Alice Ripley Will Lead Immersive NEXT TO NORMAL in Spain

NEXT TO NORMAL is set to premiere next summer in Barcelona with a 100% immersive format. The production will be led by Alice Ripley, who won a Tony Award in 2009 for originating the role of Diana. Additional casting has not yet been announced.

Its authors, Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, have adapted the book, creating a 60-minute version, where actors and audience will be sharing the same space - a 20,000 square foot venue in Spain designed for immersive experiences. With no set or props, the audience will experience the story alongside the actors, surrounded by a sound system of 36 speakers and projections over walls, floor and ceiling.

Under Yorkey and Kitt's leadership, British director Simon Pittman will approach a completely new storytelling for this contemporary musical. "I hope this new immersive experience will intensify the brilliance of the original, offer a thrilling new perspective to the story, and place the audience inside the mind of bipolar central character Diana Goodman," says Pittman.

"No doubt NEXT TO NORMAL is the kind of story that can be empowered through this immersive experience for the level of intimacy and direct connection it establishes with audiences all around the world," says Pablo del Campo, the creative producer who brought this innovative idea to the authors.

The premiere will take place summer 2022 at IDEAL, the first center in south Europe to be dedicated to the production and exhibition of digital arts. With special emphasis in the immersive digital art, it's a unique space that combines production of audiovisual works in diverse formats, exhibition and training in this area.

For additional information, visit: https://idealbarcelona.com

Next to Normal centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing her illness has on her family. The musical opened on Broadway in April 2009. It was nominated for eleven Tony Awards that year and won three: Best Original Score, Best Orchestration, and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley. It also won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, becoming the eighth musical in history to receive the honor.