Thursday, June 16, 2011

Theater Review: The Shaggs Philosophy of the World


The Shaggs Philosophy of the World
Book By Joy Gregory
Music by Gunnar Madsen
Lyrics by Joy Gregory and Gunnar Madsen
Chireography by Ken Roht
Directed by John Langs

Summary:
Austin Wiggin (Peter Friedman) believes the predictions his now-dead mother once read in his palm: that he would marry a redhead, live in a yellow house and that his girls will save him and bring him into the light. The first two predictions have come true. He and his wife, Annie (Annie Golden) live in the yellow house in Fremont, NH where times are tough. Austin just got turned down for a promotion at the mill and even can't score any overtime to help make ends meet.

Suddenly, in 1969 the answer comes to him. His girls, Dot (Jamey Hood), Betty (Sarah Sokolovic) and Helen (Emily Walton) will become a famous rock band and fulfill the last part of the prophecy. That they have no singing talent doesn't seem to be an issue for Austin, who becomes almost maniacal in his pursuit of the goal. He borrows against the house, withdraws the girls from school, buys Helen a drum set for her birthday with electric guitars for the others, and orders their mother to homeschool them so they can spend most of their time practicing.

The girls are rather unenthusiastic about the prospect, but Dot defends her father (in the poignant "Don't Say Nothing Bad About Mr Dad"). Especially unhappy is Betty, forced to sneak out of her bedroom window for secret romantic rendezvous with Communist wannabe Kyle (Cory Michael Smith), whom she secretly marries, but doesn't mention to her father. There is a subtle, unvoiced fear of their father that urges the girls to comply and continue their weekly concerts at the Fremont Town Hall where a record producer (Kevin Cahoon) spots them and promotes their one horrible album "Philosophy of the world" into rock history (this is based on a true story, believe it or not).

Highlights:
The show features tight direction with a good book and insightful lyrics. It's more about the girls trying to figure out who they are and what they want from life and how their father factors into both of those questions than it is about the history of a rock group. The music varies from kind of punky, to ballad. The scene where the promoter and technician record this horrible album and the audience gets to hear what they hear (it's awful) along side what the father is hearing (it's wonderful) is a real treat (Darron L. West Sound). The set (Mimi Leon) and costumes (Emily Renholz) embody the tragedy of the story. Steve Routman expertly  rounds out the cast in a number of roles, most notably a very funny high school principal. The choreography is neat too.

Lowlights:
At first I questioned the wisdom of casting Friedman's less than star-quality vocals as a lead singer, but after a while he grew on me. In the end, it makes perfect sense that the father who appears tone deaf where the girls are concerned wouldn't be a Broadway tenor himself. So hang in there with him. he does a wonderful job of bringing out the empty soul of this guy.

Information:
The Shaggs Philosophy of the World plays Off-Broadway through July 3 at Playwrights Horizons Mainstage Theater, 416 West 42nd St., NY. The performance schedule: Tuesdays at 7, Wednesdays through Fridays at 8, Saturdays at 2:30 and 8 and Sundays at 2:30 and 7:30.  For tickets, visit http://www.ticketcentral.com/, call 212-279-4200 or visit the box office, 416 West 42nd St. (between 9th and 10th avenues).

Christians might also like to know:
God's name taken in vain
Actress in underwear
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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

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All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

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I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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