Girl Interrupted

"Girl Interrupted" at The Public is an adaptation of the 1999 movie that landed Angelia Jolie an Oscar for best supporting actress. Here the play is directed and acted beautifully. Even though the play is set with music, the music is never overbearing nor consuming, and it adds subtly to the show.

Director Jo Bonney keeps the story close to Martyna Majok's book. The story is the mid 1960's and Susanna (Juliana Canfield) has checked herself into a mental hospital in Belmont Mass. She belies that she will be there for 72 hours but it turns into 18 months. The aspiring writer does not see any problems mentally with herself what-so-ever.

In this brilliant show, Canfield is exceptional in the way she commands the stage; more importantly how she explains her state of mind, how she brings forth the mental instability of the other inmates as well.

What was most enjoyable about this deeply moving show is that Jo Bonney gave us a show of what the East Village theaters used to be. The Village used to put forth raw, edgy and deep plays that made you think, made you feel the show deeply. Here, "Girl Interrupted" checks off all of those boxes as an in-depth play that moves the audience for 110 intermission less minutes.

Not only does the direction move this play along for the most part nicely (it can get slow at parts), the lighting (Heather Gilbert), the sound (Dan Moses Schreier), the costumes (Sarah Laux) and the brilliant set all make this a first rate show indeed!

We get a dose of the time period in Majok's book, Bonney too just touches on enough of it to bring forth what Susanna and the rest feel about the era that is the war torn Vietnam era as well as the 60's protests and the assassinations, the murders as Susanna will tell us.

As in the movie, the play more so brings out how many of these girls are comfortable being institutionalized. Sure they all complain about being there, however, Bonney does well in showing us just how Grace( Mia Pak), Tori (Gabi Campo), Lisa (King Princess) as well as Daisey (Katherine Reis) know that they may not be able to be out in an open society without the kind of help that they get inside this facility that protects them from the world.

The Public Theater has for years been at the forefront of creative, edgy theater. "Girl Interrupted" was as creative as I have seen at the public. From the cylinder chamber above the stage that came down usefully when needed to underscore a scene, to the great all around staging of this play, The public continues to show us why it's history is so rich in art.

I am waiting for Henry VI coming up next at the Public. It appears that the Public has gotten back to the good theater that it once commanded before Covid; before the Woke movement. "Girl Interrupted" is a really encouraging scenario to where the public may go from here.

Under Joe Papp, the Public was always at the forefront of great new theater. "Plenty" as an example came and took Broadway by storm back in the early 80's with Jeremy Irons in the lead slot. Irons, a great theatrical actor would make "Plenty" the hottest ticket on Broadway that year. In fact the whole cast was great in "Plenty".

Too me the Village, whether West or East should be edgy, creative theater. It is the make up of the Village to be raw in it's writing, it's acting and more than anything... it's delivery!

#Broadway Bob Massimi, www.robertmmassimi.com, No Bull With Raging Robert, Angelina Jolie, Girl Interrupted, The Public Theater, New York City, Broadway, The Obie Awards, The Tony Awards.