Theater Review: Party Worth Crashing

Words by Anna Nicola Blanco

blueRep brings all your nostalgic woes (via Zoom) to the fore in Party Worth Crashing

The Ateneo Blue Repertory (blueRep) opens its season in the new normal, or whatever it is we call the odd reality we currently find ourselves in. blueRep’s “Party Worth Crashing” is its 29th Season Newbie Production, a showcase of new faces and fresh talent from the company. The story is an original by Marty R. Nevada, Ricci Recto, and Robert Gueco Tan, who is co-credited as the musical’s director. The script, although an original, features the hit songs of Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk. The entirety of this two-hour-long production was filmed and directed over Zoom. 

The story follows a group of college students at their school organization’s year-end party. If you’re a 20-something graduate like me, this immediately conjures up an image of a dimly lit, alcohol-induced night of fun, with a generous sprinkling of college drama. We’re introduced to Shane, his best friend Kal, the love-of-his-life-so-far Jessie, couple Sam and Reyna, and Kelly who may or may not be a cause of tension between the two; there’s Alfonso, who spends the night worrying about a job application, Jules, who’s facing the harsh reality of having to switch schools, and Miggy, the host and people pleaser. All-in-all you have a smorgasbord of every college problem you or one of your friends has ever faced. Mix that with some A+ vocals from the cast and you’re bound to have a good time.

It’s been almost four years since I last attended a college org party, and it’s somehow good to know that not a lot has changed. The experience of watching “Party Worth Crashing” was almost nostalgic. If you’re at a point in your life where you miss the college kalat you wish you were going through now that you’re a working adult, then you should watch this show. I think many people my age are longing for “the good old days,” when the decisions seemed a little easier now that you’re looking back on them, or when your biggest problem of the night was whether or not you would be able to go to class the following morning with the hangover you would definitely have. 

blueRep’s Newbie Production was a feat of logistics and coordination. Choreography is hard enough on a physical stage, but doing all of that and going up against the temperamental internet and the limited space for movement and communication makes staging an entire show seem almost impossible. If anything, blueRep’s Party Worth crashing proves that it’s not. Theater may have had to bend forwards, backwards, and sideways during the last year, but it’s productions like this that prove that it will endure. And it certainly made me excited to see what else they’d come up with. The show, as they say, must go on.