"Next to Normal' in Pottstown

There's a big difference between seeing a musical on Broadway and in a 90-seat loft.

I enjoyed Next to Normal when I saw its original cast in 2009 at the 766-seat Booth Theatre in New York. But I appreciated this bittersweet drama about bipolar disorder even more when I saw the intimate production last week in the Newberry Loft performing space of the Steel River Playhouse, a large and modern facility in a former steel town located halfway between King of Prussia and Reading.

Next to Normal won many rave reviews and a Pulitzer Prize, but some critics found it overblown or trite. (Examples of lyrics: "Reading the obituaries, wishing you were dead" and "What if the cut, the burn, the break / Was never in my brain or in my blood / But in my soul?") A Chicago critic wrote that it was "so rock-infused that every song and every singer sounded alike."

Such reactions may have been understandable on Broadway and on tour, where Next to Normal was over-amped so that the music blasted at you from a scaffold above the stage.

But in Pottstown the eight-piece band sat immediately behind the singer-actors (who stood merely ten feet in front of my seat), and we could appreciate the subtle sounds in Michael Starobin's orchestrations, particularly in some lovely violin and cello passages. Tom Kitt's score is richer than could be heard on Broadway, or in Philadelphia's Academy of Music in the touring production.

Next to Normal concerns one family's attempts to cope with great challenges. Diana, its central character, suffers from bi-polar disorder (which used to be called manic-depression).

A less strident Diana

Brian Yorkey's script actually describes something more: Diana has been diagnosed not only with bi-polar but also schizophrenia; she's prone to hallucinations; she isn't allowed to drive; and she's been that way for 16 years. Things reach a peak of intensity when she attempts suicide. Clearly, Diana's problems are so intense that audiences have trouble dealing with their totality.

The director of this production, Kevin Laibson, dealt with that conundrum by having Diana act relatively under control. Unlike Alice Ripley, who created the role and played it on Broadway and on tour, Denise Webb is less hysterical, less raw and edgy. Where Ripley was intentionally strident, Webb is quietly passionate and haunting.

Woman next door?

She also sings beautifully. Her wistful rendition of the ballad, "I Miss the Mountains," articulates her love of the highs she thinks she remembers from when she didn't take meds.

That approach makes her easier to relate to, but it undercuts the severity of her problem. It makes you wonder why her symptoms couldn't be controlled without proceeding to electro-shock.

So the audience is left to wonder: Does Next to Normal portray a situation that we might face? Is Diana the woman-next-door? Or is she danger incarnate?

The most impressive thing about Next to Normal is its portrayal of ambiguity and perplexity. Diana's dead son, in her mind, poses an obstacle to her marital happiness. The boy— as played perfectly by Stephen Burke, a senior at Upper Merion High School— is enchanting in looks, voice and mannerisms. His voice soared most spectacularly when he sang "I'm Alive!" Yet he's actually the play's villain.

Risky teenage casting

And while Dan, the husband, is the good guy who keeps his promise to stand by his wife in sickness or in health, we also must wonder why he's been so neglectful of his daughter for all of her 16 years.

Ultimately Next to Normal is a multi-faceted creation about a loving family that reveals how they failed to help each other. This production evoked compassion for the people in pain, and not just the central woman.

Laibson (who directed Magic Futurebox company in New York) made a risky choice to cast teenage roles with actual high school students. Their performances were gratifyingly convincing. Maddie Aicher, a petite sophomore at Owen Roberts High School in Pottstown, sings with the voice of a fine professional.

High point

As Diana's long-suffering husband Dan, Gregory Kasander encapsulates an overwhelmed caregiver and sings far better than Asa Somers, who played that role in the national tour. The intense face-to-face confrontation between Kasander and Burke in Act II was this show's high point.

Drew Carr was tender as the daughter's boyfriend, and Kevin Ray Johnson was sonorous in the multiple roles of Diana's psychiatrists.

Terrence Nolen will direct yet another interpretation of Next to Normal at the Arden Theater from September 27 to November 4.♦


To read Steve Cohen's review of the Arden Theater production, click here.