I hope more will be done with The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World (created by Joy Gregory, Gunnar Madsen, and Jon Langs), which recently enjoyed a limited engagement Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons. Despite this musical's flaws, I found myself caring about the characters. The show feels real, it is impeccably cast and it opened me up emotionally. It has some dull patches, an uneven score and a not-quite-satisfying ending. But it's definitely got magic, and that trumps everything. There is something haunting and larger-than-life about this true tale of an obsessive, domineering father (played memorably by Peter Friedman) trying to make his three unwilling daughters into rock stars. There are occasional missteps. The father, for example, shouldn't be made to say that he's had a dream; that only calls attention to the elements of the show that feel reminiscent of Gypsy. And the ending has a somewhat tacked-on feeling; references to The Shaggs "comeback" are so perfunctory that they feel almost like an afterthought. And the romance between the mute-by-choice daughter (played by Emily Walton) and her idealistic boyfriend (a terrific characterization by Corey Michael Smith) touched me. Annie Golden (as the put-upon mother) scores strongly with her one song; it's the vocal high point of the night. Cast members Jamey Hood, Sarah Sokolovic, Kevin Cahoon, and Steve Routman all have their moments. This musical play got inside of me that when I got home from the theater, I listened to recordings of the real-life group, The Shaggs.
(Pictured (L-R): Jamey Hood, Emily Walton, Sarah Sokolovic; Photo by Joan Marcus)
Chip Deffaa
Cabaret Scenes
June 30, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org
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