Next To Normal

this now closed musical was the most realistic musical I ever saw – incredibly moving and honest.

Grab your tissues, you’re in for a bumpy ride.
Next to Normal represents to me the future of musical theater. It shares many similarities to Rent and the two have often been compared. They both have sparse sets, an almost completely sung-​through score with rock elements, limited choreography, and emotionally affecting stories. Both are also period pieces, capturing a specific zeitgeist of the time they were penned.
Next to Normal chronicles the life of an average suburban family. Mom’s a homemaker, dad’s the breadwinner, they’ve got an overachiever daughter and a troublemaking son. Seemingly normal in every way. However peel back that perfect veneer and you see that mom’s been suffering with severe mental illness, dad’s crumbling from bearing the weight of the mother but also strangely co-​dependent on her, the daughter is driven to extremes in her desire to escape, and the son died as a toddler and is a personifcation of the grief haunting the family.
Alice Ripley was born to play Diana, the mother and main character. Diana is a complex role, as she runs the gamut of emotions, has really difficult songs, and has to be a likeable character while doing some truly selfish things to her family. Alice nailed it, it was truly a joy to watch her perform.
Without all the usual Broadway distractions (costumes, sets, dancing), what you’re left with is the music, and the score is fantastic. The industrial and simple set leaves nothing standing between you and the actors, and its raw and thrilling.
Next to Normal isn’t a feel good musical, its a feel everything musical. The entire range of human emotions is laid bare on that stage every night. If you’re not crying by the end, you are lacking in the soul department. The show tells you to look past what’s seemingly normal to discover the turmoil hidden in the everyday.
This is for people looking for a serious night of theater entertainment. Don’t take anyone you wouldn’t want to see you cry. Draining, but worth it. ⁹⁄₁₀

I had no idea that you could review Broadway shows on Unilocal,until I saw a special on
for Next to Normal at a theater called the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts which is a small drive outside of LA. I insisted that my bf come and see it with me. I have such fond memories of seeing at the Booth theater on Broadway in NYC. This is hand down one of the best Broadway musicals you can watch. The first time I went, I went with friends that were not that into musicals and they loved it. It really is an amazing show that makes a great impression with everyone. It has a surprise twist that really makes it stand out from your normal Broadway show. Go see it today! It is worth it.

This is a stunning rock musical with absolutely gorgeous music. I saw it twice — once while it was still on Broadway and another time while it was touring in Minneapolis.
Next to Normal did not affect me as much as I was expecting it to because I listened to the cast recording before seeing the show (thus ruining a lot of the plot for me – don’t make the same mistake I did!). I love Alice Ripley, but she doesn’t know how to say «no» to this musical, so her voice was horribly destroyed by the time I went to see the show for the first time (over a year after it opened on Broadway). However, seeing it with the fabulous Brian D’Arcy James and the droll Jennifer Damiano made any doubts I had about this show’s effectiveness go away.

I cried my eyes out!

I love, love, loved this show! Everything about it, from the set to the songs to the characters, was just amazing. I haven’t been this moved by a musical since Rent. I actually cried, which I wasn’t expecting.
Mental illness is not exactly a topic that you think would work for a musical, and I could definitely see some people being turned off by the serious nature of this show (as my mom said when I told I wanted to see it, «but isn’t that depressing?»).
But please go see it before it closes! It will stay with you for a long time afterwards. If Broadway shows weren’t so expensive, I would definitely go see it again!

I am in no way, shape or form a Broadway critic. That said, this was one of the more powerful shows I’ve seen.
I was pulled in right from the beginning and very quickly. The music, the lights, the characters — all just captivate you from the first moment.
Mental illness isn’t typically a topic that moves me and I really didn’t think that a musical would be able to tell the story of a grieving mother and the family’s daily struggle to cope. I was wrong. The story was great and the music is shockingly fun.
I wouldn’t take kids and I wouldn’t go if you’re looking for a happy, fun story. See Elf instead. This is a great drama. Note: if you are sentimental, bring some tissues. I heard a lot of sniffles in the theater!

