Review: National Tour 'Next to Normal'

If you think you have problems, you might want to check in with the Goodman family in the 2009 Tony Award and 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning musical, "next to normal". The first National Tour of the show is now playing at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Center. Diana Goodman comes in after Violet Weston of "August, Osage County" with her own problems set to the lyrics of Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt.

Touring audiences not only get treated to a great cast but also to the Tony Award winning performance of Alice Ripley who re-creates the Broadway performance of the bi-polar character Diana Goodman. Ms. Ripley seems to have some vocal issues. She seems to be singing in a lower register. Her voice doesn't quite ring the way it does on the cast recording. Some of her lyrics are lost and at times her voice does not seem full enough to round out harmonies with other cast members. However, you can see why Ms. Ripley took home the Tony. Associated with the show since 2006, she has this character down pat, making her performance mesmerizing to watch. A part that could be done very much over the top is delivered in a very natural way with body language and facial expressions making it even more frightening, believable and even heart wrenching.

The show is a vocally demanding one as it is almost all sung through. Up to those demands, also, are the rest of the cast, most notably Emma Hunton as the daughter Natalie who, along with Preston Sadleir as Henry, will bring tears to your eyes during "Perfect for You (Reprise)" in the second act. These two actors have a great chemistry and sound very good together. Asa Somers as Dan, has the task of playing the husband and father trying to keep a family together while dealing with the emotional problems he and his wife are going through as he and his family fall apart. At first Mr. Somers seems to be a bit disconnected from his fellow cast members and what is going on around him, but once the story unfolds you understand that disconnect which works beautifully. And then there is the son Gabe, played by Curt Hansen, who is pretty much the center of all of the problems the family is facing. There is something about Gabe that I won't give away, as it is key to the story. Mr. Hansen struts and runs around the multi-leveled stage almost constantly. He taunts and seduces the audience, as well as comforts. A very demanding role handled beautifully by Mr. Hansen. Rounding out the cast is Jeremy Kushnier in dual roles as Diana's two doctors, Dr. Madden and Dr. Fine, making both roles different and believable. His "rockstar" doctor is quite fun to watch and listen to, bringing some levity to the evening.

Speaking of levity, the show is not a complete downer. It is done with a good bit of dark humor that will make you laugh and sometimes nervously. The rock driven score services the show well, although you won't come out humming the tunes. Played by the next to normal Band, spread out on two levels of the tiered stage, the score sounded excellent in the theater. I was not a big fan of the score going in but it works in context and I suggest not listening to it until you have seen the show. I can say that upon listening to most of it again, after seeing the show, I can appreciate it a bit more. A most wonderful thing to see at the performance I attended was the Denver audience. This show, without any special effects or "anthem" songs, had the audience in the palm of its hand. You could feel it in the theater. One just hopes that for the rest of the run, especially for Act II, the theater and show staff are mindful that a show is going on and lower their voices during the performances. This was quite distracting during our performance and ruined a few dramatic moments during the show.

People have been telling me that they have "heard about this show". I suggest that you go to see it while it is here. It was a day after the performance that I started to really appreciate what I had seen and heard. It kept my attention but didn't knock my socks off while in the theater. That was four days ago... I am still thinking about it.

"next to normal" plays the Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the DCPA through January 16, 2011. For more information, go to www.denvercenter.org.

Photo credits: Craig Schwartz

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