6 / 10
The storytelling can be herky-jerky and hard to follow in places for those unfamiliar with the material, and the songs seldom do much to advance the plot (and sometimes end abruptly or anticlimactically). Also, we meet a lot of girls — too many to keep track of, though they do blend beautifully in group choral numbers.
4 / 10
The plot and characters are equally muddled, with a run-here, run-there, run-anywhere brand of direction that reveals the show hasn’t quite figured out what to do after the girls disappear, or how to recast or progress the film’s open frame of reference. Instead, it hits the main plot points while frustratedly banging its head against all of Picnic’s familiar mysteries. (Important note: this was the show’s second New York performance, so maybe it will evolve over time.)
In PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK: THE MUSICAL, Gold’s score makes it clear that this is not a mystery you simply watch. It’s a mystery you enter. The music becomes a kind of weather system that circles, shifts, and pulls the audience along.
PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, the new rock musical, is now in performances at Greenwich House Theatre. Learn more about the production and read the reviews here!
Now running at Greenwich House Theatre is PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, the new rock musical. Adapted from Joan Lindsay’s novel, with book and lyrics by Hilary Bell and music and arrangements by Greta Gertler Gold, the production is directed by Portia Krieger and is playing a strictly limited engagement in New York.
Production photos have been released for PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, the new musical adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s novel now playing at Greenwich House Theatre. The production features music by Greta Gertler Gold and book and lyrics by Hilary Bell, directed by Portia Krieger.
PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK: The Musical, adapted from the novel by Joan Lindsay, with book and lyrics by Hilary Bell and music and arrangements by Greta Gertler Gold, will begin performances off-Broadway next month.