Next to Normal ripped out my heart, stamped on it, shook it around, twisted it up, wrung it out, and then stuck it back in. Tears literally could not escape my eyes fast enough.
Wow. It took about 20 minutes for me to warm up to everything, but once the story got into the swing of things, I was hooked. Stellar acting, great singing, most of the songs were pretty catchy (I love «Superboy and the Invisible Girl» and «I’m Alive») and a really emotional, dark, heavy, touching plot that wrenched me to my core. The standout performance was from the father, Jason Danieley, and Marin Mazzy excelled in the second half (fun fact, those two are married in real life as well!). Meghann Fahy has a nice singing voice and Kyle Dean Massey is hot.
I cried for the last 45 minutes and I most certainly was not alone in the theater. Bring a box of tissues! The standing ovation that the theater gave was well deserved.

I’m not sure if Unilocal is the best place to read Broadway reviews, but here it goes. I’m not a huge fan of musicals (the last musical I saw was when I was Vegas when I was 8) but I have to say I really enjoyed the show.
The stage is pretty cool, the songs were rock/​pop and the story was engaging, touching, and just overall entertaining. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking to see a musical and I am definitely looking forward to my next musical experience.

Decently written, well executed show. The lighting is a character unto itself! The onstage pit is phenomenal. Just don’t expect a typical musical. It’s very rock/​pop in nature. Just know that there aren’t that many «songs»; everything tends to link into each other in a way that often doesn’t put a tradition cap onto a musical number. But it’s something that is somewhat fresh for the theatrical circuit and well worth the money.
There is a healthy balance of serious drama and eleviating humor. It’s how life is. And I say this because the mother in NEXT TO NORMAL is the type of mother I grew up with. I haven’t lived this story verbatim… but my childhood wasn’t that far of a stone’s throw from it. This made me EXTRA critical going into the show and I was sold — hook, line and sinker. I was moved multiple times throughout the story and only had one moment where my little voice inside said, «Really? You had to go that route? Ok…»
But I left the theater in tears that were accompanied by the non-​typical hope that the show inspires. See it while it’s still on Bway, peops. You’ll be very glad that you did.

One word perfectly describes this show: unappreciated.
The whole show is deeply dramatic and cuts you like a knife. I felt so much for these characters. The music is wonderful, the storyline great, the characters sympathetic and the whole thing deeply flawed and human. If you’re going to this expecting an uplifting, campy time as you might expect with Broadway shows, prepare to be disappointed. This is comparable to Rent — an extremely heavy drama, with songs and story that comes right from the heart.
It’s definitely not a visual stunner like Wicked, but the sets and lighting are pretty nice and are good for what the show is. I didn’t want it to end.
The theatre we saw it at wasn’t too great, and I kept craning my neck to see the show. The show itself, however, was spectacular and definitely recommended for anyone who likes heavy drama. It proves a musical doesn’t have to be campy and over-​the-​top (not that there’s anything bad with that, that is).

I’m not a big fan of musicals, but this was probably one of the best Broadway shows I’ve seen. The story is excellent, emotional, intense, and I love everything about it.
I ended up going back 3 times. First with the original cast, and the rest with the current and final cast. I am on the look out for the next great show by Tom Kitt and Michale Greif!!!

The first thing I mass texted to everyone after the show was, «You simply MUST see Next to Normal. It’s amazing.»
I can’t believe it has taken me this long to finally see it myself. Warning: it is an emotionally-​charged show so be ready (although I don’t think you can really prepare yourself for the twists and the storyline in general, even if you tried). I pretty much sobbed through 80% of the show and was still reeling from it as I stood on the subway platform. «Next to Normal» is everything. it’s amazing. It’s beautiful. It has a strong plot and strong character developments. The score, oh my god the score! Even before I went to see the show, I was already deeply affected by the music.
Some people assume it’s like «Rent» but aside from a few of the music arrangements that are similar to some «Rent» songs, they are completely different shows. It has been awhile since I’ve seen a show that gripped me the way «Next to Normal» did from beginning to end. I went to see it last night so I saw it with the new cast (Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley and Meghann Fahy). Superb! I don’t have anything but the cast recording to compare it to, which I’m not even going to do. This cast is phenomenal in their own right and I’m glad I got the chance to see them.
If you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend you do so immediately.

