Next to Normal
About Next to Normal
Next to Normal began as a 10-minute sketch about a woman going through electroshock therapy. The name of this piece was called Feeling Electric. Brian Yorkey brought the idea to Tom Kitt, who wrote a rock score to go with the piece that also criticized the treatment and the medical industry. They eventually turned Feeling Electric into a full length musical.
After several workshops in 2002, the musical was finally staged in September 2005 as a part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMTF). The reading included Broadway stars Amy Spanger as Diana, Annaleigh Ashford as Natalie, and Anthony Rapp as Dr. Madden. Producer David Stone was brought into the project, which lead to two workshops in 2006 and 2007 at the Second Stage Theatre in New York City. These runs starred Alice Ripley as Diana and Skylar Astin as Henry.
Michael Greif came on to the production as the director. Greif and Stone pushed for a change in the story, to instead talk about the family’s pain than a harsh critic of the medical establishment. This proved to be central to the future success of the musical.
Second Stage finally produced the show Off-Broadway, which ran from January 16th through March 16th in 2008. Michael Greif directed and this time around Anthony Rapp was the assistant director. The cast featured Alice Ripley as Diana, Brian d’Arcy James as Dan, Aaron Tveit as Gabe, Jennifer Damiano as Natalie, Adam Chandler-Berat as Henry, and Asa Somers as Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine. The show received mix reviews, many criticizing the treatment of Diana’s bipolar disorder and a confusing storyline. Many revisions were made, which eventually focused the show on Diana’s emotions and her family as they deal with the truth about their lives. The regional theater debut in Virgina was met with rave reviews, with the same off-Broadway cast, with the exception of J. Robert Spencer taking over as Dan.
On April 15th, 2009, Next to Normal opened at the Booth Theater on Broadway with the cast from the regional production with Greif once again at the helm. The production got rave reviews from critics, including the New York Times and Rolling Stone. The production was the highest grossing show at the Booth Theatre, breaking even for producers after a year on Broadway. The production was nominated for 11 Tony Award, winning three (Original Score, Orchestrations, and Best Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley.) Next to Normal also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2010. Notable replacements during the run include Marin Mazzie, Kyle Dean Massey, and original Off-Broadway cast member Brian d’Arcy James.
Next to Normal closed on Broadway on January 16th, 2011 after 21 previews and 733 regular performances. The production later went on a national tour with original stars Ripley and Somers as Diana and Dan respectively.
Production Information, Playbills, and Music
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