NEXT TO NORMAL Launches National Tour in Los Angeles Nov. 2010

The Producers of Broadway's most acclaimed new musical, Next to Normal, announced today that a National Tour will launch in Los Angeles in November 2010. Performances at the Center Theatre GroupAhmanson Theatre will begin November 23 and run through January 2. Winner of three Tony Awards - Best Score, Best Actress in a Musical, and Best Orchestrations - Next to Normal features music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, and direction by Michael Greif.

"Having recently celebrated our one-year Anniversary on Broadway, we are now very excited to announce the national tour plans for Next to Normal," stated the show's producer, David Stone. "We are continually heartened by the audience's overwhelming reaction to our show, and we look forward to bringing this contemporary and emotionally powerful new musical to major cities beginning this fall."

Following the premiere in Los Angeles, the tour has confirmed engagements in San Diego, Seattle, Hartford, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, St. Paul, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Washington, DC - where it played a pre-Broadway engagement at Arena Stage in 2008 - and a dozen other cities to be announced in the near future.

Next to Normal was recently chosen as "one of the year's ten best" by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Time Out New York, New York Daily News, The Bergen Record, and NY-1 - more than any other new musical.

With a thrilling contemporary score, Next to Normal is an emotional powerhouse of a musical about a family trying to take care of themselves and each other.

Casting for the National Tour of Next to Normal will be announced in the future.

Ben Brantley of the New York Times calls Next to Normal "a brave, breathtaking musical. A work of muscular grace and power. It is something much more than a feel-good musical; it is a feel-everything musical." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone raves, "Rock is alive and rolling like thunder in Next to Normal. It is the best musical of the season by a mile. Next time you think the Broadway musical is dead, head off to Next to Normal. It'll pin you to your seat." And Peter Marks of The Washington Post calls it "a moving, blisteringly honest, and inordinately powerful new musical. It is stocked with beautiful songs that get to the heart of the story - and simply get to the heart. Next to Normal strikes a blow for the American musical's future each night."

Next to Normal is produced by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo and Second Stage Theatre.

Next to Normal features set design by Mark Wendland, costume design by Jeff Mahshie, lighting design by Kevin Adams, and sound design by Brian Ronan. Musical staging is by Sergio Trujillo, orchestrations are by Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt, and vocal arrangements by AnnMarie Milazzo.

Next to Normal received 11 Tony Award nominations: Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley), Best Actor in a Musical (J. Robert Spencer), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Jennifer Damiano), Best Original Score (Tom Kitt (music)/Brian Yorkey (lyrics)), Best Book of a Musical (Brian Yorkey), Best Director of a Musical (Michael Greif), Best Orchestrations (Tom Kitt/Michael Starobin), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Mark Wendland), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Kevin Adams), and Best Sound Design of a Musical (Brian Ronan).

For more information visit www.NextToNormal.com.

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.

Next to Normal won three Helen Hayes Awards for its Arena Stage engagement, including Outstanding Non-Resident Production, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Non-Resident production (Alice Ripley) and Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Non-Resident Production (Aaron Tveit). Also, Next to Normal received Helen Hayes Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Non-Resident Production (J. Robert Spencer) and Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Non-Resident Production (Jennifer Damiano).

For its sold-out Second Stage Theatre engagement, Next to Normal won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Score and also received the following accolades: Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Featured Actor (Aaron Tveit), and Outstanding Lighting Design (Kevin Adams); Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley) and Outstanding Music; Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical and Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley); and a Drama League nomination for Outstanding Musical, among others.