PARTY COME HERE: A Wild Wild PARTY!

William Shakespeare said "Things sweet to taste prove in digestion sour." Can the same be said in reverse? In the case of Daniel Goldfarb and David Kirshenbaum's new musical "Party Come Here," - the answer is a resounding Yes! Part of The New York Musical Theatre Festival, "Party Come Here" is a step above the rest as far as talent and Kirshenbaum's melodies are concerned. The cast is made up of Broadway veterans from Hunter Foster to Fyvush Finkel. The music has a wide variety to ponder; from the festive title tune "Party Come Here" to the poignant "Come Out Of Your Cave." The problem? The believability of the story, even on a farcical level, is entirely too contrived and plot driven to want to invest any amount of attention into all but one of these characters. But somehow, someway, the melodic musings of this talented cast make this bizarre, twisted and sour story a little sweeter on the way down.

Most of Goldfarb's material seems to have been conceived during a cocaine induced high and is now being performed at some point in a bizarre acid trip. Take his recent co-collaboration on Martin Short's "Fame Becomes Me." The plotting is all there, the idea of where his characters are meant to end up is eventually evident; the problem is in the characterization and actually getting there.

In "Party Come Here," Jack (Hunter Foster) and Kate (Kerry Butler) call off their wedding at the alter, scrap their honeymoon plans, and visit Jack's father Wood (Terrence Mann) and his young bride Volere (Karen Olivo) in Rio de Janeiro. Throw in a gigantic statue of Jesus, a four hundred year old man named Orlando (Fyvush Finkel) who lives in a cave, Wood's ex-wife, Jack's mother Liberty (Kaitlin Hopkins), and a scandalous affair and you have the out of the ordinary and wacky, "Party Come Here."

Hopkins ' Liberty is the only character who the audience has any sympathy for whatsoever, and because of that, Hopkins is a true winner among the actors. Her one and only duet, "Woman On A Rampage," is one of the evenings best moments. Here, along with Olivo, they shine! Foster has a time of it playing off of Finkel, which is an accomplishment within itself. Butler is thoroughly enjoyable as Jack's bride to be and Olivo has a gifted voice that roars high above the crowd.

Director Will Frears does what he can in the small TBG Theatre. The extremely unfortunate problem is this show does not know exactly what it is. It is obvious that when the material is strong, especially during the score of Kirshenbaum's musical magic, the show delivers in spades.  But without the tightly woven exposition, these strong moments become a passing glance into something that could possibly be much more.