On the far eastern stretch of Houston Street in Manhattan, the cozy back room of the Parkside Lounge plays host to the zany sci-fi musical comedy Wild Women of Planet Wongo on occasional weekends (if you’re interested, buy your ticket now for the final performances on March 3, 4, 17, 18). The small room glows green, and black-and-white images and video flash on screens which are set up around the room. One note: for those who don’t want to stand for the entire performance, might I suggest you arrive early and snag seats on the bench against the long side of the wall? The other parts of the room will be used as part of the immersive musical.
The plot (which has nothing to do with the 1958 movie Wild Women of Wongo) centers around two astronauts, Ric Rogers (Miki Hellerbach) and Louie LaFever (Howie Schaal), whose ship goes astray and crash lands on the planet Wongo, which is inhabited only by beautiful Amazonian women, or “Wongettes” as they call themselves. A misunderstanding of the Book of Wongo (which rules the Wongettes’ lives) results in one of the astronauts being held as a potential meal. There is wordplay at work here–the three rules are to: Captivate, Ovulate, and Consume Mate–or is it Consummate? Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, the audience joins in the Wongo Wuwow, the Wongettes’ blowout party.
It’s a fun throwback and all of the cast members had strong voices, including Queen Rita, played by Amanda Nicholas. The interactive portions (during the breaks) pulled pre-volunteered audience members on stage to take part in mini challenges. During the performance I visited, a bachelorette party was in residence, and so the challenges centered around the game bride-to-be.
The only downside for me were the gender politics. It’s refreshing to see a planet full of women, ruled by a strong queen, who does as she pleases (within the confines of the book, of course). But there were several moments that pulled me out of that reality–for example, there is a throwaway comment about “bargain outlet shopping” being one of the Wongettes’ favorite activities that felt retro in a bad way.
Aside from those qualms, the Wild Women of Planet Wongo is an amusing spectacle that is out-of-the-ordinary.
Photo Credit: Dave Ogrin
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