Friday, May 15, 2009

next to normal (The SOB Review)

next to normal (The SOB Review) - Booth Theatre, New York, New York

***1/2 (out of ****)

Billy Elliot – The Musical may be the odds-on favorite to take home the Tony for Best Musical this year, but make no mistake that there’s a brooding dark horse in the race. With a fierce, electrifying direction from Michael Greif, Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt’s next to normal is giving the musical about the dancing boy(s) a run for its money.

next to normal is nothing if not atypical for Broadway musical fare, but in tackling mental illness and its continued social stigma head-on, the tuner ranks among the best I’ve seen all year. In a bravura performance deserving of a Tony, Alice Ripley portrays Diana, who on first blush seems like the quintessential housewife and mother of two.

But not everything is as it seems. It’s not long before Yorkey’s book descends into the personal hell Diana must endure and the scorching reverberations her deepening depression has on the rest of the family, including the heartbreaking J. Robert Spencer as her husband Dan, a haunting Aaron Tveit as her Gabe and the revelatory Jennifer Damiano as her daughter Natalie. The entire cast is exceptional.

Even if the score is at times a bit overwrought and it may appear (to some) that Yorkey’s inherent message is an outright rejection of psychiatry, as well as all drugs and treatments for depression (a notion I flatly reject given an eleventh hour endorsement from a surprising volunteer for treatment), next to normal marks a welcome if downright shocking departure for Broadway.

If you’re like me, it just may melt down into your heart.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

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posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, May 15, 2009 0 comments

Friday, February 29, 2008

Catch Me If You Can's Tveit With Destiny

Catch Me If You Can's Tveit With Destiny

How did I miss this?

Seems like ages since I've written anything about the long gestating musical version of Catch Me If You Can , a Marc Shaiman/Scott Wittman/Terrence McNally tuner that will star Nathan Lane as FBI agent Carl Hanratty, a role portrayed in the film by Tom Hanks.

At that time, Matthew Morrison had been involved in an early reading, but hasn't been associated with the project for quite some time. Last I heard, the project had just dumped its Frank Abagnale, Jr., Christian Borle -- right around the same time Sutton Foster allegedly did.

And then, "poof!" Nothing!

That is until I was reading through Broadway.com's interview with the bright athletic young actor Aaron Tveit, who's currently part of the cast for Off-Broadway's Next To Normal.

Turns out, Tveit has been tapped for the man/boy role of Frank Junior, played on the silver screen by Leonardo DiCaprio:
I'm still pinching myself about working with Nathan Lane. I've been blessed at my young age to work with people who are at the top of our profession, and I'm trying not to take for granted all the things that have come to me.
Tveit (pronounced "ta-VATE") previously played the role of Link Larkin in Hairspray, both on tour and then on Broadway, and he supposedly was also part of the "first national tour" of Rent, which seems a little hard to believe given that he's just 24 years old, and the first tour began in late 1996. But whatever. He at least has the appropriate look for the Catch Me part.

Now, can anyone tell me when this project will finally see the light of day?

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Related Stories:
Catching Nathan Lane If You Can (July 6, 2006)

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posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Friday, February 29, 2008 3 comments

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