NEXT TO NORMAL Plays PlayhouseSquare, 6/7-19; Tickets On Sale

The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical NEXT TO NORMAL comes to PlayhouseSquare June 7 -19 as part of the 2010-2011 KeyBank Broadway Series at PlayhouseSquare. Tickets are on sale now at the PlayhouseSquare Ticket Office, online at www.playhousesquare.org and by phone at 216-241-6000.

Alice Ripley reprises her acclaimed performance as Diana, which was honored with the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. NEXT TO NORMAL also features Asa Somers (Dan), Curt Hansen (Gabe), Emma Hunton (Natalie), Michael McElroy (Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine) and Preston Sadleir (Henry).

With a thrilling contemporary score, NEXT TO NORMAL is an emotional powerhouse of a musical about a family trying to take care of themselves and each other.

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, musical staging by Sergio Trujillo, and direction by Michael Greif. The creative team also includes Mark Wendland (set design), Jeff Mahshie (costume design), Kevin Adams (lighting design) and Brian Ronan (sound design). Musical direction is by Bryan Perri, orchestrations are by Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt, and vocal arrangements by AnnMarie Milazzo.

In 2009, NEXT TO NORMAL was chosen as "one of the year's ten best" by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Time Out New York, New York Daily News, The Bergen Record, and NY1 - more than any other musical from that season.

NEXT TO NORMAL 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 is produced by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo and Second Stage Theatre.

NEXT TO NORMAL will be at the Palace Theatre at PlayhouseSquare for 16 performances, June 7-19, 2011. Performances are Tuesday - Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 1:00 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are currently on sale at the PlayhouseSquare Ticket Office (1519 Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland), online at www.playhousesquare.org or by calling 216-241-6000. Group orders of 15 or more may be placed by calling 216-664-6050.

The Cleveland engagement of NEXT TO NORMAL is part of the KeyBank Broadway Series at PlayhouseSquare. KeyBank is the title sponsor of the KeyBank Broadway Series at PlayhouseSquare. For more information, visit www.key.com.

This performance engagement is also part of the Smart Seats program at PlayhouseSquare that offers smart entertainment at a smart price. For more information on Smart Seats, visit www.playhousesquare.org/smartseats.

To enrich the experience of theatergoers, the PlayhouseSquare Community Engagement and Education Department creates an in-depth online newsletter, the Buzz Extra, and presents free Broadway Buzz events to complement the KeyBank Broadway Series shows. Broadway Buzz Pre-Shoe Talks, providing behind-the-scenes insight, are held in the Idea Center at PlayhouseSquare one hour prior to each performance of NEXT TO NORMAL. On opening night, June 7, the Pre-Show Talk airs live on WCLV 104.9 FM at 6:30 p.m. and streams live on www.wclv.com. On Thursday evenings, guests are invited to stay in the theater for a post-show chat with members of the cast. Broadway Buzz events are made possible by the generous donors and sponsors that support PlayhouseSquare's not-for-profit mission.

The Buzz Extra newsletter and more information about Broadway Buzz events and activities can be found online at www.playhousesquare.org/broadwaybuzz.

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