How it’s New York: “Good Vibrations” is at Irish Arts Center, one of New York’s real gems, recently expanded and renovated on 11th Avenue.
How it’s Irish: The play comes from Lyric Theatre Belfast, and is based on the true story of punk impressario Terri Hooley.
Love Stiff Little Fingers? The Undertones? The Outcasts?
You’ll find a lot to love in Good Vibrations, which concludes its run at Irish Arts Center on Sunday, Juiy 16.
We never do find out why Terri– that’s Terri with an “i,” mind you, something we learn about early on– names his record shop “Good Vibrations.” Was it after the Beach Boys? (I mean it’s hard to imagine a shop in the ’70s calling itself that that isn’t referencing that.)
But biographical stories are notoriously hard to stage or even film. There’s always the “and then I (wrote/played/produced)…” plot pitfall to avoid; always the reality that not everything can be included. Shortcuts have to be made and the end product never satisfies everyone. “Good Vibrations” does a fun and colorful job of telling the story of Belfast native Terri Hooley, an idealistic young man determined to make the punk bands he discovers in Belfast hits in London and around the world, all against the reality of The Troubles.
The show, according to press materials, is “presented in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Peace Agreement.”
The show– a musical, meaning even more details have to give way to make time for songs– is based on the 2012 BAFTA award-winning film of the same name, and written by the same people, Colin Carberry and Glenn Patterson.
No doubt about it, this is a fun show. It’s most fun in the first half– and that’s not entirely the show’s fault. I’ve noticed that most based-on-a-true-story of someone in show business stories are most interesting when the person is an underdog, on the way up.
The show begins at a decrepit studio/garage, with the anarchy symbol spray-painted on the walls, and a few gold records. Grown Terri (Glenn Wallace) comes in, puts on a hat, a bluegrass record, and flashes back to his childhood.
As the music plays, “Hank Williams” comes in and sings. The actors are also musicians, which makes for an entertaining evening.
Terri begins as a music-loving child, son of an avowed Communist George Hooley (hilarious Marty Maguire, playing a role so unusual you know it’s based on truth), who
tries to be a club DJ during the height of the Troubles when many young people in Belfast are afraid to go out at all. He meets his future wife, Ruth, at the near-empty club one night. His club gig is gone, but he decides to open a record shop, and one night, he’s inspired by fantastic music at a club gig.
He becomes a promoter, and a producer, getting singles made, getting gigs organized, getting record companies to pay attention.
All of this is exciting and fun. Wallace’s Terri has infectious energy, throwing his arms wide with enthusiasm to proclaim what he feels, and the actors who play the musicians/bank managers/other small roles are fantastic too. Jayne Wisener as Ruth is a little underused, whose arc you can see from the moment she enters. (She’s gonna be disillusioned but loving, but they can’t stay together etc. etc.)
Still, so far, so fantastic!
Act II however is a bit muddled. It’s easier to get on board with if you know Hooley’s story. I didn’t so I wasn’t sure what the point of it all was. Terri is losing money, the shop goes under, it all goes south, but he goes out with a bang with a fantastic concert– that also loses money because he lets too many people in off the guest list.
One takeaway is his wife’s observation that “this is not a no man’s land or no woman’s land.” Presenting this event in Belfast at that time had its own rock and roll energy.
Des Kennedy’s direction uses the whole stage to great effect: a band plays upstage; actors stand on the proscenium. Grace Smart’s set design is evocative of time and place and smartly uses a unit set to be many different places. Gillian Lennox’s costumes are particularly fun– although it wasn’t clear what year we were in at the end, both in the story and in the framing device.
Maybe it seems churlish to point out that in 2023 Terri Hooley would be 75, or that in 1982 nobody wore a coat like the suede faux fur trim his wife wears at the massive concert– but these are our way of orienting ourselves, so it matters, especially in a show that wants to make a point about How Things Were.
Still the show has a fantastic energy: we hear punk music (some great music!) played live; you get to SING with the band.
It’s not a masterpiece– but it’s a lot of fun.
Good Vibrations runs at Irish Arts Center, through Sunday, July 16.
Irish Arts Center is at 726 11th Ave., 212–757–3318.
