“The Public Theater’s latest offering, “Girl, Interrupted,” transcends the conventional musical. It is based on the 1993 memoir by Susanna Kayson, chronicling her eighteen-month stay in a psychiatric hospital after a failed attempt at suicide. The book gathered widespread attention when made into a film in 1999, which starred Wynona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, winning several awards. This new incarnation is created/written by Martyna Majok, with original music by Aimee Mann. It is not a conventional musical or a play with music, but an examination of characters and situations told with dialogue and through song, creating a distinctive genre of theater that treats music not as escape but as witness. The structure is not linear but fractured in a refined way; it starts and ends with a bookend scene of Susanna in front of the Vermeer painting “Girl Interrupted at Her Music,” at the Frick Museum. This framing device is crucial as it reveals Susanna’s interpretation of the painting in the past and her new understanding of the painting after her stay at the hospital. The body of the play consists of many vignettes, each delving into a specific character, relationship or situation, that occur during Susanna’s stay at McLean Hospital. The dialogue in these scenes is mostly exposition and character study, but the songs are there for a reason, as Susanna’s roommate Grace explains, “I think we all need our sorrow structured into sound.”

The plot follows Susanna (Juliana Canfield) after she swallows fifty aspirin in an attempted suicide, then checks herself into McLean psychiatric hospital, after a fifteen-minute session with a doctor. She first meets Dr. Wick (Emily Skinner), then is quickly introduced to Grace (Mia Pak), her roommate, with whom she bonds over Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar.” There are other young women who cross paths with Susanna—each carrying her own narrative of pain. They bond quickly, recognizing that all they have is each other. She meets Polly (Sally Shaw), who supposedly set herself on fire, leaving her face and neck severely burned. Then there is Daisy, who self-harms and has an OCD disorder. Susanna is oddly drawn to Lisa (King Princess). A sociopath. The final member of this posse of misfits is Tori (Gabi Campo), a drug addict who fears being taken back to Mexico by her parents. There are no backstories for any of these characters, but their present actions and thoughts are the key to understanding their complex personalities. This play does not dwell on the past or look to the future but merely examines the present and the characters’ thoughts.

The power of the play lies in the dual role of Susanna: as the adult narrator of the memory, commenting and guiding us through her journey in the institution some twenty years ago, and as a young woman experiencing the memory. The play’s central metaphor is the Vermeer painting, which also becomes the title. Susanna relates to the girl looking away as the teacher demands her attention, as a means of escape. The girl in the painting is positioned, groomed, and viewed as a subject, similar to Susanna’s experiences. The unnatural light Vermeer uses creates a window into the darkness and becomes Susanna’s mirror into her own life. In the end, all the women whom Susanna has lost gather; Grace has descended into maximum security, Polly has fallen into catatonia, Daisy commits suicide, Tori is forcibly taken to Mexico and Lisa is lobotomized through medication. They sing the final song “I See You.” Loss and grief become a tool for Susanna’s survival, as she learns that she must appear to be following the rules in order to succeed, never to be seen for who she really is.

The music by Aimee Mann may seem repetitive at first but, when examined as a whole, it becomes extremely reflective of the mood and tone that exists in the hospital. Although there is intellectual humor, the emotional state that influences how a person perceives the world does not change. Therefore, why would the music change? The entire cast is brilliant, including Manoel Felciano credited as The Male Presence, playing several roles. The direction by Jo Bonney is unobtrusive, clear, polished, highlighting the script and music. Not a typical feel-good musical with a happy ending, but rather a powerful piece of theater that deserves to be seen, just as the women at the core of this story should have been seen and possibly saved.