nor'mal: Musical Helps Educate Students On Eating Disorders

Anyone interested in witnessing the unique dramatic power that can be achieved through musical theatre -- a stunning three minutes when story, song, acting and staging achieve what millions of dollars worth of production values could never match -- should get themselves to the Connelly Theatre for Transport Group's premiere production of nor'mal:. Erin Leigh Peck, toning down her singing technique to effectively portray a suburban teenager, rocks out across her bedroom, celebrating the loss of another pound as she experiences the opening stages of anorexia. Like an amateur Britney, she shakes her thin body, barely noticeable under baggy clothes, to her pop anthem, "Pretty to the Bone", singing sophomoric imagery comparing herself to a tiny bird who can fly higher as she gets smaller. "Nothing will ever taste as good as I feel", she sings, caressing her flat chest and striking what she thinks is a sexy pose as she feels how small her butt has become. We already know she's stopped having her period and has been avoiding food entirely. The irrepressible joy she exudes as she shows off her severely flattening tummy and feels her ribcage is horrifying.

That's what I wrote in my November 1, 2005 review of Yvonne Adrian (book), Cheryl Stern (lyrics) and Tom Kochan's (music) exhilarating Jonathan Larson Award winning musical, where a family tries desperately to keep a happy appearance while dealing with the crisis of a teenage daughter's eating disorder.  Unfortunately, Broadway is generally not thought of as a welcoming home for moving and informative musicals about anorexia, no matter how cathartic they may prove to be for countless families experiencing the same issues.  But the passionate response of audience members who participated in talkbacks following every performance convinced the creators, including director/developer Jack Cummings III, and producer Robyn Hussa to pursue unique new life for the piece.

"The most shocking day was when two California mothers had flown out their 10 year old daughters to see our show," recalls Hussa.  "They told us that this issue is already a huge concern in their 5^th grade class.  When I saw these two tiny little 10 year olds, something profound clicked inside me: I knew I had to figure out how to get this program out to schools everywhere."

On June 12, 2007, The Snapple Theatre will host a benefit for NORMAL in Schools, a national nonprofit arts-in-education organization devoted to helping mount high school productions of nor'mal: in conjunction with programs for students of all ages teaching the devastating impact of eating disorders.  The benefit will feature excerpts from the musical performed by the show's first high school cast, coming to New York from Greendale, Wisconsin.

"Observing how the students, teachers and community have embraced this often silent subject matter with so much passion and connectivity has made it very clear that we must continue this mission of bringing the musical and the hugely successful curriculum to schools everywhere," says lyricist Stern of her experience with the school's 2006 production.  " It has been overwhelming to see students perform this material with such depth of understanding and commitment and the impact it has had on everyone who attended the performances is a testament to the power of the piece and to the carefully designed and executed program. I feel so grateful that the enriching, enlightening and often therapeutic effects of nor'mal: will continue to impact audiences at high schools and colleges everywhere."

Director Eric Christiansen, who help adapt the Off-Broadway musical for high schools, recognized how relevant the issues addressed in nor'mal:  are to the student actors' everyday lives.  "We've done a lot of stepping back and thinking about it, and we've asked the kids to reflect on their experience.  It is amazing to see how the students have grown by doing this, and how they have bonded with each other.  Everybody knows somebody, or has a relative, or is experiencing it themselves."

After winning numerous honors in statewide Wisconsin theatre competitions, the Greendale students were enthusiastically welcomed to perform as part of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week and after New York will be on their way to the EDTA International Thespians Festival in Lincoln Nebraska.

"I think it's a lot different because it's real," says Jessie Liederbach, who plays the teenage girl with anorexia.  "It's a real crisis. I think that's why it's easier even for me to get up there and do it, because it's a nuclear family and it's real and it happens every day to ordinary people."

"I think (the audience) sees the behind the scenes of what really goes on with someone who has an eating disorder that you never really see because people hide it really well. So you don't know what the family goes through," observes Sara Zientek, who plays her mother.

Robert Postotnik, who plays the teenage son, says the experience has taught him that eating disorders affect not just one person, but everyone around that person.  "The material is more than just eating disorders - it's about family dynamics and all the problems with that.  That's where some of the comical moments come through. It lightens up the subject, but keeps the main message coming across without being depressing."

Bookwriter Yvonne Adrian based nor'mal: on her own personal experiences and hopes that audiences find the same therapeutic value in watching her creation as she has had in writing it and seeing it performed by "insightful young adults."

"Now, as I watch our vital young cast, I am transported beyond performance and deep into the hearts and mind of the audience. They have become my new place of comfort, as I feel the emotional impact a theatre experience can bring. My journey has taken on its own life. It is out of my hands. It now belongs to the audience. It belongs to the talent on the stage. I am relieved, knowing my creation is in good hands."

A Benefit for NORMAL in Schools, featuring excerpts from the musical performed by Greendale, Wisconsin High School cast members, will be held June 12th, at 6:30pm at The Snapple Theatre, 1627 Broadway (at 50th Street).  Tickets are a suggested donation of $10 and can be reserved by e-mailing normalny@normalinschools.org, or visiting www.normalinschools.org.

Photos of Greendale High School production of nor'mal: by Mark Frohna.