THEATRE REVIEW: "Next to Normal" at the Bank of America Theatre (Chicago, IL)

      On April 28th and May 6th of 2011, I saw the Brian Yorkey / Tom Kitt musical "Next to Normal"  when the First National Touring company performed at the Bank of America Theatre (now called the CIBC Theatre) for two weeks.  "Next to Normal" is about a woman's quirky and lyrical battle with mental illness and loss, and her family's "emotional powerhouse" struggle to cope with it.

     On both nights I saw the show, Alice Ripley, Asa Somers, Emma Hunton, Curt Hansen, Jeremy Kushnier, and Preston Sadleir starred in the production.  I remember I kept track of the tour stops of this show, and was disappointed the production was playing for about ten weeks in Los Angeles and only two weeks in Chicago.  So, after seeing the April 28th performance, I bought a ticket to see the musical again before it left for its next tour stop.  When I arrived at the theatre on May 6th, there was a large crowd of people under, and around, the marquee trying to get tickets for the performance which was now sold out.

      Besides the amazing cast in this production, I thought Mark Wendland's scenic design was great too.   In 2009, "Next to Normal" lost the Tony Award for Best Musical to "Billy Elliot."  However, Alice Ripley won the Tony Awarx for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal  of Diana Goodman, which she now reprised in the tour.  That probably explains why the May 6th performance was sold out.  It also probably explains why I loved the show so much.  Even though "Next to Normal"  stigmatizes psych meds, stimulants, and benzodiazepines (I was taking two out of three at the time of seeing this show),  I still became  a fan of this musical. 

     

Alice Ripley as Diana and Curt Hansen as Gabe in "Next to Normal" (photo by Craig Schwartz).

     It was lucky for me that I saw Alice Ripley perform not once, but both times I saw this incredible show.  Everyone I talked to who had also seen it saw Pearl Sun play Diana Goodman.  Pearl Sun was the alternate performer for the role.  They all seemed disappointed about it, but when I heard an audio clip of Pearl Sun singing "I Miss the Mountains" from the show, I thought it was a beautiful rendition.  In fact, when I went back on May 6th to see "Next to Normal" again, it was with hopes of seeing Pearl Sun play Diana Goodman.  I had heard Alice Ripley had a cold (and her voice did sound strained the first time I saw the show).  So I figured she would miss the May 6th performance.  I think I confused the performance schedule of the alternate with that of an understudy.  Oh well.

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     From August 15th thru October 6th, 2013, Drury Lane Oak Brook Terrace ran their production of "Next to Normal."  I think it was the first regional production of the musical, and my friend Kathryn and I went to see it.  Susie McMonagle starred in the production, which also starred Rod Thomas, Callie Johnson, Josh Tolle, Colte Julian, and Skyler Adams.  Scott Davis designed the scenery--which included a turntable mechanism.

     This was an excellent production.  I was proud of myself for not telling Kathryn the secret of the musical prior to us seeing the show.  We had listened to the Original Broadway Cast Recording together, and I wanted so badly to tell her the Act One spoiler.  But I did not.  Instead, I took a photo of myself during intermission that made me look like an angry thumb.  There was really no need to.  By that point, my friend already knew the Act One spoiler.  Kathryn and I also talked about the elderly couple that used to be on those Swiffer commercials.  I said how annoying I thought they were, and how if were up to me, I would take away their health insurance .  "Oh, THAT'S nice," said Kathryn.  

Josh Tolle as Gabe and Susie McMonagle as Diana (photo by Brett Beiner).

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     From August 20th thru October 9th, 2016, Theatre Wit / Boho Theatre ran their production of "Next to Normal," and I went to see it.  The production starred Colette Todd (Diana), Donterrio Johnson (Dan), Peter Robel (Dr. Madden), Ciera Dawn (Natalie), Gilbert Domally (Gabe), and Bradley Atkinson (Henry).  The production was directed by Linda Fortunato.  It was when I went to this show that I saw adds for the Stage 773 production of "In the Heights."  Stage 773 is basically next door to Theatre Wit.

     After seeing this production of "Next to Normal," I haven't seen the musical since.  I would say that four times is enough.  I remember the front row of seats for this production were reserved.  I think I sat in the second or third row.  I had a great view of Sarah Ross' scenic design.  Each time I saw another production of "Next to Normal," the staging was a little smaller and more simplistic than the last time.  But the performances were just as powerful as the first time I saw the National Tour.

     While the "performances" were just as powerful in this production as the first time I saw the National Tour, Colette Todd did make a mistake while singing one of the songs.  During the song "The Break," she sang one of the lines twice.  It was understandable.  I saw the show early in the production's run, and she probably was still getting used to the songs.  "The Break" is definitely one of the songs that make "Next to Normal" a rock opera.  The song goes like "Eggs are good when I make them : But runny when I break them - " Oh, wait those aren't the lyrics.  Well, it's been awhile since I have seen "Next to Normal."