Oscar is getting Wilder.
An immersive nightclub musical about Oscar Wilde, which ran for three sold-out weeks earlier this year, has returned to Bushwick for an open-ended run. The second coming of “Oscar at the Crown,” which starts previews at 3 Dollar Bill, offers even more thrills than the first, said its creator and star.
“It’s bigger, better, faster — all of that!” laughed Mark Mauriello. “We’ve been able to level up the aesthetic of the costumes, the set piece. We’ve built ourselves into the space.”
The musical is set in a dystopian bunker, where hunted queer outcasts gather to celebrate pop culture and the life and death of Victorian playwright Oscar Wilde. The new version keeps all those elements, but the cast size has grown from 12 to 14, while various plot elements have been sharpened, said its director.
“The shape and feel of the show is consistent,” said Shira Milikowsky, a Cobble Hill resident. “We’ve done a lot of streamlining and a lot of clarifiction.”
The extra time to inhabit their characters has also helped the actors perfect their roles, said Milikowsky
“Everything gets deeper, the timing is sharper, and the jokes get funnier,” she said.
With a run projected to last at least until the end of the summer, Mauriello said he is excited to bring the show to even more crowds of Wilde fans, theater-goers, and party people.
“We were so thrilled that people came to the show for all different reasons,” said the Bushwick performer. “It felt sexy and exciting, but wasn’t exclusionary — everyone could come and enjoy and party in whatever way they wanted to. What I’m most proud of that we had this beautifully diverse crowd coming together.”
OSCAR AT THE CROWN | 3 Dollar Bill, 260 Meserole St. btwn. Bushwick Pl. & Waterbury St., Bushwick | Fri.-Sun. at 8 p.m. | $45-$79 at oscaratthecrown.com or 718-366–3031
