NEXT TO NORMAL to Close on Broadway January 16

The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical, Next to Normal, will play its final Broadway performance on Sunday, January 16, 2011, announced Producer David Stone. Upon closing, the musical will have played 21 previews and 733 performances. Next to Normal is performed at the Booth Theatre (222 West 45th street).

"Everything about Next to Normal - from its subject matter to its unprecedented route to Broadway - has been unexpected and atypical. If someone had told me over five years ago, when I started working with Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, that this musical would have the life and success it has, I wouldn't have believed them," said Producer David Stone. "We are extremely proud of Next to Normal's Broadway run and we look forward to the show being seen across the country, moving audiences the way it has every night since it opened on Broadway."

With a thrilling contemporary score, Next to Normal is an emotional powerhouse of a musical about a family trying to take care of themselves and each other. Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and three 2009 Tony Awards, Next to Normal features music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, and direction by Michael Greif.

Tony Award-winner Alice Ripley will headline Next to Normal's upcoming North American tour, kicking off on November 23 at Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre. Following the premiere, the tour will play Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Des Moines, Providence, Hartford, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Chicago, St. Paul, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Charlotte, and Toronto.

Next to Normal currently stars Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley, Kyle Dean Massey, Meghann Fahy, and original cast members Adam Chanler-Berat and Louis Hobson.

Next to Normal was chosen as "one of the year's ten best" (2009) by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Time Out New York, New York Daily News, The Bergen Record, and NY1 - more than any other musical from that season.

Ben Brantley of the New York Times calls Next to Normal "a brave, breathtaking musical. A work of muscular grace and power. It is something much more than a feel-good musical; it is a feel-everything musical." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone raves, "Rock is alive and rolling like thunder in Next to Normal. It is the best musical of the season by a mile. Next time you think the Broadway musical is dead, head off to Next to Normal. It'll pin you to your seat." And Peter Marks of The Washington Post calls it "a moving, blisteringly honest, and inordinately powerful new musical. It is stocked with beautiful songs that get to the heart of the story - and simply get to the heart. Next to Normal strikes a blow for the American musical's future each night."

The creative team includes Mark Wendland (set design), Jeff Mahshie (costume design), Kevin Adams (lighting design), and Brian Ronan (sound design). Musical direction is by Charlie Alterman, orchestrations are by Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt, and vocal arrangements by AnnMarie Milazzo. Musical Staging is by Sergio Trujillo.

Next to Normal is produced by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, and Second Stage Theatre.

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