Review: NEXT TO NORMAL at Hudson Backstage Theatre

When Next to Normal opened on Broadway in 2009, it brought mental illness to the forefront of musical theater in a way few Broadway shows had done before. 

The groundbreaking musical, with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt, won three Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (one of only ten musicals ever to receive that honor). Since then, it has become a favorite of regional theaters across the country. 

Now playing through this weekend at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Hollywood, this intimate production more than does justice to the hit show.

Directed by Jackson Prince, the production stars Catriona Fray as Diana Goodman, Jonny Perl as Dan Goodman, Sophia Roth as Natalie Goodman, Dillon Klena as Gabe Goodman, Alex Michèll as Henry, and Carter Michael as Dr. Fine/Dr. Madden, with music direction by Jonathan Kretchmer.

Next to Normal follows Diana, a suburban mother struggling with bipolar disorder and the effects it has on her family. Her husband, Dan, is determined to stand by her even as things unravel, while their teenage daughter, Natalie, struggles between the chaos at home and her desire to just be a “normal” girl.

As Diana tries an escalating variety of medications, treatments and therapies, the musical tackles heavy topics such as grief, suicide, memory and the reality that there’s no easy fix for mental illness. It’s a heavy musical, made accessible by its Tony-Award-winning score and the power of its actors. 

As Diana — a role that is as vocally demanding as it is emotionally draining — Fray is phenomenal. When she sings the explosive “You Don’t Know” in the first act, there’s a moment where she collapses to the floor and it’s like the audience disappears: She is just a grieving mother grappling with her reality, or the loss of it. It is raw, immediate, and incredibly powerful.

As Natalie, Roth is also a standout (though I hesitate to use that word because all six members of the cast are so good). Having seen her previously as Mary Phagan in Parade at the Electric Lodge, I already knew what a strong performer she is. Here, she brings the perfect amount of teenage vulnerability and incredibly powerful vocals needed for the role, and she nails it. Her pristine vocals blend beautifully with Fray’s ferocity, and their duets are some of the musical’s highlights.

Klena brings both authenticity and emotional weight to Gabe. He feels believable as a teenager, and spends much of the show darting across the stage, jumping onto platforms and singing behind one ear after another. He is especially strong in the show’s most heart-wrenching moments, when Diana knows she should let him go but wants more than anything to keep him close. 

Jonny Perl’s Dan is exactly what the role calls for. He brings warmth, sincerity and a quiet strength to the husband who refuses to give up on his family while never fully facing what’s wrong. If there’s a moment to cry (and there are several), it’s when Perl and Klena sing “I Am the One (Reprise),” and Dan is finally forced to confront what he has spent so long avoiding.

I’ve seen Carter Michael in several shows, including a star turn as the Baker in the Wisteria Theater’s 2025 production of Into the Woods, so I already knew what an incredible singer he is. Here, the two doctor roles don’t give him many big belting moments, but you still hear flashes of that rich vibrato. He also completely sells that smooth-talking psychiatrist thing, especially in “Who’s Crazy? / My Psychopharmacologist and I,” as Diana rattles through pill after pill while the doctors keep overexplaining exactly how to take each one and all the possible side effects. It is one of the show’s few lighter moments, as is the sequence in which Diana imagines the doctor as a crooning in-the-spotlight rock star.

Last but not least, Alex Michèll is perfectly cast as Henry. He’s sweet, sincere and just goofy enough to take you back to high school crushes. More than that, he represents the “normal” life Natalie longs for, as well as the hopeful young love Diana and Dan once had — a dichotomy the staging quietly mirrors between the younger and older couples.

The 99-seat Hudson Backstage is a small theater, but the production uses every inch of the space with intention. Every corner earns its place: the kitchen sits downstage, where much of the family drama unfolds; the side areas become the doctor’s office, the school hallway and the piano room where Natalie practices and meets Henry; and the upstage spaces transform into bedrooms and sitting areas.  

There is a five-piece band tucked behind a black scrim at the back of the stage, something that seems rare in a theater this intimate.

Alexa Blair’s choreography shines, especially in scenes where Diana’s thoughts begin to fracture. During the medication sequence, the cast, dressed in white coats, circles Diana as she stands at the center, creating an image that feels rightfully claustrophobic. In the emotional scenes between Diana and Gabe, seeing their physical push and pull play out makes that struggle to hold on — and ultimately let go — feel all the more painful. 

The lighting (by Matthew Perelman) reflects Diana’s state of mind, with flashes, reds, and shifting backlight creating the sense of thoughts scattering between darkness and clarity. It is only near the end, during the final song, “Light,” that the stage finally feels genuinely bright. 

I looked around the theater during that number and saw smiles across the audience. Which feels surprising because Next to Normal doesn’t wrap things up with a tidy bow. It leaves you wrestling with a lot of questions: about mental illness, its treatment and whether the “cure” to it all can feel almost as bad as the symptoms. You know Diana needs help, but the help doesn’t seem to be helping. 

Still, the musical leaves room for hope. Not the kind that promises everything will be OK, but the kind that suggests people can keep moving forward even when “normal” may never be possible. 

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