Schoolgirl Figure
Cast size: 5 (4W, 1M)
Welcome to a high school where the in-crowd is the thin-crowd. The death of the ur-anorexic Monique, queen of the Carpenters, kicks off a scramble for the crown, and the school's hottest hottie, The Bradley. Renee, with the help of her bulimic best friend Patty, is determined to claim the crown by outfoxing her rival Jeanine and taking her body back to its pre-puberty contours. Let the diet wars begin!
Premiered at: The Goodman Theater (1995)
Directed by: David Petrarca
Reviews:
"Playwright Wendy MacLeod's bitter black comedy is...sick. It's perverse. It's irreverent. And it's hilarious." --The Washington Post
"Only a writer with MacLeod's dexterity could get away with skewering our culture's body image obsession by way of mocking high school girls with eating disorders..." --Metro Weekly Stage
Press bibliography:
"Playwright asks all the right questions-and has all the right answers." Chicago Tribune 9 April 2000.
Christiansen, Richard. "Thin lesson: Dark humor hangs heavy as 'Schoolgirl Figure' looks at teen anorexics." Chicago Tribune 20 April 2000.
Green, Nick. "Mini-Review, Schoolgirl Figure." Chicago Reader 21 April 2000.
Jones, Chris. "A teen in sad shape." Chicago Tribune 31 March 2000.
Helbig, Jack. "'Schoolgirl Figure' gives the skinny on anorexia obsession." Chicago Daily Herald 14 April 2000.
Houlihan, Mary. "Big on downsizing: 'Figure' spoofs teens' craving to be slender." Chicago Sun-Times 21 March 2000.
Roeper, Richard. "Women and weight loss can be tough to 'Figure'." Chicago Sun-Times 20 April 2000.