„Next to Normal“ – Versionsunterschied

Musicaldaten

Next To Normal is a musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. It is the story of a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effect that her illness has on her family. The play also addresses such issues as grieving a loss, suicide, drug abuse, ethics in modern psychiatry, and suburban life.

The musical received several workshop performances before it debuted off-Broadway in 2008. The musical won the Outer Critics' Circle Award for Outstanding Score. It was nominated for Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Actress (Ripley) and Outstanding Score.

A production of Next to Normal played at Second Stage Theatre, January 16 - March 16, 2008, directed by Michael Greif, Anthony Rapp assistant director. Cast: Alice Ripley, Brian D'Arcy James, Aaron Tveit, Jennifer Damiano, Adam Chanler-Berat and Asa Somers. Beginning with this production, the surname of the family has been changed from Brown to Goodman.

A production of Next to Normal with most of the New York cast took place at the Arena Stage (Arlington, VA), November 21, 2008 - January 18, 2009. Michael Greif returned as director. Also returning were Alice Ripley as Diana Goodman, Jennifer Damiano as daughter Natalie, Aaron Tveit as son Gabe and Adam Chanler-Berat as Henry. Also cast were J. Robert Spencer as Dan Goodman and Louis Hobson as Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine. (Brian D'Arcy James could not continue with the show due to his obligations with Shrek.)

Synopsis

Diana Goodman, a suburban housewife, struggles through life as she battles mental demons in the form of bipolar disorder coupled with hallucinations that stem from a trauma sixteen years earlier. Her husband Dan, an architect, fights to keep her mind and his family stable but that fight becomes increasingly problematic as Diana decides to stop taking the pills given to her by her doctor. After several failed attempts to stem the tide by means of talk therapy with a different doctor, she eventually falls into an even darker place and attempts suicide. At the suggestion of her new doctor, Diana is convinced by her husband to submit to electroconvulsive therapy that causes her to have short-term amnesia. Throughout her struggles, Diana's relationship with her daughter Natalie becomes strained because Natalie feels invisible in the eyes of her mother, who prefers the superhero-like image she has created for her son.

Audio Recordings

Although no official recordings of the musical have been released, a number of bootleg recordings from the various productions do exist.

Musical Numbers

Feeling Electric (2005 NYMF Production)

Act I

• Let There Be Light
• Night
• So Many Ways to Die
• Just Another Day
• Costco
• Up the Dose
• My Psychopharmacologist and I - Who's Crazy?
• College Years - Who's Crazy?, Part 2
• Electricity
• Dan Brown
• I Miss the Mountains
• Growing Up Unstable
• He's Not Here
• You Don't Know
• I Am the One
• I'm Alive
• Blue Skies
• Open Your Eyes
• Feeling Strongly Fine - Catch Me, I'm Falling
• I Dreamed a Dance, Act I
• There's a World
• I've Been
• Didn't I See This Movie?
• Light in the Dark
• Intro to Feeling Electric
• Feeling Electric

Act II

• Song of Forgetting
• Four Seconds, Sixteen Years
• Four Seconds, Sixteen Years, Part 2
• Getting Better
• Aftershocks
• I Dreamed a Dance Reprise
• Superboy and the Invisible Girl
• It's Gonna Be Good Reprise
• Why Stay?
• It's a Promise
• I'm Alive Reprise
• The Break
• I Dreamed a Dance, Act II
• Live Every Day
• So Anyway
• I Am the One Reprise
• I Am the One Reprise, Part 2
• I've Been Reprise
• Let There Be Light

Next to Normal (2008 Second Stage Production)

Act I

• Let There Be Light
• Just Another Day
• Fucking Perfect
• Costco (cut during run)
• Who's Crazy?/My Psychopharmacologist and I
• Perfect for You
• I Miss the Mountains
• It's Gonna be Good
• He's Not Here
• You Don't Know/I Am the One
• Superboy and the Invisible Girl
• Open Your Eyes (cut during previews)
• I'm Alive
• Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me, I'm Falling
• I Dreamed a Dance
• There's a World
• Didn't I See This Movie?
• Light in the Dark
• Feeling Electric

