NEXT TO NORMAL Opens at DC's Arena Stage 12/10

Tom Kitt (composer) and Brian Yorkey's (Book writer and lyricist) rock musical Next to Normal opens December 10 at Arena Stage in Washington, DC.

Kitt and Yorkey's musical which focuses on a family in crisis follows a high-profile Off-Broadway run at Second Stage Theatre. The collaborators include Kitt, Yorkey, director  Michael Grief, and coreographer Sergio A. Trujillo.

Next to Normal chronicles the story of a mentally unstable mother and the waves she creates in the lives of her husband and daughter and stars Tony Award nominee Alice Ripley (Side Show),  who returns to the project as mom Diana.

Also returning to the show are Aaron Tveit (Wicked, Hairspray) as son Gabe; Jennifer Damiano (Spring Awakening) as daughter Natalie; and Adam Chanler-Berat (Broadway's Les Misérables) as Henry, a classmate.

Robert Spencer (Nick Massi in the original cast of Jersey Boys) joins the cast as the harried father, Dan, and Louis Hobson plays multiple roles, including doctors.

Understudies for the DC cast include Michael Berry, Meghann Fahy, Mary Mossberg and Timothy Young.

The Off-Broadway production which played an extended, sold-out run at Second Stage Theatre received the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Score, as well as the following nominations: Outstanding Musical (Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, Lortel Awards), Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle), Outstanding Score (Drama Desk) and Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for Aaron Tveit (Lortel Award), among others.

For tickets and more information visit www.arenastage.org or call (202) 488-3300.

Photo by Joan Marcus

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