THE SHAGGS: PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD

Directed By JOHN LANGS
Book By JOY GREGORY
Music By GUNNAR MADSEN
Lyrics By JOY GREGORY & GUNNAR MADSEN
Story By JOY GREGORY, GUNNAR MADSEN, And JOHN LANGS

A co-production with Playwrights Horizons

Featuring all original music inspired by the stranger-than-fiction
story of The Shaggs.

NYTW has teamed up with Playwrights Horizons to bring you this new musical. Instead of coming to our space at 79 East 4th street, you will be seeing THE SHAGGS at Playwrights Horizons, located at 416 West 42nd Street. Also, please take note of the slightly different weekend schedule.

 
First preview
May 12, 2011

Opening night
June 7, 2011

Final performance
July 3, 2011 		Scenic Design – Mimi Lien
Costume Design – Emily Rebholz
Lighting Design – Geoff Korf
Sound Design – Darron L West
Choreography – Ken Roht		 Featuring:
Kevin Cahoon
Peter Friedman
Annie Golden
Jamey Hood
Steve Routman
Cory Michael Smith
Sarah Sokolovic
Emily Walton

Single tickets, $75.00 each.

Member Guest tickets, $45.00 each

The Shaggs' 1969 album Philosophy of the World has been reissued in a private-label
recording by Playwrights Horizons and New York Theatre Workshop in tandem with the companies' co-production.

For further information and to purchase the CD, click here

Based on a true story.
THEY DEFINED CULT STATUS – AND WERE GONE IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE.

Fremont, NH, the late 60s. A working class dad has a vision of rock n’ roll destiny for his three talentless daughters, convinced they're his family’s one-way ticket out of hardship and obscurity. But the girls have ideas of their own – and as their father’s ambition turns to obsession, the price of familial obligation becomes all too clear.

Performance schedule:
Tuesday at 7:00pm
Wednesday – Friday at 8:00pm
Saturday at 2:30pm & 8:00pm
Sunday at 2:30pm & 7:30pm.

Running time:
2 hours with one intermission

Exceptions:
Monday June 6 - 7:00pm performance
Wednesday June 8 - no performance
Sunday May 15 - 2:30pm performance only
Sunday May 29 - 2:30pm performance only

Student Matinee:
Wednesday May 25 at 1:00pm

Click here to open the Study Guide
for Students and Teachers

 

Meet the Shaggs
Published in the New Yorker 1997 by Susan Orlean

Jon Ronson interviews the Shaggs on BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00gtsj3

AfterWords (post-performance audience discussion):
Wednesday May 18 after the 8:00pm performance
A conversation with the creators of the show, Joy Gregory, Gunnar Madsen, and John Langs, moderated by Playwrights Horizons Artistic Director Tim Sanford.

Sunday May 22 after the 2:30pm performance
A conversation with the creators of the show, Joy Gregory, Gunnar Madsen, and John Langs, moderated by Playwrights Horizons Artistic Director Tim Sanford.

Friday May 27 after the 8:00pm performance
A conversation with the creators of the show, Joy Gregory, Gunnar Madsen, and John Langs, moderated by Playwrights Horizons Artistic Director Tim Sanford.

Tuesday June 14 after the 7:00pm performance
Irwin Chusid, author of Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music and one of the driving forces behind the 1990s digital reissue of Philosophy of the World, discusses his connection to The Shaggs and provides insight into the true story of the girl-group that inspired the musical. Additional guests to be announced.

Irwin Chusid is a record producer, radio personality, journalist, and music historian. He was the primary force behind the resurgence of interest in pop composers Raymond Scott and Esquivel, and produced the heralded Langley Schools Music Project. Chusid hosts a weekly free-form radio program on WFMU, has produced dozens of records and concerts, and has written for The New York Times, Mojo, New York Press, and many other publications. His book about Jim Flora will be published in August 2004 by Fantagraphics. www.keyofz.com