Closing Notice For Next To Normal
After major cast changes and months of sluggish box office, not to mention rumors speculating the inevitable,
next to normal has
posted a closing notice for January 16, 2010.
Originally mounted
Off-Broadway, as well as at Washington DC's
Arena Stage, this unlikely musical delved headlong into mental illness. So potent was the controversial tuner that it garnered 11 Tony Award nominations including for Best Musical. The show would win Tonys for its star
Alice Ripley, its score (
Tom Kitt and
Brian Yorkey) and orchestrations (
Michael Starobin).
Perhaps its biggest
coup de grâce to all naysayers was earning a Pulitzer Prize earlier this year -- controversial in itself since it was hardly a new dramatic work by the time it won.
Personally, I found myself absolutely spellbound by the show, and it certainly melted its way into my heart. And I certainly thought it merited the 2009 Tony Award for Best Musical (it lost out to the irresistible charms of
Billy Elliot).
By the time
next to normal closes, it will have played 733 regular performances. Fortunately for its legions of fans, they'll be able to catch the
touring version of the show headlined by none other than Alice Ripley herself.
Performances begin later this month (November 23) at the Center Theatre Group's
Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.
This is
Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.
Labels: Alice Ripley, Brian Yorkey, Broadway, Closing Notices, Michael Starobin, Next To Normal, Tom Kitt, Touring Production
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).
Labels: Aaron Tveit, Alice Ripley, Brian Yorkey, Broadway, J. Robert Spencer, Jennifer Damiano, Michael Greif, Musical, Next To Normal, The SOB Review, Tom Kitt
Far From Normal For BroadwayYesterday, it was announced that
Next To Normal -- a musical from
Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey -- will turn things upside down on the Great White Way when it lands this April 15 at the
Longacre Theatre.
According to
The New York Times, the production will take the unprecedented step of purposely reducing the number of seats to provide a more intimate atmosphere. The capacity will be reduced from 1100 to just 820. Producer
David Stone says:
We want an 800-seat theater but none were available, and this is a very emotional play and I’m a big believer in creating the theater space you need.
Given this economy, you have to give the guy credit.
While
Michael Greif (
Rent and
Grey Gardens) will once again direct the tuner, as he did
Off-Broadway and at the DC area's
Arena Stage, there's no word on casting other than a reference in the
Times piece describing the musical:
The musical, budgeted at $4 million, centers on a woman with bipolar
disorder (played by the Tony nominee Alice Ripley) and the impact of her illness
and her treatment on her family.
Presumably, this will go on without
Brian d'Arcy James, who's already appearing on Broadway in
Shrek The Musical. Stay tuned for more details.
UPDATED (2.25.09, 9:10 a.m. EST): According to Playbill.com, the entire cast from Arena Stage -- Alice Ripley, J. Robert Spencer, Aaron Tveit, Jennifer Damiano, Adam Chanler-Berat and Louis Hobson -- will return to their roles at the Booth Theatre instead of the Longacre.This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Alice Ripley, Brian Yorkey, Broadway, David Stone, First Word On New Show, Michael Grief, Musical, Next To Normal, Tom Kitt, Transfer
