‘Girl, Interrupted’ embraces life on the downbeat of mental illness (Off Broadway review)
8 / 10
Girl, Interrupted is not a conventional musical. Despite the subject matter, it’s also not a total downer. Director Jo Bonney embraces its unorthodoxy in her understated staging, with a simple stylized set (by the collective dots) and lighting (by Heather Gilbert). Sarah Lux’s costumes and J. Jared Janas’s hair, wig and makeup design summon the fab look of the late ’60s while still connecting us to women who feel familiar even if circumstances have improved. Under Bonney’s direction, the cast conveys the stark reality of their characters without wallowing in their predicament. They seem as surprised as we are when things don’t turn out, when tragedy strikes, and that brings a deeper layer of authenticity to the story. Girl, Interrupted celebrates the strength in sisterhood, and the power of music and storytelling to find meaning in the darkest episodes of human experience.