Act II

• Growing Up Unstable
• Song of Forgetting
• Getting Better
• Aftershocks
• How Could I Ever Forget
• It's Gonna Be Good Reprise
• Why Stay?
• The Promise That I Made to You
• I'm Alive Reprise
• The Break
• Catch Me I'm Falling Reprise
• Everything
• Perfect for You Reprise
• So Anyway
• I Am the One Reprise
• Let There Be Light Reprise

Next to Normal (2008-2009 Arena Stage Production)

Act I

• Prelude (Light)
• Just Another Day
• Everything Else
• Who's Crazy/My Psychopharmacologist and I
• Perfect for You
• I Miss the Mountains
• It's Gonna Be Good
• He's Not Here
• You Don't Know
• I Am the One
• Superboy and the Invisible Girl
• I'm Alive
• Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I'm Falling
• I Dreamed a Dance
• There's a World
• I've Been
• Didn't I See This Movie?
• A Light in the Dark

Act II

• Wish I Were Here
• Song of Forgetting
• Hey #1
• Seconds and Years
• Better Than Before
• Aftershocks
• Hey #2
• You Don't Know (reprise)
• How Could I Forget?
• It's Gonna Be Good (reprise)
• Why Stay?
• A Promise
• I'm Alive (reprise)
• The Break
• Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I'm Falling (reprise)
• Maybe
• Hey #3/Perfect for You (reprise)
• So Anyway
• I Am the One (reprise)
• Light

Cast

2002 Cutting Room Cast

• Norbert Leo Butz - Dan Brown
• Sherie Rene Scott - Diana Brown
• Benjamin Schrader - Son/Gabriel Brown, Connor, also known as Tweak
• Anya Singleton - Natalie Brown
• Greg Naughton - Dr. Madden

2005 First Stage Theatre Cast (in Issaquah, WA)

• Jason Collins - Dan Brown
• Amy Spanger - Diana Brown
• Benjamin Schrader - Son/Gabriel Brown, Connor, also know as Tweak
• Mary Faber - Natalie Brown
• Deven May - Dr. Madden

2005 Barrow Group Arts Center Cast (New York Musical Theatre Festival Production)

• Joe Cassidy - Dan Brown
• Amy Spanger - Diana Brown
• Benjamin Schrader - Son/Gabriel Brown, Connor, also known as Tweak
• Annaleigh Ashford - Natalie Brown
• Anthony Rapp - Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine

2006 Second Stage Theatre Workshop

• Joe Cassidy - Dan Brown
• Alice Ripley - Diana Brown
• Benjamin Schrader - Son/Gabriel Brown, Connor, also known as Tweak
• Mary Faber - Natalie Brown
• Anthony Rapp - Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine

2007 Second Stage Theatre Workshop

• Greg Edelman - Dan Brown
• Alice Ripley - Diana Brown
• Van Hughes - Son/Gabriel Brown, Connor, also known as Tweak
• Phoebe Strole - Natalie Brown
• Anthony Rapp - Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine
• Skylar Astin - Henry

2008 Second Stage Theatre

• Brian d'Arcy James - Dan Goodman
• Alice Ripley - Diana Goodman
• Aaron Tveit - Gabriel Goodman
• Jennifer Damiano - Natalie Goodman
• Asa Somers - Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine
• Adam Chanler-Berat - Henry

2008-09 Arena Stage

• J. Robert Spencer - Dan Goodman
• Alice Ripley - Diana Goodman
• Aaron Tveit - Gabriel Goodman
• Jennifer Damiano - Natalie Goodman
• Louis Hobson - Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine
• Adam Chanler-Berat - Henry

External links

• Lortel Archives listing
• NY Times review, February 2008
• TheatreMania review, February 2008
• Links to the lyrics of the songs
• Arena Stage listing
• The show's Myspace page
• Village Originals Official Website: Feeling Electric
• The Musical & the Mindset