PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK at Greenwich House Theatre

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, the new rock musical, is now in performances at Greenwich House Theatre. Adapted from Joan Lindsay’s novel, with book and lyrics by Hilary Bell and music and arrangements by Greta Gertler Gold, the production is directed by Portia Krieger. Find out what the critics had to say in the reviews below!

Set on Valentine’s Day in 1900, PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK follows a group of teenage schoolgirls who vanish during an outing to the mysterious Hanging Rock. First brought to global attention through Peter Weir’s film adaptation, the musical reimagines the story through a female-centered lens and incorporates a First Nations Australian perspective, examining themes of innocence, disappearance, and the forces that shape destiny.

The cast includes Tatianna Córdoba, Erin Davie, Sarah Ellis, Carly Gendell, Gillian Han, Alexandra Humphreys, Bradley Lewis, Kate Louissant, Marina Pires, Maddie Robert, Brandon Keith Rogers, Reese Sebastian Diaz, Lizzy Tucker, Kaye Tuckerman, Sarah Walsh, and Jordan White.

The creative team features choreography by Mayte Natalio, scenic design by Daniel Zimmerman, costume design by Ásta Bennie Hostetter, lighting design by Barbara Samuels, and sound design by Nick Kourtides. Orchestrations are by Greta Gertler Gold, Adam Gold, and Rob Jost, with Anessa Marie Scolpini serving as music director and conductor. The production is produced by Irma Theatricals.

Emily Chackerian, 1 Minute Critic: Bell’s book and lyrics often struggle to reflect the seductive eeriness of its source material, with lines that feel overly literal or dependent on the rhyme scheme. The simplicity distracts from a story that relies on ambiguity; how can we accept the mystery of the vanishing girls when so many other plot points are stated directly to the audience?

Thom Geier, Culture Sauce: The storytelling can be herky-jerky and hard to follow in places for those unfamiliar with the material, and the songs seldom do much to advance the plot (and sometimes end abruptly or anticlimactically). Also, we meet a lot of girls — too many to keep track of, though they do blend beautifully in group choral numbers.

Tim Teeman, The Daily Beast: The plot and characters are equally muddled, with a run-here, run-there, run-anywhere brand of direction that reveals the show hasn’t quite figured out what to do after the girls disappear, or how to recast or progress the film’s open frame of reference. Instead, it hits the main plot points while frustratedly banging its head against all of Picnic’s familiar mysteries. (Important note: this was the show’s second New York performance, so maybe it will evolve over time.)

Sandy MacDonald, New York Notebook: Two outstanding actor/singers make this Picnic a must-see, despite its unwieldy bulk. Gillian Jackson Han plays Miranda, a free-spirited, nature-loving senior girl who befriends the outcast Sara (Sarah Walsh), a damaged, asocial charity case. Miranda tends to the misfit as she would an ailing plant.

David Finkle, New York Stage Review: The intriguing Hanging Rock allure has been adapted as a musical, book and lyrics by Hilary Bell and music (and arrangements) by Greta Gertler Gold, and directed with somber celebratory flourish by Portia Krieger. Although comparison with previous formats may be uncalled for, they are also inevitable. The stage version has much to recommend it, but there are troublesome drawbacks.

Elysa Gardner, New York Sun: Ms. Bell’s book inserts flashbacks to add drama and, at times, blur the lines between reality and reflection, while Ms. Gertler Gold’s winding, often meandering tunes and arrangements provide dissonant harmonies. The singing, accordingly, can sound purposefully shrill, as if the gifted players have been instructed to sustain a mix of tension and terror.

Caroline Cao, New York Theatre Guide: This Picnic At Hanging Rock staging yearns to scale a further mile, like the girls who pine from an escape from time and the inevitable doom of growing up. Though the show is imperfect, the finale “Time and Place” peaks among the many harmonies, with an entire ensemble ensnared and enchanted by the Rock.

Brittani Samuel, The New York Times: While it makes sense for these creators to go big (the story is concerned with millions-of-years-old earthen enigmas, after all), “Picnic at Hanging Rock” struggles to move us through its points of action with enough nuance. Its bevy of female roles still make it an exciting accomplishment, one that seems destined to live on in future productions or school stages. But in the show’s effort to tell a vast mystery, it forgets the importance of clarity.