Paulanne Simmons & Glenda Frank
Two Views on "Next to Normal"
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| Brian d'Arcy James and Alice Ripley. Photo by Joan Marcus |
"Next to Normal"
Directed by Michael Grief
Second Stage Theatre
307 West 43rd Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues
From Jan. 16, 2008
Tues. 7 p.m., Wed. 2 & 7 p.m.,Fri 8 p.m., Sat 2 & 8 p.m., Sun
2 & 7 p.m.
$80 (212) 246-4422
Closes March 9, 2008
"Next to Normal" Mixes Depression and
Song
Reviewed by Paulanne Simmons Feb. 19, 2008
In the first scenes of Tom Kitt and BrianYorkey's "Next to Normal" the all-American family portrayed seems nothing if not normal. Then, as the play proceeds, it becomes clear that behind the usual complaints, a bored, sexual frustrated wife, a clueless husband, a young daughter confused by the task of growing up, and the whole family living in a world ruled by competition and consumerism, there are real problems in this household.
The effervescently depressed Diana (Alice Ripley) cannot motivate herself to stop grieving over an old loss. Her husband, Dan (Brian d'Arcy James) cannot get himself to even start the process. Old ghosts (the excellent Aaron Tveit) walk through the house (a three-tiered set by Mark Wendland.)
Diana tries to ease her pain through psychotherapy, drugs and shock therapy. All are ineffective, and the shock therapy has disastrous effects.
What makes this play different from your average soap opera is that it is not a drama but a musical, and not just any musical but a sing-through. That means that while well-written dialogue might give some insight into the whys and wherefores of Diana's mental state, in "Next to Normal," all that has to be conveyed through Kitt's music (some of which seems recycled from his big flop "High Fidelity") and Yorkey's lyrics.
To director Michael Grief's ("Grey Gardens," "Rent") credit, this is one of the few rock musicals in which every word, both sung and spoken, can actually be heard and understood. There's even a clever pastiche of Rodger's and Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things," in which characters enumerates their favorite drugs. But even at its best, a rock musical is not the most effective means of exploring intense mental states.
Nevertheless, there are excellent performances (especially Ripley, who is a formidable psychotic) and some wonderful, lyric moments in "Next to Normal." Diana and Dan's relationship is paralleled beautifully in song by their daughter, Natalie (Jennifer Damiano of "Spring Awakening") and her boyfriend the amiable pothead, Henry (Adam Chanler-Berat). But too often those lyric moments are interrupted by a burst of raucous music that breaks the mood.
The other problem with rock musicals is that, inevitably, after a while, the music blends into an indistinguishable mass of songs, mostly loud, mostly rhythmic, mostly interchangeable. Opera works without dialogue because the plots are simple and based on raw emotion easily conveyed through music; sing-throughs don't work the same way because the scores are not of the same quality and the plots are more complex.
In opera, someone dies and the there's a satisfying ending. In shows like "Next to Normal" nothing is changed, unless one considers Natalie's plea for something "next to normal" a kind of solution. But in the end, everyone sings a rousing song that's supposed to cover the fact that the show has left the audience with absolutely nothing. In this case, the final song, "Let There Be Light," sounds uncomfortably close to "Rent"'s "Seasons of Love."
"Next to Normal" freely mixes depression and exuberant music in a way that may be highly entertaining to some people. One might imagine an enthusiastic young audience if there wasn't the downer of all those old people intruding. But will it be a second "Rent" or even "Spring Awakening."? Stay tuned.
Mom's Electroshock
Reviewed by Glenda Frank
There's a wave of exciting musicals surging our way – proof positive
that the twenty-first century has kicked into gear. The forecaster was
"Rent," the bellwethers were "Urinetown: The Musical"
and "Avenue Q, " and the star is unquestionably "Spring
Awakening," which is still the buzz in its second year. These musicals
have welcomed a new generation of composer/lyricists to innovate. On Broadway
this season "In the Heights" and "Passing Strange,"
both of which enjoyed successful off-Broadway runs, are breaking new ground
with form and content. It's a wonderful time to be young, talented, and
in love with musical theatre.
One of the most exciting new kids on the off-Broadway block is "Next to Normal" directed by Michael Greif. It's not only a musical for our time – about the dysfunctional lives we all share – but it couches its tragedy in very funny, very sexy scenes and makes you glad to be alive – even in troubled times.
The opening is misleading. Mom, Dad and the kids (the American ideal: a boy for you, a girl for me) seem to be the typical American family – at 3 AM. But as the actors sing us their stories, we learn that Natalie, the super-daughter, is overcompensating for feeling neglected; Gabe, the sexy son, is imaginary; and Mom is not only enamoured of her hallucinations but has public episodes in Costco, where she brings down the store after she sings the discount chain a paean ("for women like me . . ., who need more and more and more.") and the ironic but very funny "My Psychopharmacologist and I." Valium, she confesses, is her favorite color. The other actors become her upper level chorus/shoppers as she has her (bipolar) meltdown – one of several that punctuate the musical.
Some of the uniqueness of the musical lies in Brian Yorkey's Sondheim-inspired lyrics and in Tom Kitt's rock score and orchestration. It's a delight to hear how the guitar, cello, and drums in turn dominate individual songs so that the ear is constantly engaged. (Tom Kitt wrote the score for last season's "High Fidelity," which deserved a longer run.)
But the surprise of "Next to Normal" is the perspective. We are in Diana's (Alice Ripley) head. Her hallucinations -- of Gabe (Aaron Tveit) as a teenager and her therapist (the miscast Asa Somers) as a rock star -- are our stage reality. Gabe seduces us with his energy, sweet tenor and passionate numbers ("I'm Alive"). He lights up the scenes, moving freely around Mark Wendland's clever, skeletal three-story house like a Twyla Tharp dancer. When we learn at the surprise birthday party that he is part of Diana's psychosis -- "Superboy and the Invisible Girl" is Natalie's complaint about competing with a perfect, imaginary son – we don't want to let him go any more than Diana does.
From the bad therapy to the good therapy that backfires, to the electroshock treatments and the pills, Alice Ripley as Diana is a totally engaging, luminous presence. This role is a gift, and Ripley as actor and singer is at the top of her form. The role of Dan has fewer nuances, but Brian d'Arcy James holds his own until near the end of the second act – when we get a clear view of his own neurosis, which is so affecting it becomes the measure of the American tragedy this family lives. The subplot is a problem. After a first promising encounter, Natalie's boyfriend (Adam Chanler-Berat) becomes boring and he drags Natalie's role down with him. Their duets are ordinary and pale even more in comparison to her mother's terrible journey through madness.
Second Stage remains one of my favorite theatre. "Next to Normal" is just one of the provocative, beautifully realized productions that make me such a fan.
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