Review: NEXT TO NORMAL at Barrington Stage Company

It has been said that NEXT TO NORMAL is anything but ("normal").  I have done so myself.  As one who works at embracing diversity, recognizing that different is okay, not necessarily problematic – it can be accepted, tolerated, even celebrated rather than feared.  Subscribing to the notion that “normal's just a setting on a washing machine”.  I also now prefer to use the term unconventional with respect to this powerful musical currently being presented at Barrington Stage Company in a co-production with Round House Theatre Company of Washington, DC.

The story centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing her illness has on her family. The musical addresses grief, depression, suicide, drug abuse, ethics in modern psychiatry, and the underbelly of suburban life.  I was recently asked; how can you make a musical about such subject matter?  In this case, quite brilliantly!

NEXT TO NORMAL achieved both financial and critical acclaim, receiving 3 2009 Tony’s and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.  With book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt opened on Broadway in 2009. Some of the edgy rock rhythms of musical numbers are unique and very different from traditional pieces.   They are interspersed with tender heartwarming melodies presented at more conventional decibel levels.  They are also co-mingled with several more traditional in nature musical theatre type numbers as well as a very healthy amount of poignant, tender, meaningful messages, if one is able to hear them and allow them to breakthrough perhaps decades of preconceptions and otherwise convention (“normal”) voices that may fire off in one’s head.

Director Alan Paul infuses his production with live video and multimedia, capturing the psychology and inner life of the musical’s six characters in ways both intimate and epic. Centered around a family’s ongoing struggles to overcome issues from their past and the underpinnings of suburban life, Paul’s all-new production blew DC audiences away. And now it’s doing so at Barrington Stage.

The superb cast stars Natalie Joy Johnson as Diana and BSC Associate Artist Alan H. Green as Dan, both of whom shine brightly.  Rounding out the ensemble are Adante Carter as Gabe, Madison McBride as Natalie, Ben Clark as Henry and Joseph Morales as Dr. Madden.  Johnson’s performance alone is astounding.  Seemingly screaming out lyrics at one early moment during “Who’s Crazy / “My Psychopharmacologist and I” and carrying on through a rapid-fire but rich score that includes tender ballads including: “So Anyway”.  Berkshire audiences should be familiar with the vocal prowess and stylings of Alan H. Green.  This piece may be his triumph.  His vocals are pure and clean, his diction so precise that we clearly hear, understand, and enjoy, every single word delivered both strongly and in all the ways they were intended.  Rather than extol the other talented players I will simply say that the casting in this production is also, very much, near perfect, as are the actors delivering them.  One of my personal favorites of the evening was Adante Carter’s rendition of “I’m Alive”, as was "Superboy and the Invisible Girl" where Johnson and Carter are joined by Madison McBride.

With choreography by Eamon John Foley, scenic design by Wilson Chin, costume design by Helen Huang, lighting design by Cory Pattak, sound design by Ken Travis, projections design by Nick Hussong, and musical direction by Angela Steiner. Production Stage Manager is Jason Brouillard and casting by McCorkle Casting Ltd; the synergy of near flawless input from each of the above listed artists results in an overwhelmingly positive experience. 

While the use of the term perfect in the subheading is a bit of an eye wink or nod to one the musical numbers (“Perfect for You”) it is also well deserved.  Earlier in this piece, I mentioned that I had seen NEXT TO NORMAL once before.  I was “blown away” by the 2009 production by Chatham New York’s Mac-Hayden Theatre and applauded the bravery shown in mounting such an unconventional piece in a regional theatre.  I wholeheartedly congratulate and echo that sentiment with respect to BSC and Artistic Director, Alan Paul on this production.  I will also share that this production is complex to the level of a multi-faceted gemstone.  This NEXT TO NORMAL works so well on so many levels that at the end of the production, I realized I had subliminally blocked a major element of the overall messaging that deals with some of the less pleasant aspects of my own family of origin story.

There are humorous moments that balance, but it is hard to delve deeper into the action or provide a synopsis without spoiling the experience for those who will go.  A superb, relevant, contemporary musical theatre experience that, while honestly not for everyone, had the opening night crowd literally leaping to it’s collective feet with more than just myself shouting BRAVO!  I encourage those brave, perhaps “healed”, open minded, individuals to experience this outstanding production of NEXT TO NORMAL continuing on Barrington Stage Company’s Boyd-Quinson Stage (30 Union Street in Pittsfield) through September 8th.

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