Picnic at Hanging Rock The Musical ★★★

The new musical Picnic at Hanging Rock playing at the Greenwich House Theater is officially based on the novel by Joan Lindsay, but the vast majority of theatergoers familiar with the title will know it from Peter Weir’s 1975 film adaptation, a movie voted the best Australian film of all time by the Australian Film Institute. A cinematic landmark of the Australian New Wave, the moody, atmospheric film about the inexplicable disappearance of three schoolgirls and one of their teachers while on a 1900 Valentine’s Day field trip at the titular rock formation retains its power thanks to Weir’s dreamlike, sensual direction and Russell Boyd’s gauzy cinematography.

Arguably a great film, yes, but not one screaming to be put on a stage. In fact, almost nothing about the basic story of Picnic at Hanging Rock – with its flashbacks, unanswered mysteries, and general strangeness – naturally lends itself to a stage musical. Still, show writers Hilary Bell (book and lyrics) and Greta Gertler Gold (music), alongside director Portia Krieger and choreographer Mayte Natalio, have created an interesting, provocative piece with some inherent problems that, like the disappearances in the story, remain unresolved.

Though the show hasn’t yet reached its full potential, a lot is hitting the mark. The cast is uniformly excellent, with standout performances from Tatianna Córdoba, Erin Davie, Sarah Walsh, Kate Louissant, and especially Kaye Tuckerman as the stern-as-nails Miss McCraw. Krieger uses every inch of the theater to immerse the audience, and Natalio’s choreography excitingly captures teenage angst and sexual energy in a small playing space that mirrors the claustrophobia felt by many of the young students.

And then there’s the music, which feels wholly original. It’s been too long since New York has heard such a fantastic, exciting score in a new musical. The songs (“Pansies” and “Disappearing” were favorites) continually take mysterious and unexpected turns. As a result, it’s the score that most surprisingly does the best job of capturing the haunting tone this material requires. Also helping: Nick Kourtides’ superb sound design.

What’s needed is more editing. The show feels too long, and flashbacks interrupt the story’s narrative momentum. This might be where strict fidelity to the source material is slightly detrimental, as Picnic at Hanging Rock depends on its searching characters and weird vibes to make its impact, not its plot.

Finally, in case you’re wondering, no, there is no rock. Though Hanging Rock is clearly an important character in this tale, the production wisely avoids trying to recreate even a semblance of that. Instead, the audience is asked, along with the talented cast, to imagine the natural monument in their midst. When that suspension of disbelief succeeds, the audience, like the young women on the school trip, is put into a trance.