Why Are The Kids So Attracted To Next To Normal?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:19am

I'm curious what it is exactly about NEXT TO NORMAL that's got the kids going apesh*t over this show. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it and I can understand that type of behavior with shows like WICKED (girls who don't feel accepted and blah blah blah), SPRING AWAKENING or HAIR, but I really don't get why all the tweens/teens are flocking to N2N. Do they really identify with a bipolar woman in her 40's?

Just curious.

[bryanw3535]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:20am

Could it have something to do with their ability to relate to Natalie?

[jordangirl]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:21am

I agree that it may well be Natalie ~ or the whole family situation.

Or it could be the music.

Or it could be anything.

Really, who's to say why things touch and move people the way they do? When you're talking emotions, you really can't dictate what someone can/should feel.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:23am

Aaron Tivvie in his skivvies.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:24am

Does the show really have that large a teen fan base?

[broadway122]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:24am

For me it is the incredible music.
And then the amazing Alice Ripley.

EDIT: I'm a teen as well

Updated On: 6/26/09 at 11:24 AM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:24am

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to dictate how/why people feel things, I was simply curious because this show doesn't exactly fit the mold of what kids usually flock to and obsess over, so I was just curious. :)

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:40am

The show has a huge teen fan base, and I say that as a teen.


For me it's that I can relate to Diana and some of her mental issues, but for most kids it's the story as a whole and the music.

[lisaatje009]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:41am

I'm 18 so you're probably talking about kids like me, although I wouldn't consider myself a kid anymore. But that's another discussion. I think it is what's already been said: The family situation. I think that anyone in it's teenage years feels like their family is crazy and feels ashamed for them (I certainly did).
Maybe that's the reason?

Well, and another reason for me to be crazy about this show is the incredible music, which is in my head 24/7.
Updated On: 6/26/09 at 11:41 AM

[Katurian2]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:43am

I'm hitting the tail end of teen years (19) but I think:

- Semi-rock score
- Family dysfunction
- Relatable teen characters

And I think that the teen years in general are a time when issues like suicide and mental illness are hitting for the first time- a lot of times on a personal level. I know that I was around 14 when I first started being confronted with those things. Especially nowadays when everyone over 12 seems to have a shrink, this is especially potent.

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:45am

As some people have mentioned, Natalie's storyline and the whole "unusual" family situation are relatable to people of my age range. The "eye candy" factor probably plays a tiny role.

I also think it brings people of all ages to the same level... makes everyone feel like they're involved with a very "mature," intellectual story.

For me, it all boils down to the music. I listen to ALOT of music (Broadway and non-Broadway), and never before have I encountered songs or a score so addictive, not to mention performed as well as they are by the members of this cast.

Hope this helps answer your question a bit.

Updated On: 6/26/09 at 11:45 AM

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:46am

It's very RENT-esque in terms of Music. Kids LOVE that thing.

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:47am

i think young theatregoers are dying to see serious musical theatre that speaks to their generation. the majority of shows that open these days are tongue in cheek and big budget. and i think its refreshing to have a score that sounds fresh, deals with real issues, is meaningful --- and young theatregoers and the ones carrying on the torch of the future. so i think it speaks to the future of this art form.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:49am

Well, all of the theatre kids I know are still hung up on Rent, Wicked, Legally Blonde, and Spring Awakening. NONE of them even know what 'Next to Normal' is.

Updated On: 6/26/09 at 11:49 AM

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:52am

i'm being more optimistic than that.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:53am

We should be happy they're being drawn to something like this and not Shrek.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 11:56am

Seriously! I'm happy younger people are finding this show (I feel so old talking like that and I'm only 30). I think it says a lot about the maturity level of some really young kids.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 12:10pm

My students are dying to see this. Some from what I've told them and some from their own involvement. Mental issues are not just relegated to Diana's age group.

