Jamie’s a sweet, introverted boy who loves trains. Peter’s a precocious, talkative child with quirky obsessions like Harry Potter and map-making. And Laura, who’s preparing to begin college at music school, is distraught that her twin brother Harrison is going to a different college and seems to be pulling away. Jamie, Peter and Laura have Asperger’s syndrome. Told as an interwoven series of moments, Strange Faces, a humorous and heartfelt musical, traces the stories of Jamie and his parents, Peter and his sister, and Laura and Harrison as they try to navigate the impact of Asperger’s and find their places in each other’s lives.
Jamie serenades the audience with a range of music and emotion, from a forlorn ballad (“Bullying Song”) to an innocent love song (“Boyfriends/Girlfriends”). His devoted parents, Jill and Tom, develop different perspectives on what they can do best for him. When Jamie becomes interested in asking out the one friend he has, the tension between them finally explodes as Jill goes one step too far.
Peter frequently addresses the audience in playful monologues that describe his odd interests in impressive (and excessive) detail. His sister, Rachel, soon grows jealous of the attention he gains and struggles with her feelings in one of the show’s most powerful songs (“The Prize”). Peter faces struggles of his own, which manifest in an upbeat comic solo about small talk (“Tomayto Tomahto”) and a winsome waltz in which Rachel guides him through the confusion of dating and relationships (“The Rules”).
Harrison and Laura speak only in song, with an endlessly repeating piano accompaniment that subtly heightens the tension between them. In momentary breaks from their conversation, Laura sings a soaring melody about her passion for piano (“Obsessions”), and, as their conversation reaches a climax, Harrison finally reveals a lifetime of personal struggles in a heart-wrenching confession (“Someone”).
The music of Strange Faces recalls contemporary musical theatre composers like Stephen Sondheim and Jason Robert Brown in both its intricate complexity and profound simplicity. Combined with monologues and dialogue, it creates a uniquely insightful work of musical theater, using Asperger’s as a tool with which to explore the universal themes of family, relationships, commitment, love, and the countless ways one can use those words.
