Review: NEXT TO NORMAL at Masquerade Theatre is An Unforgettable Theatrical Experience

Dad’s an architect; Mom rushes to pack lunches and pour cereal; their daughter and son are bright wise-cracking teens, appearing to be a typical American family. And yet their lives are anything but normal because the mother has been battling bipolar disorder for 16 years. “Next to Normal”, with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt, explores how one suburban household copes with crisis and mental illness.

“Next to Normal” marks the opening production of Masquerade Theatre’s 2023-2024 season. The play takes place at the theatre company’s intimate black box theatre in Riverside, NJ.

“Next to Normal” director, and Masquerade Theatre’s Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Megan Knowlton Balne, has given this musical Broadway hit a new life. With the black box theatre’s limited space, Balne uses every corner, quite literally, to stage this show. The set is subtle but effective, and the space is divided into sections of the family’s home. Masquerade Co-Founder, Managing Director, and “Next to Normal” lighting designer Tommy Balne, uses a delightful lighting design to help segment the areas of the playing space while adding emotional ambiance to the piece. Most intriguing about the setup is that the audience is seated on either side of the playing space, effectually creating a sort of staging “in the round” where the audience is around the perimeter of the stage.

Since there is no clear delineation between the stage house and audience house in this production, the show has a very intimate feeling. The audience is directly thrown into the action of the play and constantly looking around them to follow the show. Megan Knowlton Balne’s staging is unique and innovative, and though the space is small, she effectively uses the black box to her benefit.

In such a small setting, there is no place for the actors to hide, and in this production, there is no need. Balne has cast a strong set of performers for this show and each member of the cast equally contributes vocally to the play under the wonderful music direction of Broadway pianist Jonathan Rose.

“Next to Normal” is a show that is a series of songs with limited dialogue, and many of the performances stand out. "Who's Crazy?/ My Psychopharmacologist and I" explores the many medications Diana (Jennifer Weir) tries to manage her symptoms and explores the idea of what “crazy” actually means. Only when Diana says she feels nothing does the doctor proclaim she is stable. Courney Bundens, as the family’s perfectionistic daughter Natalie, gives a heartfelt and notable performance of “Superboy and the Invisible Girl”. And Weir as Diana delivers a gut-wrenching rendition of “You Don’t Know” where she explains to her husband Dan (Scott Reynolds) that he doesn’t know how she feels.

Balne writes in her director’s note in the playbill that “Masquerade’s mission is to use theatre experiences, like “Next to Normal”, to open a dialogue, enlighten our minds, and inspire our audiences to think, react and learn.” And that is definitely what this play delivers. With heavy topics such as suicide, infant death, mental illness, and family dysfunction, this show has much to dialogue about.

Rounding out the stellar cast are Greg Hedler as the dashing Dr. Fine/ Dr. Madden, Jake Hufner as the persistent Gabe, and Matthew Moorhead as the stoner lover-boy “Henry”.

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