What I liked
Instead we follow Jo Dellapina’s (fictionalized) life from childhood on in series of utterly charming vignettes, theatrical and moving and often drawing out laughter, sometimes tears. It is a poignant journey, albeit less gothic than I’d expected. Hers is a story we can all feel might be our own, which is not always the case of those who’ve gone through traumas involving addiction or physical self harm or outright persecution (this is intended as a criticism of audiences, btw, including yours truly). Her story unfolds and we see her life up until now, shaped by her own desires for love and companionship, by the bitterness of her parents’ divorce, by her own feelings of inadequacy as well as raw enthusiasm, even love (and far from only the romantic kind).
At the end, we share her looking to the future. A very human, ordinary in the way we are all extraordinary, odyssey of the human spirit. Yes, I wish it were longer or dug in a little more when it came to her issues and pain. But that seems more like personal taste. We took this journey with her. Felt much if not all of what she felt. Saw her, not a stereotype or pre-conceived archetype, but the fully rounded person who has joys and disappointments in plenty to remember—and, like all of us, to look forward to.
It made for a powerful show. A moving one.
What I didn't like
Okay, I’d like the play to punch a little harder. But that might be personal taste. Her relationship with her mother for example. This sounds cruel (and is) but for the climax to work better methinks she needs to bleed more.
The individual vignettes are broken up by music, and fortunately the performer managed to always keep a sense of suspense from scene to scene. But methinks this would be helped by some kind of audio-visual aid beyond the music.
I wanted more—but that is really as much a compliment as a “criticism.”
My overall impression
The title Boy Crazy Psycho Slut did give me the wrong impression, but maybe that was me. Images of some rebellious woman trapped in her teen image and growing into adulthood long after her being able to vote or legally drink came to mind, shades of Joan Jett, P!nk, Wendy Williams, etc. What I got was different, and I am not complaining even a tiny bit.
