Review: The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World

© Joan Marcus

A fascinating footnote to pop music history is explored to probing effect in the new musical The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World. Music geeks will recall that the band was composed of three teen-age girls who--at the urging of their Mama Rose-style stage father—recorded an album of original songs in which their lack of any musical talent was more than evident. Although the self-pressed recording quickly lapsed into well-deserved obscurity, it was later championed by several notable rockers who were enamored of its authentic rawness. Re-released years later, it was hailed by Rolling Stone magazine and has since become a cult favorite.

 

Although it contains sly touches of humor, the show takes a decidedly serious approach to the story, with the father, Austin (Peter Friedman), depicted as a deluded, semi-abusive parent bullying his daughters into realizing his own unfulfilled dreams. The fact that they have neither the necessary desire nor musical skills is apparently beside the point.

 

Joy Gregory’s dark-tinged book covers all of the essential points of the tale, concentrating on the tyrannical father’s obsessive desire, inspired by the mammoth success of the Beatles, to turn his daughters into stars. The girls themselves are only sketchily depicted, with the exception of the youngest, Helen (Emily Walton), who has retreated into a world of silence. But her rebellious streak is indicated by her hidden relationship with a classmate (Cory Michael Smith), who she later secretly marries.

 

The show’s humor stems not so much from the characters but rather the sheer atrociousness of the girls’ performances. The scene in which they record their album as a couple of engineers look on aghast is a comic highlight.

 

Unfortunately, the show is never quite involving as it should be, with the turgid proceedings eventually proving monotonous. Not helping matters is the score by Gregory and Gunnar Madsen--which, with a few exceptions, such as the father’s final defiant number “Never Fade,” which he sings as he literally sinks into his grave--too often mirrors its inspiration’s atonality.     

 

Still, the story itself is so fascinating that the show merits attention. And it has been given a hauntingly stark, stylized production courtesy of director John Langs. Friedman, frequently singing intentionally off-key, is galvanizing as the monstrous dad; Annie Golden is appealingly sympathetic as his compliant wife; Sarah Sokolovic, Emily Walton and Jamey Hood handle their dramatic and musical chores with aplomb; and Kevin Cahoon and Steve Routman score laughs in their multiple supporting roles.

 

At one point late in the evening, we hear an excerpt from the actual recording made by the real-life Shaggs. Its sheer horribleness provides ample testament to the bizarreness of the tale.

 

Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42nd St. 212-279-4200. www.ticketcentral.com.