At The Public Theater, a ‘Girl, Interrupted’ for a New Generation

In 1967, 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen was admitted to McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, after a suicide attempt. Decades later, she wrote her best-selling memoir girl, disturbedchronicles her approximately two years at the facility, where she observed and befriended other patients. In 1999, the book became a classic movie, starring Winona Ryder as Susanna and Angelina Jolie as Lisa, a lovable sociopath with slight bangs.

Now, Kaysen’s story—a foundational text for generations of misunderstood young women—is being retold on the stage of the Public Theater. Playwright Martyna Majok’s book (cost of living), song written by Aimee Mann, choreographed by Sonya Tayeh, told girl, disturbedDirected by Joe Bonney, Memory Play is a memory play with musical interludes interspersed throughout a non-linear narrative of events. For Bonny, this scene is “both inside McClane and inside Susanna’s psyche.”

The film is probably the most familiar version of the story now, and the one the actors were most familiar with going into the project, but the show was adapted from Mayock’s obsessive memoir. “I’m in love [Kaysen’s] “Her voice, her dry wisdom and clear perspective, her humor and heartache,” she said. “In powerful, succinct language, she collected these extraordinary characters who speak so loudly on the page.”

The characters are played by a stellar cast, with Succession and Stereophonics’ Julianna Canfield as Susanna and King Princess as Lisa. McLean’s residents also include Valerie (Tarey Campbell), Tori (Gabby Campo), Grace (Mia Parker), Daisy (Katherine Rhys), Polly (Sally Shaw) and an ominous male presence (Manoel Feliciano).

Canfield recalled seeing the film as a teenager and being captivated by Ryder’s performance. “She’s like Audrey Hepburn, but grittier and darker,” she said. “She’s bubbly but also brave and emotional.”

While it’s not quite a musical, the songs in the show are crucial to the emotional journey of the show’s characters, depicting their pain and insecurities. The McLean girls are all part of a chorus; in one memorable song, they harmoniously ask, “What will become of me?”

“This show touches on really dark, unexplored caves in the human mind and heart,” Canfield said. “I think music is a way to get to those places.”