Broadway Blog - Next to Normal Review Roundup

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.

Ben Brantley, The New York Times: "No show on Broadway right now makes as direct a grab for the heart - or wrings it as thoroughly - as "Next to Normal" does. This brave, breathtaking musical, which opened Wednesday night at the Booth Theater, focuses squarely on the pain that cripples the members of a suburban family, and never for a minute does it let you escape the anguish at the core of their lives."

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune: "More impressive yet, "Next to Normal" powerfully reminds us that while normal is always boring for the normal, it is nirvana for those who have something in the way. That's the point of the title. All this little family wants is to be next to normal. That would be more than enough."

Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press: There are no easy answers to be found in "Next to Normal," a startling, emotion-drenched musical about one family's attempt to cope with mental illness. The show is an impressive achievement, a heartfelt entertainment that has found its way back to New York after an invaluable out-of-town retooling. It's startling because the production, which opened Wednesday at Broadway's Booth Theatre, tackles the uncomfortable subject of manic depression with a straightforwardness that is commendable."

David Rooney, Variety: "This original new pop-rock musical has benefited unequivocally from treatment. Composer Tom Kitt, writer-lyricist Brian Yorkey and director Michael Greif have made a lot of smart changes en route to Broadway, giving the show a more assertive personality, a more consistent tone, sharper focus and greater depth to its relationships. While its weaknesses have not been entirely erased, they are outweighed by the intimate musical's ambition, sincerity and heightened emotional involvement."

Robert Feldberg, Bergen Record: "Beginning with the familiar subjects of mental illness and family conflict, it creates a fresh, intelligent, compassionate and extremely touching experience. The show has been significantly improved from the already distinctive version that was presented off-Broadway a year ago. If not for a frustrating cast change, it would be firing on every cylinder."

Melissa Rose Bernardo, Entertainment Weekly: "It's a tough sell: a rock musical about mental illness. One or two people losing their marbles is pretty much de rigeur in a play; where would Shakespeare, O'Neill, Williams, or Tracy Letts (August: Osage County) be without it? But composer Tom Kitt and lyricist-librettist Brian Yorkey chose to devote two hours and 20 minutes (and nearly 40 songs) to this generally unappealing subject; the result, in Next to Normal, is incongruously, sometimes agonizingly beautiful."

More Reviews to Come!