would NEVER use ANY song from Lippa's "Wild Party" for a student younger than 16, probably not younger than 18, if I would even use it at all.

The music is GREAT, I understand--it is one of my favorite musicals. I was listening to it in my car not two days ago.

However, the show is literally about a devilish woman in the 1920's whose boyfriend beats her, and she decides to try and make him jealous (so that their sex will get better or he'll leave her) by throwing an orgy party, inviting all of their friends including prostitutes/gays/lesbians (I only mention because there are a lot of sex jokes that apply to each) and one minor, and making him watch her have passionate sex with someone else. In the end, her boyfriend goes crazy watching her flirt with other people and threatens to kill her, to kill the guests, and ends up committing suicide in the bathroom. NONE of it is appropriate for 10-12 year olds, and if the show isn't appropriate then none of the songs should be used.

I cringe every single time I see a little girl (or group of girls) dancing to that, especially if you see lots of skin. It's only a little better than "Life of the Party"...a song where one of the guests is depressed that her crush isn't wanting to screw her, and starts doing drugs in the corner trying to lick the wounds of her ego.

Honestly, "beer" isn't the song's problem...it's the context. And if you can't condone your students going to SEE the show, then it seems inappropriate to have them dance from a song in the show.

Yeah, we only used it for older teens, too.

AlwaysOnStage wrote:

I would NEVER use ANY song from Lippa's "Wild Party" for a student younger than 16, probably not younger than 18, if I would even use it at all.

The music is GREAT, I understand--it is one of my favorite musicals. I was listening to it in my car not two days ago.

However, the show is literally about a devilish woman in the 1920's whose boyfriend beats her, and she decides to try and make him jealous (so that their sex will get better or he'll leave her) by throwing an orgy party, inviting all of their friends including prostitutes/gays/lesbians (I only mention because there are a lot of sex jokes that apply to each) and one minor, and making him watch her have passionate sex with someone else. In the end, her boyfriend goes crazy watching her flirt with other people and threatens to kill her, to kill the guests, and ends up committing suicide in the bathroom. NONE of it is appropriate for 10-12 year olds, and if the show isn't appropriate then none of the songs should be used.

I cringe every single time I see a little girl (or group of girls) dancing to that, especially if you see lots of skin. It's only a little better than "Life of the Party"...a song where one of the guests is depressed that her crush isn't wanting to screw her, and starts doing drugs in the corner trying to lick the wounds of her ego.

Honestly, "beer" isn't the song's problem...it's the context. And if you can't condone your students going to SEE the show, then it seems inappropriate to have them dance from a song in the show.

I read a "rule of thumb" for song lyrics once - if you'd be uncomfortable reading the lyrics out loud to the parents, then the students shouldn't dance to it. Kind of simple (I mean, calling the moms in to read them lyrics to anything would be pretty weird...), but also pretty handy. And if this is as bad as AOS is making it sound - I'm not familiar with the play, so I pretty much only have her post to go by - then yeah, they shouldn't be dancing to that, regardless.

Oh my! thanks for the insight, I really had no idea. Bad teacher moment!! should have researched this show more. I have heard this song at competitions for years now. lesson learned. Thanks again.

misstonyaa wrote:

Oh my! thanks for the insight, I really had no idea. Bad teacher moment!! should have researched this show more. I have heard this song at competitions for years now. lesson learned. Thanks again.

Bah... don't beat yourself up over it. In a perfect world, we would know every tune from every show. And sometimes you read the lyrics of a song and the only thing that concerns you is an alcohol reference... it is until later that you learn what the rest REALLY meant. For what it's worth, I have never heard of the show.

Is there something similar that we can suggest? Again, I am not familiar with the tune, but there must be something out there that has that party feel. Is there a karaoke version that you could use? Since the song/show don't seem to be well known, I would think that without the lyrics, it wouldn't carry much meaning for most people.

misstonyaa wrote:

Oh my! thanks for the insight, I really had no idea. Bad teacher moment!! should have researched this show more. I have heard this song at competitions for years now. lesson learned. Thanks again.

Yes, I agree: don't beat yourself up about it! It's a rather obscure show. I'm an off-broadway fan and enjoy learning about rare musicals in my free time, which is why I know (and have seen) this show. Don't get me wrong, it's a very powerful show because it deals a lot in raw emotions without 'niceities' but it's a very adult show.

Are you looking for another song with a similar feel, or do you need another musical theater number? I'm sure that with or without our help, you'll find a number that works even better for your kids.

Just to play devil's advocate, the song alone is not bad. Other than the word "beer," I think it's clean, no? Do we take into consideration every musical's context before we use a song from it?

"Together Wherever We Go" from Gypsy is adorable. In fact, my own mother used it for a class of 4-5 year olds when she used to teach. But Gypsy is about a woman who grows up to be a stripper.

And what about "Grease Lightening"? I know tons of people who use this song for little ones and just cut out the part where he says the "S" word and the "T" word that rhymes with the "S" word. But it's in the original song, and we all know it. Should we also frown upon using that song?

Or how about Rent? People use "Seasons of Love," and that show is definitely not OK for little ones (or even teens for that matter).

All I'm saying is, I don't know anyone who hears the "Wild Wild Party" song and goes, "OMG, that song is from that musical about an orgy!" It's a cute song, and people use it all the time.

snot85 wrote:

Just to play devil's advocate, the song alone is not bad. Other than the word "beer," I think it's clean, no? Do we take into consideration every musical's context before we use a song from it?

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I think it's a grey area and a decision that needs to made by each instructor/director. For me, I take into account a lot of different things. I try to consider the song and the context within the show. If the tune takes on a different meaning in that light, I may not use it; even if clean. If the show is obscure (like the OP), then I may reconsider that decision. But some shows are just so well known, that it doesn't matter what words you cut, everyone knows the lyrics and everyone knows the meaning... I am much more careful in using those.

