The creators of Angst: The New Teen Musical, nearly all teenagers themselves, are extremely close to their subject matter. But although this immediacy has the potential to create exceptionally hard-hitting satire, it instead ends up reflecting the immaturity of the authors.
Developed by the Young Artist Council of Youth Performance Company, many of the members of which perform in the production, Angst tracks high school students who, despite initial differences, formulaically discover their commonalities. The kids are certainly talented performers; they play their stereotypical characters with gusto.
But they aren't writers. The plot is structureless and the musical harmonies, although beautifully delivered, are predominantly in thirds, lacking the texture that comes with mature composition. Blackouts break the action at every occasion: song endings, set changes, even to show the passage of time. Such mistakes show the creators' youthful greenness, the perils of which, after all, Angst is all about.
Presented by the Kindred Theatre Company as part of the New York International Fringe Festival
at the Village Theatre, 158 Bleecker St., NYC.
Aug. 15-20. Remaining performances: Fri., Aug. 17, 9 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 18, 2:30 p.m.; Sun., Aug. 19, noon; Mon., Aug. 20, 9:15 p.m.
(212) 279-4488 or (888) 374-6436 or www.fringenyc.org.