Damiano, D'Arcy James, and Ripley Depart Next to Normal Tonight, 7/18

Award nominee Jennifer Damiano will play her final performance as Natalie in the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical Next to Normal on Sunday, July 18 at 7:30p.m. Tony Award winner Alice Ripley and two-time Tony Award nominee Brian D'Arcy James will also play their final performances.

Ripley and Damiano, who play the mother-daughter duo of Diana and Natalie, have been with Next to Normal since its Off-Broadway premiere at Second Stage in 2008. D'Arcy James originated the role of father Dan Off-Broadway as well, but left to play SHREK prior to Next to Normal's Broadway opening.

Ripley, who earned a Tony Award for her portrayal of Diana, will star in the national tour of Next to Normal beginning Nov. 23 in Los Angeles.

It has been reported that Damiano, who also received a Tony nomination for her performance, will star as Mary Jane in the U2-scored Broadway musical Spider-Man. D'Arcy James will reprise his performance in the Broadway return of Donald Margulies' Time Stands Still in September.

Husband-and-wife actors Jason Danieley and Tony Award nominee Marin Mazzie will assume the roles of Diana and Dan beginning July 19. Understudy Meghann Fahy will assume the role of Natalie.  Next to Normal also features Kyle Dean Massey as Gabe, Adam Chanler-Berat as Henry and Louis Hobson Dr. Madden.

Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and three 2009 Tony Awards, Next to Normal features music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and direction by Michael Greif. The creative team also includes Sergio Trujillo (musical staging), Mark Wendland (set design), Jeff Mahshie (costume design), Kevin Adams (lighting design), and Brian Ronan (sound design). Musical direction is by Charlie Alterman, orchestrations are by Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt, and vocal arrangements by AnnMarie Milazzo.

Next to Normal has had a surprising and highly unlikely route to Broadway. The musical originally opened at Off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre on February 13, 2008. The producer, David Stone, who had been guiding the musical since 2005, took the unexpected step of bringing the show to Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage where it was significantly reworked, and then back to New York and to Broadway, where it opened to rave reviews on April 15, 2009. This unusual trajectory from a New York Off-Broadway premiere to an out-of-town regional theatre engagement and then back to New York is unprecedented.

Next to Normal currently plays the Booth Theatre. Visit www.NexttoNormal.com.  

 

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