Aimee Mann's Girl Interrupted Musical Finally Reaches the Stage

6 hours ago7 min read5 comments

The long-awaited moment has finally arrived in the hallowed halls of the theatre district, a place where dreams are often deferred but, in this singular instance, have triumphantly come to fruition. Aimee Mann, the revered singer-songwriter whose lyrical prowess has long felt inherently theatrical, is at last bringing her musical adaptation of Susanna Kaysen's seminal 1993 memoir, 'Girl, Interrupted,' to the stage, a creative endeavor seven years in the making.This project first shimmered into public consciousness back in 2018 when Mann, in a revealing conversation with the *Los Angeles Review Of Books*, mentioned she was composing for a couple of stage musicals, a tantalizing hint that sent ripples through the intersection of indie music and Broadway. The source material, Kaysen's unflinchingly honest account of her time in a psychiatric hospital during the 1960s, presents a complex, nuanced landscape for a musical—far from the traditional, upbeat territory of chorus lines and happy endings.It’s a bold choice, one that demands a score capable of plumbing the depths of adolescent turmoil, institutionalization, and fragile recovery, a challenge for which Mann's signature blend of wry melancholy and melodic sophistication seems almost preternaturally suited. The journey from page to stage, however, has been its own drama of persistence.The memoir was, of course, famously adapted into a 1999 cinematic tour de force directed by James Mangold, a film that catapulted Angelina Jolie to an Academy Award for her raw, electrifying performance as the charismatic and disruptive Lisa and cemented Winona Ryder's status as a generation's angst-ridden heroine. That film's shadow looms large, a high-water mark for any subsequent interpretation, yet the stage offers a different kind of intimacy, a chance to live inside the suffocating yet strangely safe confines of McLean Hospital in real-time, with Mann’s music serving as the direct conduit to Susanna’s internal monologue.One can imagine the score eschewing large, belted numbers for something more conversational and haunting, perhaps reminiscent of the groundbreaking work in 'Next to Normal,' which also dared to center mental health with unflinching honesty. The very fact that it has taken this long speaks volumes about the meticulous care and developmental workshops likely involved, the painstaking process of translating prose into song, of building a narrative arc that can sustain musical numbers without trivializing its profound subject matter.For Mann, this is not a mere side project; it is a continuation of a career built on exploring the psyches of outsiders and the quietly desperate. From her early days with 'Til Tuesday to her acclaimed solo work on albums like 'Bachelor No.2,' she has always been a master of the character study, her songs miniature plays about flawed, searching individuals. To expand this talent into a full-length book musical feels like a natural, if ambitious, evolution.The Broadway community will be watching closely, as successful transitions from the rock and pop world are notoriously difficult—Duncan Sheik with 'Spring Awakening' and Sara Bareilles with 'Waitress' stand as rare, glittering exceptions. The stakes are high, but the potential reward is a piece of theatre that could redefine what a musical can be, offering not escapism but a powerful, empathetic reflection on a young woman's fractured psyche and her arduous path toward putting the pieces back together. It is a story of being interrupted, yes, but now, after years of waiting in the wings, Aimee Mann’s musical is finally getting its cue to begin.

#featured

#Aimee Mann

#Girl Interrupted

#stage musical

#adaptation

#Susanna Kaysen

#theatre

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