#TBT: NEXT TO NORMAL Opens Off-Broadway!

It's definitely not just another day because this week, the Tony Award-winning musical Next to Normal celebrates the tenth anniversary of opening at Broadway's Booth Theatre! In honor of the occasion, we're looking back at the show's Off-Broadway opening at Second Stage Theater with Alice Ripley, Brian d'Arcy James, Aaron Tveit, Jenn Damiano, and more! Check out all the footage below to see why Next to Normal is perfect for you!

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. Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and three 2009 Tony Awards, Next to Normal features music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, and direction by Michael Greif. The original Broadway company featured Tony Award-winner Alice Ripley, J. Robert Spencer, Jennifer Damiano, Aaron Tveit, Adam Chanler-Berat, and Louis Hobson.

Next to Normal was chosen as "one of the year's ten best" (2009) by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Time Out New York, New York Daily News, The Bergen Record, and NY1 - more than any other musical from that season.

Ben Brantley of the New York Times calls Next to Normal "a brave, breathtaking musical. A work of muscular grace and power. It is 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." Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News proclaims it is "next to wondrous - hopeful and uplifting, Next to Normal is an exceptional show that says something meaningful and powerful." Adam Feldman of Time Out New York calls it "surprising and moving, a thoughtful, emotional musical for grown-ups" and Robert Feldberg of The Record raves that Next to Normal is "an exciting leap into the possibilities of musical theater."