Review: NEXT TO NORMAL at Victoria Theatre

A musically gifted daughter feeling neglected and invisible. A dutiful husband struggling to cope, and the ghost of a dead child waiting for recognition before ascending. These are the emotionally devastated characters orbiting Diana Goodman, wife, and mother coping with mental illness. Captured as a rock musical by Tony winners Tom Kitt (If/Then, Jagged Little Pill, Hell’s Kitchen) and Brian Yorkey, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama bravely illustrates how a seemingly ideal family can be torn asunder. It’s tough material, couched in a beautifully haunting score, excellent staging, and a talented ensemble cast.

As Diana, played brilliantly by Anne Warren Clark, spirals out of control, we follow her journey of medical interventions from a horde of pharmaceuticals, psychotherapy, and eventually ECT (electroconvulsive therapy). Christian Mejia’s lighting design captures the moods and mimics the colors of the pills in vivid primary colors and Jad Bernardo deserves credit for the lovely orchestrations supporting the casts’ strong vocals.

Maia Campbell as Natalie is angrily defiant in the face of her trauma. Her life is on hold as she witnesses her mother’s chaos and obsession with her brother Gabe (Roeen Nooran). Her boyfriend Henry (Andrew Cope) is supportive, even when she starts to spiral out of control using her mother’s pills. Albert Hodge is Dan, watching hopelessly as his wife loses her memories. Roeen Nooran knocks it out of the park as the memory of Gabe.

It’s hard not to have a lump in your throat when Diana sings “I Miss the Mountains,” Gabe sings “I’m Alive” or the family sings “Just Another Day.” Dan and Diana’s relationship is mirrored through Natalie and Henry’s, a nice plot construct in an unflinching depiction of the horrors of mental illness and its widespread effects on loved ones. Excellently directed by Jenn Bevard, this stellar production carries Next to Normal home to the heart and mind.

Next to Normal continues through June 21st. Tickets available at www.rayoflighttheatre.com.

Photo credits: Ben Krantz

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