Next to Normal at The Encore Musical Theatre Company

The Encore Musical Theatre Company proudly presents Next to Normal, running January 31st through February 24th, 2019. Next to Normal is directed by Wilde Award Winner Matthew Brennan and music directed by Leah Fox.Next to Normal is a 2008 American rock musical that explores how one suburban household copes with crisis and mental illness. This Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning musical begins with a glimpse into suburban mother Diana Goodmans manic depression, when Dianas husband, Dan, finds her in the kitchen making sandwiches - enough to cover the entire kitchen. While Dan helps his disoriented wife, their teenage daughter, Natalie, escapes to school, where she finds solace with a piano in the school practice room and allows everything else to fade away. Natalie meets Henry, a classmate who likes to listen to her music, and the two form an immediate bond. Throughout the course of the story, the family navigates medications, young love, old love, therapy, piano recitals, drugs, hospitalizations, school dances, and grief. Featuring such songs as Superboy and the Invisible Girl, I Miss the Mountains, and Song of Forgetting, Next to Normal is an emotional powerhouse that addresses issues as relevant today as they were ten years ago.Talkbacks with staff members of the Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program will take place following every Sunday matinee performance (2/3, 2/10, 2/17, 2/24). For more information about the Prechter Program and their research, please visit their website: https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/prechter-program The Encores production stars Courtney Riddle (Diana), Ron Williams (Dan), Elisabeth Garber (Natalie), Matthew Pecek (Gabe), Isaac A. Orr (Henry), and David Moan (Doctor Fine/Doctor Madden).Next to Normal officially opens Friday, February 1st, 2019 at 7:30pm with a performance followed by an opening night reception. Tickets: Adults - $36, Seniors - $34, Groups of 10 or Children Under 17 - $32ABOUT THE ARTISTSCourtney Riddle (Diana) is very excited to be a part of her first production at The Encore Musical Theatre Company. After a 9 year hiatus from the stage she is thrilled to be back on stage with such a special show. Courtney is a resident of Ypsilanti and is the Recruitment and Rehearsal Director for the CRLT Theater Program at the University of Michigan, although her favorite job is being the mom of her 13 year old daughter Ella. Courtney is also the lead singer for the local jazz/swing band Accidentally Hip. Some favorite credits include: Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, Holly in Next Fall at The Performance Network Theater, Carol Cutrere in Orpheus Descending, Isabelle in A Period of Adjustment at The Blackbird Theater, Eva Peron in Evita, Rose in Dancing at Lughnassa at Eastern Michigan University, and Almost Maine and I Love You, Your Perfect, Now Change at The Tipping Point Theater. Incredible amounts of thanks to Matthew Brennan for the inspiration to get back on stage, and for seeing me as Diana. To the incredible cast and crew, and to Encore Theatre for being so welcoming, but most importantly for my family who have so lovingly supported me while I reconnected with the other love in my life for a while. I am so grateful.Ron Williams (Dan) is thrilled to be in his first production at Encore. He was most recently seen at Meadow Brook Theatre (MBT) in The Snow Geese and Casa Valentina at JET Theatre. MI credits include Laughter on the 23rd Floor at the JET, Tenderly, Atomic, and Baskerville at MBT. NYC and Touring include - Rocky Horror Show, Grease!, A Bronx Tale the Musical (with Chazz Palminteri), and Kerouac. This performance is dedicated to finding a cure for Type 1 Diabetes. JDRF.org.Elisabeth Garber (Natalie) is thrilled to be making her Encore debut in Next to Normal! She is currently a junior studying computer science engineering at the University of Michigan. Some favorite roles include Kate Monster (Avenue Q MUSKET), Sister Mary Robert (Sister Act MUSKET), Veronica (Heathers: the Musical - Upstage Theater), Wednesday (Addams Family - Coastal Rep), Woman (Then/Again - BasementArts), and Lois (Staying Wild - ACT). I have so much gratitude for the entire cast and crew. Unbounded thanks to M, D, C & J for the love and support. Enjoy the show!Mat Pecek (Gabe) is elated, enthused, and ecstatic to be back on the Encore stage! B.A. Theatre: Adrian College '14. Encore credits: Into the Wild (Gallien), The Full Monty (Malcolm). Professional credits include: Totally Live! and Eternal Jamnation at Cedar Point, Evil Dead: the Musical (Ash) at the City Theatre in Detroit, Edges, Xanadu (Sonny), Irrational (World Premiere, Damascus), Jesus Christ Superstar (Judas), A Christmas Carol (Fred), and Messugah-Nuns! (Starring Cindy Williams, ensemble). Mat has sung around Michigan and Ohio in rock concerts, nightclubs, jazz orchestras, barbershop quartets, and caroling choirs. Thank you Mom and Dad, thank you, always, to Matthew, Dan, Leah, and Sera for the chance to be part of something great, and above all else thank you everyone for supporting local professional theatre.Isaac A. Orr (Henry) is a born and raised Michigan local, who completed his Bachelor's of Social Work through MSU in summer of 2017. You may recognize Isaac from his recent appearance in The Encores Hello Dolly ensemble. Isaac would like to dedicate his performance in this show to his childhood friend Daniel, whose mother lives with bipolar disorder, and The Encore, who are bold enough to encourage people to have much needed conversations about sometimes uncomfortable topics. Isaac would also like to thank his parents for paying for twelve years of piano lessons. Thank you for being willing to come!David Moan (Doctor Madden) is so excited to be returning to the Encore for such an important show. Originally from Pittsburgh, David has found a second home here in Dexter with notable Encore performances including his Wilde Award Winning John Wilkes Booth in Assassins, Wilde Award Nominated Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd, and most recently Edward Bloom in Big Fish. David would like to thank "Matthew, Leah, and Sera for the opportunity to be a part of this story. To Monica and my friends and family for their continual support. And Batman for being the hero we should all strive to be.

Authors

• Brian Yorkey
• Tom Kitt

Tony Awards and Nominations for Next to Normal