Christiane Noll and David Harris to Star in NEXT TO NORMAL at TheatreWorks

TheaterWorks announced exciting casting news today for the theater's upcoming production of NEXT TO NORMAL

Tony nominated Christiane Noll will play Diana and David Harris will play Dan in the Pulitzer Prize winning drama (Music by Tom Kitt / Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey). Rob Ruggiero will direct.

NEXT TO NORMAL is the 3rd show of TheaterWorks 31st Season and runs March 23 through April 30, 2017.

This 'not to be missed' contemporary musical deals tenderly with how far two parents will go to keep their family's world intact. It's the story of Diana Goodman, a suburban mom, as she comes to terms with her bipolar disorder and the effect her struggle has on her family.

Rob said, "I couldn't be more excited to bring this Pulitzer Prize winning musical to our audiences. We have a stellar cast lead by Tony Award nominee Christiane Noll and popular Australian artist David Harris. This brilliantly structured musical is relevant, provocative and entertaining. It is the largest musical we've ever produced and I am sure it will be experienced through a new lens in our very intimate space."

NEXT TO NORMAL is a gripping and honest portrayal of how one suburban family grapples with mental illness. Winner of three Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize, it was also chosen as "one of the year's ten best shows" by critics around the country including the New York Times and Variety.

IF YOU GO:

NEXT TO NORMAL
Music by Tom Kitt / Books and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Previews: Friday March 23 - Thursday, March 29, 2017
Press: Thursday, March 29
Run Dates: March 23 - April 30, 2017
At TheaterWorks, City Arts on Pearl - 233 Pearl Street, Hartford, CT 06103

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Christiane Noll (Diana) is making her TheaterWorks debut. She has starred on Broadway in the Kennedy Center Revival of Ragtime, receiving Tony and Drama Desk award nominations and winning a Helen Hayes award for her portrayal of Mother. Broadway and National Tour appearances include Chaplin (Drama Desk Nomination), Urinetown (Ovation Award), The Mambo Kings (Broadway Try-Out), It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues, Jekyll & Hyde, Grease, Miss Saigon and South Pacific (Australia/Thailand). She is a frequent guest soloist with symphony orchestras around the world, including National Symphony and Marvin Hamlisch, Cincinnati Pops and Eric Kunzel, Jerusalem Symphony and Don Pippin, Philadelphia Pops and Peter Nero, Boston Pops and Keith Lockhart, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra with Jeff Tyzik, as well as international appearances with Sinfonica Brasileira in Rio, China Philharmonic with concert pianist, Lang Lang and orchestras in Hong Kong, Czech Republic and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She made her Carnegie Hall debut with Skitch Henderson, in his last pops performance with The New York Pops and more recently sang with Steven Reineke for Stephen Sondheim's 80th Birthday Celebration at Carnegie Hall. She made her Hollywood Bowl debut singing with Julie Andrews and her opera debut with Placido Domingo in The Merry Widow as well as City Center Encores! The New Moon, The Student Prince, Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado. Premieres: Kid Victory, The Witches of Eastwick, Frankenstein, Ace (Helen Hayes nom), Call the Children Home, Little by Little, and Lizzie Borden. Film/Television: Sound of Music - Live NBC, The King & I (Singing Anna - Warner Brothers Animated Feature). Favorites: Closer Than Ever revival, Little Shop of Horrors, Mack & Mabel (Conn. Critics Circle Award), The Baker's Wife, Into the Woods and Carousel. She has made appearances with Town Hall's Broadway by the Year, Lincoln Center American Songbook Series, at Feinstein's, Joe's Pub, 54 Below and Birdland. Solo Recordings: A Broadway Love Story, Live at the West Bank Café, The Ira Gershwin Album, My Personal Property and Gifts: Live at 54 Below. ChristianeNoll.com.

David Harris (Dan) is making his TheaterWorks debut. David is originally from Australia, and moved to New York in late 2014. His credits include USA: Anything Goes (Billy Crocker: Goodspeed), Les Miserables (Valjean: CT Rep). Australia - Miss Saigon (Chris: Helpmann, Sydney Theater noms), Wicked (Fiyero: Helpmann nom), Legally Blonde (Emmett: Green Room Award, Helmann, Sydney Theater noms), Into the Woods (Baker: TheatrePeople Award), Beauty and the Beast (Beast), The Boy From Oz (Greg), The Full Monty (Malcolm), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Jimmy), Children of Eden (Adam/Noah), Damn Yankees (Joe Hardy), Fiddler on the Roof (Perchik), Little Women (John Brooke), Gutenberg the musical (Bud), The Pajama Game (Prez), Mamma Mia (u/s Sky/Eddie). International - Wicked Asia (Fiyero) TV/Film - South Pacific (telemovie), Blue Heelers, Neighbours, Rescue Special Ops. Concert - Do You Hear The People Sing?, Defying Gravity - Songs of Stephen Schwartz, An Evening with Lea Salonga, Andrew Lippa and Friends, and Michael Ball - In Concert. www.davidharrisofficial.com @DavidHarrisOz

Rob Ruggiero (Director/Producing Artistic Director) has been a part of TheaterWorks artistic leadership for 23 years. He has directed over 50 shows, including Relativity, Sex with Strangers, THIRD, Good People, Christmas on the Rocks, Annapurna, The Other Place and Time Stands Still. Rob has earned national recognition for his work on plays and musicals. His Broadway credits include Looped (starring Valerie Harper in a Tony-nominated performance) and High (starring Kathleen Turner). Off-Broadway, he conceived and directed the original musical revue entitled Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn (Nominated for the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle Awards). Rob conceived and directed the world premiere musical portrait of Ella Fitzgerald entitled Ella, which was seen on more than 24 regional theater stages from 2005-2010 before beginning a National Tour. His work has received multiple awards and recognition here in Connecticut, as well as in other cities around the United States. Rob most recently directed La Cage aux Folles, his ninth collaboration with Goodspeed Musicals where he also directed highly successful productions of Fiddler on the Roof (Connecticut Critic's Circle Award for Best Direction), The Most Happy Fella (Connecticut Critic's Circle Award for Best Direction), Carousel (Broadway World Award), Annie Get Your Gun, Camelot, Big River, 1776 and a new adaptation of Show Boat (Connecticut Critic's Circle Award for Best Direction). This new version is now being licensed by the Rogers & Hammerstein Organization. www.robruggiero.com