NEXT TO NORMAL Gets NYC Suburban Staging with THREE ACT THEATRE COMPANY

Three Act Theatre announces its production of NEXT TO NORMAL. This Pulitzer Prize winning musical written by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey will get a new staging in Pelham, NY this October. Directed & Choreographed by Eric Mark Olson, Music Directed by Kevin A. Smith, and featuring a cast led by Cindy Finegan and Richard Lisenby.

Next To Normal is a powerful rock musical that grapples with mental illness in a suburban family. As told through six central characters, the musical also addresses such issues as grieving a loss, suicide, drug abuse, ethics in modern psychiatry, and examines the underbelly of suburban life. Next To Normal has a thrilling and often haunting rock score that draws you in from the very first note and never lets go! Next To Normal will have four (4) performances at the Pelham Memorial High School Auditorium (575 Colonial Ave., Pelham, NY 10803) October 15th thru 17th (Thur.-Sat. performances at 7:30pm plus 2:00pm Saturday.)

Pelham Memorial High School community is committed to fostering a safe and nurturing environment in which all students can achieve their greatest potential in every endeavor. We are dedicated to developing confident, well-rounded life-long learners ready to become productive individual contributors and the leaders of tomorrow.

NEXT TO NORMAL features music by Tom Kitt and book & lyrics by Brian Yorkey. Next to Normal received several workshop performances before it debuted Off-Broadway in 2008, winning the Outer Critics' Circle Award for Outstanding Score and receiving nominations for Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Actress (Alice Ripley) and Outstanding Score. The musical opened on Broadway in April 2009. It was nominated for eleven 2009 Tony Awards and won three, Best Original Score, Best Orchestration and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley. It also won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, becoming just the eighth musical in history to receive the honor.

The cast features Cindy Finegan, Richard Lisenby, Sarah Liddy, Devon A. A. Norris, Ethan Gabriel Riordan & Stephen Millett.

Three Act Theatre (TAT) is a new NYC theatre organization, whose mission is to nurture a new generation of actors by creating opportunity for artists of all ages to learn from each other - to work side by side in each 'act' of their life. With goals of inclusiveness in its population, audience, and subject matter, the company has offered full and partial scholarships to its tuition-based intensive training and performance workshops. TAT will offer its Summer Immersion

Program again in July 2016. Summer Immersion Program (SIP) is a 3 Week - 16 Session Theatre Training Program that is an immersion into a professional workshop production of a new musical. Students receive Triple Threat Training which is designed to offer the singer / dancer / actor technical training that will prepare them for musical theatre auditions in their future, and allow them the room to reach their own next level of mastery. They also have the opportunity to learn from and work alongside the adult company members in rehearsal and production, staging an original musical at the conclusion of SIP. Auditions will be held January 2016 for NYC and surrounding area students (ages 12-18).

Tickets for the Pelham, NY premiere of NEXT TO NORMAL are $15 for Students, $20 for Seniors, $25 for Adults - general admission seating. Purchase tickets online at: https://www.universe.com/nexttonormal