In this case, it sounds like the OP is not familiar with the show or how the song fits in. If I was in the same shoes (I am actually), I would probably consider other choices first. It's a pain sometimes to find, but there IS good music out there!!!

Thanks for all your comments! I feel like I am a pretty conservative teacher to begin with, but just didn't research it enough. I think I will just go with another music choice. I need a similar "partyish" musical theater song. Has to fit into a party theme.

"Party Girls - Ultra Nate
"A Different Party" - Jordan Knight
"We're Gonna Party" - The Weather Girls
"We Like To Party" - Vengaboys
"Something Like A Party" - School Gyrls
"Shake Up the Party" - Joy Enriquez (Pound Boys Fiesta Mix)

snot85 wrote:

Just to play devil's advocate, the song alone is not bad. Other than the word "beer," I think it's clean, no? Do we take into consideration every musical's context before we use a song from it?

I think it depends class to class. If the class takes the song at face value and doesn't pursue it further, then sure. If the song can stand alone and is fine then why not. However if it's a class that likes to know the backstory and context then, yeah no.

snot85 wrote:

Just to play devil's advocate, the song alone is not bad. Other than the word "beer," I think it's clean, no? Do we take into consideration every musical's context before we use a song from it?

Yes, I do, which is why I am absolutely comfortable about advising the OP to not use that song based on the show. I have a little bit more leeway with teenagers, and a little bit more leeway that don't involve shows with in-your-face-orgy-sex, but I do always at least consider the context of songs from a musical before I use them. And so should every other teacher.

So the other shows that I used as an example — you would stay away from those songs, too?

I see where snot85 is going with this, we had a soloist (before I started teaching) use Life of the Party and it was fabulous, she did jazz to it but her choreo could have easily been a MT solo (around here MT is always lip synced). I have watched her dance many times on the video and never ever once questioned it. It will always be the discretion of the teacher, and I myself and very conservative with what I will use for a performance, but if the song is clean in itself, it can be just fine. Everyone knows how inappropriate Candyman is, but edited well it can be super cute for little ones, I've even seen a group get a special award for using it, because it was edited so well and made the routine work so well for the age it was used for.

snot85 wrote:

So the other shows that I used as an example — you would stay away from those songs, too?

Maybe. I definitely wouldn't use "Grease Lightening" with young dancers (and maybe not teens.) Everyone knows what's missing and everyone knows what the show is about. I'll find a different tune if I want to dress kindergartners as greasers!

I would have to think about "Together Wherever We Go". There is something very different about that song and that musical that it feels more comfortable with me. But I would really put some thought into it before I would say yes.

I probably wouldn't use "Seasons of Love" either... partly because the show and the tune annoy me (I don't know why) and it just isn't something I would want to work with for younger kids. Maybe teens, although maybe not.

snot85 wrote:

So the other shows that I used as an example — you would stay away from those songs, too?

Basically, yes. I would be willing to consider "Seasons of Love" for high school ages, because I would be okay with my little sister coming to see RENT with me. (She's a freshie in HS). Similar to DDP, I probably wouldn't choose to use it anyway simply because whatever good qualities the song had seems to have come off after seventeen million listens.

As for "Greased Lightning" I am not a huge fan of the number, but again, I would take the time and consider it for high schoolers not below, because of the language in the song and I don't think I'd want to do it if I didn't have a group of guys suitable for the number. I would consider other songs like "We Go Together" and "Hand Jive" for younger groups. I remember watching Grease as a young child, and being taken to go see Grease at the theater, and I wouldn't think twice about taking my little sister to go see it when she was 10 years old.

I'm not very familiar with Gypsy, I've never seen the entire show, so I can't make a decision on that one. Honestly, I've never liked the music in Gypsy much anyway.

More examples, I would say that "Seussical" is great for all ages, but I wouldn't do something from "See What I Wanna See" with anyone younger than 16 or so mostly because it's a really weird show that poses interesting questions about murder, rape, and religion that not all kids at that age are ready to comprehend. I could see using "Shrek: The Musical" with a range of ages, but avoiding "Chicago" until high school. And it's not like most musicals are inappropriate: Lippa's Wild Party is probably the single most inappropriate show that I can think of, along with Spring Awakening. It's one of the few shows that I would not want to watch while sitting next to my mother because it is so overtly sexual. It is a whole different ballpark than "Grease". If anyone is curious I found a Youtube Link that is similar to the show that I've seen and will PM it to interested parties.

It's not about the songs being "cute"...I adore this music, I think it's Andrew Lippa's best work. I even used the song "Jackie's Last Dance" as music for a choreography work I did in college. It captures a lot of fun emotions, but when it comes down to it, it's an adult show and I wouldn't want my little sister to go see it with me...or see it at all for a few more years. There's plenty of time to dance to those songs as an adult. I am conservative about most matters on the topic of children, there's no reason to use it...there are millions of songs out there and plenty other that can replace an inappropriate option. Just because people DO use it isn't a reason for me to consider using it.




[/change of topic]

Some MT Party Songs: I was thinking of high energy songs
"Can't you feel a brand new day" or "Ease on Down the Road" from "The Wiz"
"Just Can't Wait to be King" from "Lion King" broadway v
"Under the Sea" from "The Little Mermaid" broadway v
"Freak Flag" from "Shrek" (I'm not sure about formatting dance in the intro, though)
"C'mon Everybody" or "All Shook Up" from the jukebox musical "All Shook Up"
"Zero to Hero" or "Star is Born" from the animated movie "Hercules"