Summing up my 2010-2011 theatre season: Keep the shouting to a minimum

I finally managed to post the last review of my 2010-2011 theatre season - a month after the show closed but who's counting.

So, just a few observations:

• I made progress toward my goal of seeing a show in every Broadway house, adding the Ambassador, the Cort and the Golden to my list. Only four to go! The Golden is cute - 805 seats and because there's only a center aisle in the orchestra, it reminded me of a high school auditorium.
  

• I saw all five Tony nominees for best featured actress in a play and four out of five for best actor in a play. My vote would have gone to Joe Mantello in The Normal Heart, no question about it. And as much as I loved Ellen Barkin in The Normal Heart, there's something about Judith Light in Lombardi that I found so compelling. I wish they could have tied.
  

• Once again, some of my most memorable experiences took place in small off-Broadway houses. I saw my first shows at Playwrights Horizons (home of the most comfortable theatre seats ever) and the Signature Theatre. Signature, I'm looking forward to seeing your new home and seat-wise, the bar has been set high.
  

• Speaking of Playwrights Horizons, at intermission of The Shaggs, almost everyone in my row left. It was me and a couple guys on the end for Act II. The rock 'n' roll score was too loud for some people, I guess. But we were in the second row, so I'm sure the actors noticed. I wonder how they felt?
  

• Maybe it's because I had such great hopes for Catch Me If You Can and I ended up being so disappointed but I'm getting wary of movies being turned into musicals. I'm no longer going to salivate like Pavlov's dog when I hear that a popular film is being adapted for the stage.

• I saw three performances that I can only describe as "shouty." Dan Lauria in Lombardi and Jim Belushi in Born Yesterday both seemed to get by mostly on bluster. Then there was Elizabeth Rodriguez in The Motherf**ker with the Hat, who seemed to scream from start to finish. I hope this does not become a trend.
  

The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World

The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World, at Playwrights Horizons off-Broadway
Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****

Unfortunately, shows are closing faster than I can write reviews. The last performances of The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World are this weekend, which is a shame because it's such an offbeat and absorbing musical.

The Shaggs tells the true story of the Wiggin sisters in New Hampshire in the late 1960s whose father, Austin, had a premonition - which turned into an obsession - that they were destined to become a successful rock 'n' roll band. Sadly, the girls were supremely musically untalented.

As Austin, Peter Friedman is riveting - becoming more and more unhinged and controlling. Annie Golden as their mother, Annie, watches helplessly while the blue-collar family's savings dwindle and tries to control her husband's outbursts.

As Dot, Betty and Helen Wiggin, Jamey Hood, Sarah Sokolovic and Emily Walton are terrific. They're awkward teenagers who know they're awful and hate being onstage. They want to please their father but at the same time, they're petrified of him. Dot tries to be supportive, Betty is rebellious and Helen retreats behind silence.

Cory Michael Smith is appealing as Kyle, the gangly and goofy classmate who falls for Walton's Helen. (One quibble, it's never completely explained why she remains mute for much of the musical.) Kevin Cahoon, a favorite of mine from The Wedding Singer Broadway cast recording, has a funny turn as their agent.

Now you might ask, "Who would want to listen to 2 1/2 hours of terrible musicianship?" Composers Joy Gregory and Gunnar Madsen have come up with a very effective work-around. When the girls are using their "inner" voices to sing about their lives, they sound like angels. It's only when they're performing that you get an idea of how they really sounded.

And I really enjoyed the score - there's a hilarious ensemble number that takes place at the local high school, "Career Day." Hood is touching in "Don't Say Nothing Bad About My Dad." I was first smitten by the score of Hair from the movie, in which Golden played Jeannie, so it was thrilling to hear her solo, "Annie's Lessons."

Clearly, it would have been very easy to make fun of the sisters and their lack of talent but Gregory, who wrote the book, treats their lives with great sensitivity and poignancy. At a time when too many new musicals seem big and overblown, The Shaggs is human-scale, unique and refreshing.

As a band, you can't really say that The Shaggs faded into obscurity because they were always pretty obscure. But the sisters did get a burst of acclaim when their one-and-only album, Philosophy of the World, was re-released in 1980. Susan Orlean profiled them in The New Yorker in 1999. Here's the title song from Philosophy of the World.)

Theatre wish list: spring 2011

It's cold, it's snowy and icy, it gets dark early. What better way to keep my spirits up than to look ahead. These are the Broadway and off-Broadway shows I'm most excited about seeing this spring. Of course I hope to see more but if I had to pick ...

Musicals:

Catch Me If You Can

I liked the movie, with Leonardo DiCaprio as con man Frank Abagnale Jr. But the main attraction is the score. Hairspray is one of my favorite musicals so I want to check out the next show from Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

I enjoyed the Australian movie, about three drag queens traveling across the Outback. It's poignant story about a journey, and who doesn't look forward to a road trip? Plus, there will be an actual bus onstage.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

I thought Daniel Radcliffe was so compelling in a dramatic role in Equus. I actually enjoyed him more onstage than in the Harry Potter movies. So I'm curious to see how he'll handle musical comedy. And he looks so cute in that blue bow tie!

Plays:

War Horse

I've watched a trailer from Britain's National Theatre and I'm quite taken with the lifelike horse puppets. The story, about a boy's search for his beloved horse amid the trenches of World War I, sounds compelling.

House of Blue Leaves

The revival of John Guare's play, which takes place on one eventful day in New York City in 1965, features Edie Falco and Ben Stiller. Of all the actors appearing on Broadway this spring, they are the two I'm looking forward to the most. Plus, it's directed by David Cromer and I think his work is brilliant.

Jerusalem

I love Mark Rylance after La Bete and I've heard he's terrific in Jerusalem, too. The Guardian wonders whether Jez Butterworth's 3-hour play will be too British for Americans. I'm willing to give it a try. And I've been to the original Jerusalem, so I'm intrigued to see if I'll get the connection.

Off-Broadway

It's tougher to come up with an off-Broadway list. There are so many more shows and some of my choices may have opened and closed by the time I get to New York. But realistically, here are three I'd love to see and I have a good chance of catching:


By the way, Meet Vera Stark

It's a new play by Lynn Nottage, who wrote the Pulitzer-winning Ruined. Plus, from the description it sounds like such an interesting story: A seventy-year journey into the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong African-American maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately grasping to hold onto her career.

The Other Place

In Sharr White's play, Laurie Metcalf portrays a medical researcher working on a treatment for Alzheimer's whose life takes a disorienting turn. Metcalf is the draw for me. I first saw her as Kate Jerome in Brighton Beach Memoirs in 2009 and I thought she gave an amazing performance in the short-lived revival. She's an actress I would see in anything, if I had the chance.

The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World

A father in New Hampshire in the 1970s forces his three daughters to form a rock 'n' roll band as a way to climb out of poverty. They're not very talented but they end up becoming a cult favorite before fading into obscurity. I know it sounds a little bizarre but the musical is based on a true story. And I'm intrigued.