Walk into any guidance counselor's office today in the average american high school....they'd give you an earful. I have students that battle with depression and bi-polar issues everyday (well, not now in the summer). They all know kids that suffer...so the topic is also appealing to them.

And I agree...for many "teens" their level of sophistication is higher and higher, and they crave to be satisfied too. I know I've mentioned taking my HS kids to Ny every year. THEY pick the shows: and while Shrek made the final voting list -- only 5 kids out of 80 actually voted to choose it to see.

Their choices:
WSS (before we knew it was terrible -- and most of them concurred)
August (by far their favorite show)
Altar Boys (ok, this one goes against the grain....but only 2 or 3 of them had scene it before.)


However, on a negative side -- I do think many of our youth yearn to be a part of something. Being a "groupie" of the show du jour seems to fill that void. All the SA 'guilty ones' and Fanadus had to go somewhere. They are currently stalking: ROA, Hair, & N2N. When that respective show closes, they will find something else to give them some identity. Better than doing drugs or getting knocked up in the back of daddy's Lexus.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 12:23pm

Do that many schools actually have guidance counselors anymore? I graduated from HS a little over 10 years ago and they got rid of them before I was even a freshman.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 12:32pm

The score is a lot like RENT in many ways, only teenagers can relate to the storyline better.

Also, probably because it deals with a pretty big issue in today's society.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 12:33pm

Lizzie, yes.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 12:38pm

I think that possibly combining what guettboy is saying AND what allthatjazz22 is saying may hit it as well. It's possible that some of those people "hung up on Rent, Wicked, Legally Blonde, and Spring Awakening" (I'd say SA and Rent to a lesser degree than the middle two) may be in that camp that just hasn't heard next to normal yet but when they do hear/see it, may well be on board and thinking "This is what I've been listening for!" or something similar. Think about how many of us may have come into the musical theatre world via something we may not want to admit to now (Phantom, Cats, etc.). It's all a journey. :)

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 12:40pm

Do that many schools actually have guidance counselors anymore? I graduated from HS a little over 10 years ago and they got rid of them before I was even a freshman.

I teach in a middle school and even we have one. All the high schools in the area have very large guidance departments (which now function more as college counselors than they have in the past).

[snl89]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 12:51pm

The thing about Next to Normal that I love so much is that I think EVERYONE can relate to it in some aspect. It's not just about mental illness. Not at all. It's about a family that tries very hard to live up to this "normal" ideal, but in the end they just have to find their own way of doing things, that helps them to best get through each day. And I think most everyone can relate to that in some way. We live in a culture where there's a very strict ideal as to what the "perfect family" should be. Everyone knows what it's like to try to achieve that ideal, and eventually realize that it's just not possible to be "perfect".

So yeah, I don't think it's one specific character (even Natalie) that young people connect to in this show. Though having a character like Natalie I'm sure certainly HELPS. But I think really it's just that this story is so incredibly real. In SOME way, anyone who sees it is going to understand how these characters feel, because everyone's felt what it's like to want so much to be "normal" and to not be able to achieve it.

I mean come on, who DOESN'T grow up feeling a bit "dysfunctional" in some way? I had a pretty darn easy childhood compared to most, and I've still had SO many "wow my family is so dysfunctional" moments! Haha. My mom's struggled with mental illness, my parents were never really that happy together, etc. We've all been there. And I think even a 12 or 13 year old will have been there.


All I know is that this show probably touches me more deeply than any other show. Even with RENT, Spring Awakening, Bare, etc... I ADORE those shows with all my heart, and I am highly affected by them, but Next to Normal is much more real for me. And I feel like that's the case for MANY people- even kids and teenagers :)

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/26/09 at 12:54pm

The musical was certainly being promoted as an adult musical. They had a quote outside of the theater "A musical for grown-ups."

And the 3 times I have seen the show (before the Tonys), the audience mostly consisted of adults. And some college students, like myself. But I've never seen tweens at the Booth.

I would imagine these "tweens" jumped on the bandwagon after the Tonys?