nor'mal: Pretty to the Bone

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.

nor'mal: is easily the first of the current crop of musicals in town I'd recommend for families with teenage children. (Heck, I'm recommending it for anyone.) As the spelling of its title suggests, Yvonne Adrian (book), Cheryl Stern (lyrics) and Tom Kochan (music) have written a show about trying to fit in with the accepted definition of your role in a family unit, and the frustration of finding that love and understanding doesn't always make everything better.

The plot revolves around the Freeman family, dressed in average contemporary suburban clothes (costumes by Kathyrn Rohe), who stick out oddly in a world colored completely in pristine white. The set, by John Story, is a bare stage walled with white flats. There are minimal props, all white, and scenes are set by actors moving around white semi-squares. The trio who plays all non-family members (terrific work from Toni DiBuono, Nancy Johnston and Shannon Polly) are clothed entirely in white.

Life for Gayla Freeman (a lovingly comic and sympathetic Barbara Walsh) can be a bit frazzled at times, but she can still force a smile and almost convince herself that she's mothering a perfect family. With both her kids in high school, she decides to re-enter the work force, but as she instantly adapts to the modern corporate world, daughter Polly (Peck) blows her chance to become accepted as one of the cool kids (A clever song and dance has Shannon Polly, as a popular girl, teaching Polly the rules of her clique.) and no one seems to notice her plunging self-esteem as she finds herself unable to live up to mom's vision of a perfect daughter.

When a doctor's check-up reveals Polly's signs of an eating disorder, Gayla is positive that good mothering can solve all her daughter's problems, but force feedings and bed-checks to make sure she isn't exercising at 4AM don't stop Polly from steadily losing more weight.

Her well-intentioned husband, Robert (Adam Heller), is a non-authoritative pushover with the kids and not exactly an ace at romance, continually finding himself needing to release his frustration at being an ineffective father and spouse with vigorous workouts at the gym. In a striking musical scene he imagines himself as a boxer punching out his family as a substitute for actual violence. Heller plays the scene with a mixture of anger and just enough helplessness to keep you from believing his character would ever strike a loved one.

Big brother Zach (Nicholas Belton), a budding rock musician whose achievements are being ignored during this time of crisis, is the first to realize that Polly is the only one who can help Polly, and that a loving family is not the cure for everything. Belton nicely balances his character's underdeveloped maturity with a need to be the grown-up.

But despite the serious subject matter the tone of the piece is rarely somber. Kochan's music, played by a small string and woodwind ensemble is generally light and energetic as Gayla tries to smile her way through everything. Stern's lyrics eschew poetry and wit for immediate and conversational language that blends seamlessly in and out of Adrian's highly stylized book, both favoring short, sharp sentences that quickly zip from one time and space to another. Jack Cummings III stages the musical as a non-dancing ballet with a whirlwind of frenetic activity. Choreographer and associate director Scott Rink supplies minimal plot-driven dance when needed.

Saying that nor'mal: is a musical about anorexia is a convenient shorthand, but Polly's condition can be exchanged with any crisis that challenges the functioning of a family unit. Those lovely framed photos of happy smiling faces are usually planned and posed. Perhaps if we saved more candid shots from when our lives were a mess we'd have an easier time feeling good about how we're doing now.

Photo by Carol Rosegg: Adam Heller, Barbara Walsh, Nicholas Belton, and Erin Leigh Peck