My friends were totally moved by Next to Normal. Maybe I was just really tired, but it didn’t move my emotions too much (ie I wasn’t sobbing at the end of the show). The acting was great as was the singing, however I found it hard to understand what they were saying sometimes because the music was louder than their voices. The plot was pretty on point with a lot of effed up families out there and given there was such a small cast the delivery of the story was great.
The theater was small and every seat in the house was pretty good. Luckily, we got the tickets for $ 40. So glad we saw this over some other Broadway cheesy musical that cost $ 100.

HOLY .
This was the best Broadway play I’ve ever seen in my life. As in, if I could give it a hundred stars, I would.
Bring tissues and keep the playbill they give you, the actors come outside afterward and do a brief signing! And if you like good-​looking guys, you will want to talk to slash get a picture with Kyle Dean Massey. Actually, you’ll want to get as many autographs as you can because they’re all incredible, I can’t even describe it. I’m probably going again this summer, this time bringing my brother so I can share the love. I even bought the CD, because it’s so good I actually want to pay money for music. Which I rarely do, because I’m on-​a-​budget /​college-​student /​Asian.
If you set foot inside a theater this year, it’d better be to see Next to Normal.

I have seen this show 7 times. I normally get to see theatre for free… however I’ve paid to see this show every time… and I’ll be going again.
This is one of the best shows that I have ever seen. It has a great score, an amazingly talented cast, a compelling story and it goes places that most musical theatre has not dared to go before.
As the New York Times states: it isn’t a «feel-​good musical… it is a feel-​everything musical.» That about sums it up.
Go see it. And see it with Alice Ripley. There’s nothing like her performance as Diana.

Next to Normal has to be one of the best Broadway shows that I have ever seen.
I don’t want to give too much away, but the storyline is one that has not been explored often if not at all in Broadway shows. The amazing storyline plus the great rock-​style soundtrack makes this a must-​see for everyone.
I have seen this show 4 times, 3 in which were in the last row. The theater is very small, so sitting far back is not bad at all, especially with the stage set up.
Kyle Dean Massey does a satisfactory job replacing the ever-​so-​great Aaron Tveit. J. Robert Spencer is amazing, as well as Jen Damiano playing the role of a lifetime as Natalie. Alice Ripley lives up to her Tony Award everytime.
The show gets better and better every time I see it, and I definitely recommend it.

This was such an incredible show, it dug down deep into my soul and yanked chunks of it out and dangled it in front of my eyes while I weeped like a sad little girl.
Yup, that pretty much covers it. Also — it’s really not the boo-​hoo kind of show, it was incredible for so many reasons that I can not eloquently state, except to say that it’s approach to a theme that is agonizingly raw and real was so brilliantly executed that you can’t help but lose your breathe with the amazing performance of these actors.
Well done, bravo, not the show you want to miss in your lifetime.

The most incredible performance I’ve ever seen on Broadways in New York, London, or Las Vegas. Alice Ripley is SPECTACULAR. The music is moving, the storyline inspiring, and the set both innovative & visually engaging.
I doubt any other Broadway could compare — so far it holds 1^st place out of 18.
P. S. Don’t forget to bring tissues!

I had high expectations for this play since my friend insisted we watch it. She helped win us lotto tickets since we were in a taping for David Letterman so the tickets cost $ 53 total for two people. I would recommend not reading much about the play prior to going into it… that’s what I did and was very satisfied. The acting is amazing and the singing is really good for a small cast.
We did stage door after but two of the characters (keep in mind there are only 5 actors during the play) left right after the show to avoid people! I thought this was a little stuck up… I understand it’s cold but people who paid to see you would at least like to see you and not just hear «ohh so and so left because he/​she doesn’t do stage door». Losers. As for the other cast members, thanks for being so sweet and wonderful! =]!