izzie (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
violet_angel) wrote2009-04-14 11:29 pm
violet_angel) wrote2009-04-14 11:29 pm
Entry tags:
Amazing!
Wow. Just. Wow.
So I'm kind of obsessed with this little show called next to normal (music by Tom Kitt, lyrics by Brian Yorkey, direction by Michael Greif). I've been following it for over a year since it was Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre in New York. It took a development detour through Arena Stage in DC, where it just won a Helen Hayes Award for Best Non-Resident Musical. And it opens tomorrow night on Broadway!!!!!
It's the story of what appears to be your average suburban family. Only...you quickly learn they're not so average. Mom has what may or may not be bipolar disorder, and whatever she has it's affecting everyone in various ways. To say a lot more would be to give away too much.
Alice Ripley (best known for Side Show) plays Diana, the wife and mother. She is heart wrenching in this performance every single time she gives it. There is no halfway with her, it's all or nothing. I'm not a fan of the word in this context, but saying she's fierce really does apply here. She just won a Helen Hayes Award for Lead Actress in a Non-Resident Production for this role in DC. Prayers are definitely going up to the Tony gods!
J Robert Spencer (of Jersey Boys fame) plays Dan, the husband and father. At Second Stage, the role was played by Brian d'Arcy James, who is now appearing in Shrek the Musical. I know I've read a lot of people who prefer Brian to Bobby...and yes, I adored Brian's performance at Second Stage. But from the moment I saw Bobby in the role at Arena, I was hooked. There's just something Bobby brings to the performance...a human quality that for me was just slightly lacking in Brian's. Maybe it's the way the character's story has been re-arced so to speak, but I cannot imagine anyone but Bobby in this role now. He and Alice have great chemistry, and it's fun to see little things they do here and there in various performances. They really make Dan and Diana a believable couple.
Aaron Tveit plays Gabe, Dan and Diana's son. He's everything a parent could want in a child ~ good looking, compassionate, smart, etc., etc. The every child hero, you know? And at least in Mom's eyes, he can do no wrong. Aaron is AMAZING in this role ~ bounding all over the stage with an agility that I haven't seen anyone else have. His voice isn't bad either. It's fantastic. He also just won a Helen Hayes Award for Featured Performer in a Non-Resident Production for this role.
Jennifer Damiano moves from the ensemble for Spring Awakening into her own in the role of Natalie, Dan and Diana's daughter. She's brilliant and talented, but overshadowed by her older brother, especially in her mother's eyes. She's just trying to hang on. Jennifer takes what could be an average angsty teen role and makes Natalie completely lovable even as she's trying not to fall apart.
Adam Chanler-Berat plays Henry, her boyfriend. He is charming and adorable and fantastic in the part. Louis Hobson plays both of Diana's doctors and shines in these roles that could easily be throw-away in another treatment.
next to normal is not a show with easy answers about anything. It's not completely anti-medication, but it's not exactly pro-medication. It's not completely pro-psychotherapy, but it's not exactly anti-psychotherapy. Things aren't necessarily all tied up in a nice neat little bow. But it's compelling, heart warming as well as heart wrenching, and emotionally honest with arguably the best original score to be heard on Broadway in YEARS. You don't see that a lot in these days of movie-to-musical cookie cutter shows.
Take a chance on this little musical. I don't think you'll regret it!
I give it 4 out of 4 stars.
So I'm kind of obsessed with this little show called next to normal (music by Tom Kitt, lyrics by Brian Yorkey, direction by Michael Greif). I've been following it for over a year since it was Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre in New York. It took a development detour through Arena Stage in DC, where it just won a Helen Hayes Award for Best Non-Resident Musical. And it opens tomorrow night on Broadway!!!!!
It's the story of what appears to be your average suburban family. Only...you quickly learn they're not so average. Mom has what may or may not be bipolar disorder, and whatever she has it's affecting everyone in various ways. To say a lot more would be to give away too much.
Alice Ripley (best known for Side Show) plays Diana, the wife and mother. She is heart wrenching in this performance every single time she gives it. There is no halfway with her, it's all or nothing. I'm not a fan of the word in this context, but saying she's fierce really does apply here. She just won a Helen Hayes Award for Lead Actress in a Non-Resident Production for this role in DC. Prayers are definitely going up to the Tony gods!
J Robert Spencer (of Jersey Boys fame) plays Dan, the husband and father. At Second Stage, the role was played by Brian d'Arcy James, who is now appearing in Shrek the Musical. I know I've read a lot of people who prefer Brian to Bobby...and yes, I adored Brian's performance at Second Stage. But from the moment I saw Bobby in the role at Arena, I was hooked. There's just something Bobby brings to the performance...a human quality that for me was just slightly lacking in Brian's. Maybe it's the way the character's story has been re-arced so to speak, but I cannot imagine anyone but Bobby in this role now. He and Alice have great chemistry, and it's fun to see little things they do here and there in various performances. They really make Dan and Diana a believable couple.
Aaron Tveit plays Gabe, Dan and Diana's son. He's everything a parent could want in a child ~ good looking, compassionate, smart, etc., etc. The every child hero, you know? And at least in Mom's eyes, he can do no wrong. Aaron is AMAZING in this role ~ bounding all over the stage with an agility that I haven't seen anyone else have. His voice isn't bad either. It's fantastic. He also just won a Helen Hayes Award for Featured Performer in a Non-Resident Production for this role.
Jennifer Damiano moves from the ensemble for Spring Awakening into her own in the role of Natalie, Dan and Diana's daughter. She's brilliant and talented, but overshadowed by her older brother, especially in her mother's eyes. She's just trying to hang on. Jennifer takes what could be an average angsty teen role and makes Natalie completely lovable even as she's trying not to fall apart.
Adam Chanler-Berat plays Henry, her boyfriend. He is charming and adorable and fantastic in the part. Louis Hobson plays both of Diana's doctors and shines in these roles that could easily be throw-away in another treatment.
next to normal is not a show with easy answers about anything. It's not completely anti-medication, but it's not exactly pro-medication. It's not completely pro-psychotherapy, but it's not exactly anti-psychotherapy. Things aren't necessarily all tied up in a nice neat little bow. But it's compelling, heart warming as well as heart wrenching, and emotionally honest with arguably the best original score to be heard on Broadway in YEARS. You don't see that a lot in these days of movie-to-musical cookie cutter shows.
Take a chance on this little musical. I don't think you'll regret it!
I give it 4 out of 4 stars.