'The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World' at the Beckett Theatre

New York Music Theatre Festival, PenneySeal Productions and AWOL Theatre Project, Inc present the NY premiere of the rock musical The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World, a musical by Joy Gregory & Gunnar Madsen , at Theatre Row 's Beckett Theatre from the 27 Sep - 2 Oct 2005. Part of the Second New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Taking place between 1969 and 1973, The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World is an earnest look at one of the oddest and most unlikely bands to achieve rock cult status. Forced by a demanding father, the three very awkward sisters of the Wiggin family of Fremont, New Hampshire were prepped to play in a band based on a prophecy laid out by their grandmother. Taken out of school and away from all outside influences, the Wiggin family patriarch pushed the girls to practice non-stop until he thought they were ready to record an album and perform concerts. They were not. They never were, but they did, and this wholly original musical chronicles their journey while incorporating songs influenced by The Shaggs� canon, as well as a re-imagining of their 'hit single' Philosophy of the World.

Austin Wiggin, the girls� father, died before he ever saw his dream realized. Following his death, The Shaggs were no more until the mid-seventies when a Boston radio station played a few cuts from their record. Their only album caught on, spurred by Frank Zappa declaring the band �better than the Beatles�, celebrated by outsider-music mavens who were taken with the Shaggs� artless style. In 1980 they were Rolling Stones� Comeback Artists of the Year without having recorded anything in over a decade. Old recordings and footage have been turned into subsequent albums and collector�s items for their thousands of underground fans, but they remain humble loners in the outskirts of New England.

The musical stars Peter Friedman, directed by John Langs, who originated the role of Tateh in the musical Ragtime in its world premiere in Toronto, as well as on Broadway. He was in the original New York productions of The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein and Simon Gray's The Common Pursuit, and Roundabout's revival of Reginald Rose's Twelve Angry Men amongst many others.

Dedicated to discovering new work and new artists, The New York Musical Theatre Festival celebrates the diversity, creativity, and future of musical theatre. NYMF is a flagship program of the National Music Theater Network, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and is America�s largest annual musical theatre event.

The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World as book by Joy Gregory, music by Gunnar Madsen, with lyrics by both.

Biographies:

Joy Gregory (Writer/Lyricist) is a founding member of Chicago�s Lookingglass Theater Company where her two most recently produced plays were The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World, and Race: How Blacks and Whites Think & Feel About the American Obsession, a co-adaptation with David Schwimmer of the book by Studs Terkel.

Gunnar Madsen (Composer/Lyricist) was a founder, songwriter and performer with the internationally acapella group The Bobs. Their first album led to a Grammy nomination. The Bobs have released five more albums and Gunnar has received seven consecutive ASCAP songwriter�s awards. He has written music for the feature films Breaking the Rules and A Special Providence; he was the voice of Sammy Davis, Jr. in the Emmy-Award winning HBO film �The Rat Pack.�

John Langs (Director) received a Backstage West award for The Shaggs. The show then moved to The Lookingglass Theater of Chicago where it was Jeff-nominated. He is Director and Artistic Associate with The Seattle Shakespeare Company, The Powerhouse Theatre of Santa Monica, The Neurotic Young Urbanites in Los Angeles and Maui Onstage in Hawaii.