A POWERFUL STORY BEAUTIFULLY TOLD

6. April 2011 by admin.

F. J. Hartland

If I were permitted but one sentence to write about the production of Next to Normal currently running at the Benedum Center, it would be this…

DON’T MISS IT!

Yes, it really is that good. 

The Pulitzer Prize-winning musical (and it’s really more of a modern day rock opera) centers around Diana, a middle class housewife, whose mental illness is having a shattering effect on her relationships with her husband Dan and her children Gabe and Natalie.

Diana’s doctors (Madden and Fine) resort to many forms of treatment.  Is she bi-polar…is it chronic depression…no one seems to know for sure.

Alice Ripley re-creates her Tony Award-winning performance as Diana.  Diana is an intelligent, witty woman battling something so much bigger than herself.  Ripley captures the multiple layers of her character, and the audience comes to love her and feel her pain.  We laugh with her; we cry with her.

It is a powerful and memorable performance…but the great thing about this production is that ALL the performers are powerhouse!

As husband Dan, Asa Somers will break your heart.  He loves Diana so much and wants back the young woman with whom he fell in love many years ago.

Emma Hunton captures the young daughter Natalie perfectly.  Natalie is a genius and musical prodigy…she is also a tempestuous teen-ager, tired of living in an unbalanced home.  She finds love with stoner Henry.  Played by Preston Saidler, Henry is charming and lovable.

In the dual role of Drs. Madden and Fine, Jeremy Kushnier creates two totally different characters, capturing both the arrogance and the uncertainty of their profession.

Curt Hansen as Diana’s son Gabe is nothing short of phenomenal.  His amazing vocals are matched with powerful athleticism.  Hansen takes command of the stage with incredible presence.  It’s impossible to keep your eyes off him.

Best of all, this small ensemble cast works together seamlessly.

Director Michael Grieff keeps the show moving at a breathless pace.  I did feel Act Two begins to drag a little—but that’s more to do with Brian Yorkey’s book than Grieff’s direction.

Mark Wendland’s set is a three-tiered scaffolding of platforms and stairs that fills the Benedum stage.   Panels move in and out, creating a wide-range of beautiful visual effects.  It is lit by hundreds of lights.  While Kevin Adams’ lighting is effective, sometimes it is a little over-powering.

Next to Normal is a powerful (sometimes painful) story that is beautifully told.

The lovely ladies sitting next to me last night informed me that they have been coming to see shows downtown for thirty-five years.  When they found out I was reviewing, they told me to say that Next to Normal is “excellent.”

And they were right.  It is excellent!

Again, DON’T MISS IT!

Next to Normal runs through April 10.

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