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Next To Normal Reviews
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Review by: , Feb 28, 2008 |
| Powerfully moving and incredibly performed. Staging, lighting, music and lyrics combine with originality and passion; giving birth to a wonderful production. As a frequent theatergoer, I thank you for this gift. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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A multi-talented experience Review by: , Feb 28, 2008 |
This is one of the most extraordinary musicals I've seen - a deep and disturbing plot, a version of which I suspect many people in the audience have known in their own family and suffered through it. Perhaps no emotional suffering is as intense and seemingly unsolvable as family problems. I hope this musical goes on and on and gets the plaudits it deserves.
Charis Ried |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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Recommended for:
Business Assoc., Tourists, Adults
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| 3 |
Way More Than I Expected! Review by: Mica, Feb 24, 2008 |
| Next to Normal is probably the best musical playing right now. It's heart-wrenching and so revealing of how we deal with illness, stress and everyday dysfunction. It's the best production Second Stage has put on in the last few years and it deserves a much wider audience. |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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| 4 |
Save your money! Review by: Ghostwriter, Feb 22, 2008 |
| Okay, so the show is supposed to be “darkly funny.” When I saw it, it seemed I was the only one laughing. But I’m afraid I found much of this show funny like “Springtime for Hitler” in “The Producers” is funny – so outrageously bad you can hardly believe it. At times I thought I was watching a soap opera in song, at others a campy horror show set to music. It made me think that the whole thing was a therapeutic exercise in some rehab facility. ... read more This show brings a whole new world of meaning to trite. The talented cast does their best to sell this sorry mishmash, but it didn’t work for me. Save your money. |
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My recommendation:
Don't go
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| 5 |
Very mature subject matter Review by: mr_joe, Feb 20, 2008 |
Alice Ripley has earned another TONY nod in my opinion. This powerful musical is incredibly emotional and goes well with it's rock score. However, this is not just a rock and roll musical!!!
Problem with the mattinee show I attended on 2/20 is that there was a row of young girls whopping and howling for every male star in the show. The theater management did nothing and the audience had to tell them at intermission that this is not ... read more wrestling or a strip show!
This show is about the incredibly mature subject of mental illness in a family. The heart rending story is for adults and is a tale of relationships, and the amok the business of mental health medicine and treatment in America.
Strong performances all around (especially Ms. Ripley), and very strong subject matter.
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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| 6 |
A FANTASTIC AND EXCITING NEW MUSICAL Review by: Beth M, Feb 19, 2008 |
NEXT TO NORMAL, which concludes its run at the Second Stage Theatre on Sunday March 16th
By Beth Mandelbaum
I found Next To Normal to be an extraordinarily emotionally powerful, high impact musical which touched me to the core. This is a highly courageous and, to me, groundbreaking new musical that treats a difficult subject, mental illness, and its impact on family members, with deep honesty and humanity. There were a number ... read more of places during this show where tears welled up in my eyes, and as I left the theater, I was crying.
I revisited this unusual musical this afternoon, and found it just as fresh and powerful as the first time. While the subject matter is certainly not easy, Next To Normal strikes me as extremely important, as mental illness and depression affect many, many people. And while seeing this portrayed on stage might sound jarring (and admittedly, it can be), Next To Normal presents and portrays this in highly clever, at times humorous, and also very moving ways.
And both times I saw it, when it was over, a great many of the audience members stood at their seats and cheered.
This show is almost entirely sung. In fact, I would say that it is essentially a pop opera, with some songs that are somewhat more along the lines of more traditional Broadway music. And on second hearing, the songs had even more meaning as there were lyrics that I missed the first time. I found the score to be both very exciting and very touching, and truly hope it will be recorded.
There were, admittedly, a few places that seemed “over the top” to me, but they do work reasonably well in their context. And the quirkiness of the some of Next To Normal is part of what makes it so appealing. Something significant that I realized on second viewing is that these aspects of the musical exist for a very crucial reason, in that they are the outward, visible expressions of the visual and auditory hallucinations that are central to Diana’s illness.
Also on this second visit I was able to more clearly see the extent to which Diana’s husband, Dan, is suffering. Diana has been ill for about 15 years and is no longer the woman that he married. He spends a great deal of time attending to her, watching out for her, taking her to doctors, and worrying about her. There is often a deep sadness in Dan’s eyes.
He also has to face the situation of his deeply angry daughter, Natalie, who feels that she is “invisible,” as her mother is essentially an absent parent, who is unable to express her love in any way that meets her daughter’s needs.
To me this is far from a “dysfunctional” family, a theme of so many shows on Broadway this season. Instead, I believe that these are people who might otherwise be basically fine, if their lives had not been filled with a heartbreaking tragedy years ago. The central issue of Next To Normal is what can happen when a deep well of grief, and the loss that caused it, become buried, repressed and inaccessible, leading to Diana’s severe illness. And the responses and reactions of Dan and Natalie to Diana and her varying behavior seem very real. The dramatic core of the show is Diana’s journey through the world of medicine and psychiatry in an attempt to find a way of healing her tortuous and very deep depression. Ultimately, she finds that the right path for now is trying to come to terms with her devastating loss, letting go, and moving on.
I cannot say enough wonderful things about the cast. Alice Ripley (Diana) has an extraordinary voice and also beautifully conveys the many faces of her illness. Brian d’Arcy James (Dan), whose work in other musicals I have greatly admired, is in superb voice and acts with power and sensitivity. Jennifer Damiano (Natalie) gives a very strong performance as Diana and Dan’s deeply disaffected daughter. And the two young male performers were b |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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Alone
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Recommended for:
Seniors, Adults
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| 7 |
SEE THIS SHOW! Review by: pjarent, Feb 18, 2008 |
| This is show is what theater is all about! Amazing performances and a heart wrenching plot it will leave you wanting more and emotionally drained. It may be the best show of the season. They just extended! See it today! |
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My recommendation:
must see!
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Recommended for:
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| 8 |
Alice Ripley is amazing Review by: Shany, Feb 6, 2008 |
| Alice Ripley is unbelievable! Go see this show for her amazing acting, comedic timing and that outstanding, outstanding, outstanding voice! |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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Recommended for:
Romantic Date
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| 9 |
"Next to Normal" stole my heart Review by: Painter by Night, Jan 29, 2008 |
| Next to Normal was able to touch upon and open up the deepest emotions that normally would be hidden from the world. It awakened the the darkest emotional secrets and allowed a new understanding of how others may feel around you. The dysfunctional family is your family, is my family, is your neighbors. It is all of us and we take a look inside our own world and our hearts begin to understand why others might act in ways that we never thought of. ... read more Why we dont agree, why we are different and what circumstances brought us to where we are today. "Next to Normal" is a tough pill to swallow, yet it becomes your life is one way or another and you cant help but love every minute of it. |
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I saw this show with:
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Recommended for:
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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