Producers David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo, and Second Stage Theatre have announced that the original musical, Next to Normal, will come to Broadway this spring, direct from its critically-acclaimed engagement at Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage, beginning preview performances at the Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street) on Friday, March 27th and officially opening on Wednesday, April 15.
Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's musical, Next to Normal, directed by Michael Greif (Rent, Grey Gardens), opened at Off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre on February 13, 2008 and was significantly reworked in a subsequent out-of-town run at Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage, where it opened on December 10, 2008. The musical's unusual trajectory from a New York Off-Broadway premiere to an out-of-town regional theatre engagement and then back to Broadway is unprecedented.
"Anyone who has been involved with the creation of an original musical knows that much of the work happens in the rewriting," says producer David Stone. "From the day after Next to Normal opened off-Broadway through opening night at Arena Stage, Tom Kitt, Brian Yorkey, and Michael Greif were committed to improving and rewriting this show with a level of dedication and focus I have seldom seen from a creative team. The path to Broadway for Next to Normal has been highly unconventional and, in retrospect, the best thing that could have happened to this musical."
"A second chance is something you rarely get as a writer," explains composer Tom Kitt. "While the critical response to Next to Normal at Second Stage was encouraging, we knew there were major changes we had to make to the show. Brian and I really listened to the critical response and the audience reaction and were fortunate to have the chance to keep working. We've written five new songs and cut substantial material that was not landing. The result is the musical that Brian and I always wanted it to be."
In his review of the Arena Stage production, Peter Marks of The Washington Post, wrote, "Next to Normal is a moving, blisteringly honest, and inordinately powerful new musical, sung with a wallop by a six-member cast that includes the astonishing Alice Ripley, and dexterously directed by Michael Greif. Writers Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey have stocked the musical with beautiful songs that get to the heart of the story- and simply get to the heart." And Jayne Blanchard in The Washington Times called the show, "A transcendent production of a powerful new American musical with a bristling, contemporary rock score, smart lyrics and raw energy. ««««"
Next to Normal is a contemporary musical that explores how one suburban household copes with crisis. With provocative lyrics and an electrifying score of more than 30 original songs, Next to Normal shows how far two parents will go to keep themselves sane and their family's world intact.
In order to maintain the necessary intimacy for this six-person musical, the second balcony of the Longacre Theatre will be closed for the entire run of Next to Normal, providing an intimate setting of 820 seats.
