Next to Normal @ Edwin Booth Theatre

Next to Normal is a largely sung-through musical about the affect that Diana's inability to get over the death of her 8 month old son has on her and her family.  When the show starts, she is starting the day, interacting with her husband, daughter, and son, trying to make love, serve breakfast, and make lunches, with increasingly little success.  It's only later that we find out that her son, now 17, exists only for her.  She's working with a psychiatrist to control her condition, diagnosed as bipolar, through talking and drugs.  The drugs are doing what these types of drugs usually do, and Diana and her son flush them down the toilet.  This leads to supermom, for at time, but things get worse.  Natalie, the daughter, is lost, seeing herself as the lesser part of Superboy and the Invisible Girl.  Dianna, pressed by Dan and her doctor to get rid of the things that remind her of Gabe, her son, attemps suicide. 

Diana's new doctor presses ECT, shock therapy, as a way of getting rid of the memories that are haunting her.  She gives in, after a struggle between Dan and Gabe, but losses all memories of her family and Gabe  is gone.  Things start to come back, the strongest memory being of her teenage son, who returns to his mother.  The doctor urges more electric shock,  but Diana refuses.

Diana and Natalie talk, perhaps for the  first  time,  and connect.  They agree that normal is not something that is possible, but that they can try for next to normal.  Diana leaves Dan to seek her own way.  Gabe stays with Dan who, freed from dealing with Diana's grief, can now confront his own. Dan and Natalie together, and Dianna at her parents, but without Gabe, can look forward with some hope. 

This is the first musical I can recall that uses current rock music without making a point of the music:  Spring Awakenings was a rock musical set in German history.  Next to Normal is simply a musical, using the music of this time.

The set was all black and white and steel, with very pixelated images, particulary the large woman's eyes  on the second level, that fold in and out.  There are three levels connected by ladders, the first two are the two stories of the family's house.  The third level is open only to Gabe, the level he  appears on is frequently related to how present he is to Dianna and Dan. 

A very emotional role for Alice Ripley.   She never goes over the top, no matter how her character is  feeling. Some off-tune singing, perhaps due to the emotion and/or the placement of the  conductor and band, on the third level of the set, visible to the audience but not to the singers.

A major theme, in addition to the impact of grief, is the limits of medicine.  Drugs, shock therapy, talk therapy, are all just guesses in the dark.  We just don't know enough about the mind and the heart and maybe the soul.

Orchestra left, row J, started out on the far left side of the house, moved  to the aisle midway through the first act when the rest of the row was empty.  Great view and sound.

Dinner after the show at Thalia's:  burger (10oz prime new york sirloin, gruyere, bacon), seasoned fries.