Next to Normal

by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey
directed byMichael Greif
originally produced at Second Stage Theatre, New York, NY.
January 16,2008 through March 9, 2008

Subsequent productions at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., Broadway premiere at the Longacre Theater.

About the Premiere Production:

How does an almost average family navigate today’s over-stimulated and over-medicated world? In this darkly funny and haunting new musical, one suburban household confronts its past and its future. With provocative lyrics and an electrifying score, Next to Normal explores how far two parents will go to keep themselves sane and their world intact.

Artistic Statement

From Artistic Director Carole Rothman: Artistically, Next to Normal is a good fit for Second Stage because it meets our mission to produce writer-driven work that defies conventional forms and expectations. The creators have successfully made challenging subject matter personal. By focusing on a family dealing with loss, Next to Normal broaches topics of family dynamics, loneliness, longing, depression, and treatment of the mentally ill. However, it is told through fresh and upbeat music that engages the audience and enables them to explore these difficult topics. Because the music pulls from contemporary idioms like rock and pop, it represents a style of musical theatre that will have a broad appeal to young theatergoers without alienating other audiences. For these reasons, this piece has the potential to make a significant contribution to American musical theater.

Director:Michael Greif
Music:Tom Kitt
Book and Lyrics: Brian Yorkey
Cast:Adam Chanler-Berat, Jennifer Damiano, Brian d’Arcy James, Alice Ripley, Asa Somers, Aaron Tveit

Additional Funders:

National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

Subsequent Productions:

Arena Stage in Washington, DC – November 21, 2008 through January 18, 2009.
Broadway premiere at the Booth Theatre, April 15, 2009.

News

Next to Normal won 3 2009 Tony Awards:
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre: Music: Tom Kitt, Lyrics: Brian Yorkey
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical: Alice Ripley
Best Orchestrations Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt : Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt
Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Kevin Adams

In the press:

Next to Normal Headed to Broadway’s Longacre Theater, Previews Start March 27 [2009]
- Broadway World,

"Next to Normal is a moving, blisteringly honest, and inordinately powerful new musical, sung with a wallop by a six-member cast that includes the astonishing Alice Ripley, and dexterously directed by Michael Greif of Rent fame. Writers Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey have stocked the musical with beautiful songs that get to the heart of the story - and simply get to the heart.  Anyone who has cared for, or about, a person whose mind or body has been damaged will want to share the show with a friend and say, ‘Now do you understand?’" 
-The Washington Post

"A powerful new American musical with a bristling, contemporary rock score, smart lyrics and raw energy.  Arena’s transcendent production is truly the go-to show of the winter season."
- The Washington Times

Next to Normal is about smart people who deal with tricky issues of love and loss and who do so in soaring, searing melodies. And at Arena, it’s being sung to the rafters (and at several points, from the rafters) in ways that prove exhilarating and roundly affecting.”
- Washington City Paper

“Next to Normal, now at Arena Stage in Arlington, Virginia, is a bruising and brilliant musical that takes the audience inside the head of a woman coping with emotional illness.”
- Talkin’ Broadway

"Striking original, engrossing and satisfying!"
- Potomac Stages

"Go see Arena Stage’s stunning reworking of this Off-Broadway hit!"
- DC Theatre Scene