NEXT TO NORMAL Begins 5/31 in LA With Bets Malone, Robert Townsend and More

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & MC COY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT will present the Southern California regional theatre premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical, NEXT TO NORMAL, music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, musical direction by Darryl Archibald and directed by Nick DeGruccio. NEXT TO NORMAL will preview on Friday, May 31, 2013 (with a press opening on Saturday, June 1) and runs through Sunday, June 23, 2013 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd in La Mirada.

Next To Normal is the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning, groundbreaking musical "that pushed Broadway in new directions" (Rolling Stone). 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.

Nick DeGruccio (Director) is a multi-award winning director, coach and teacher. His productions include: The Laramie Project (Laguna Playhouse and Colony Theatre: LA premiere, Ovation Awards for Best Play, Best Direction, Best Ensemble), Jekyll & Hyde (Cabrillo Music Theatre: Ovation Award for Direction, 9 Ovation Nominations) and 1776 (Musical Theatre West and Performance Riverside: 5 LA Ovation Awards including Direction and Best Musical), Putting It Together, A Year With Frog and Toad (South Coast Repertory) Cinderella (The Ordway), My Way for La Mirada, Man of La Mancha, RENT, West Coast Premiere of The Andrews Brothers (Musical Theatre West), Guys and Dolls and The Andrews Brothers (Cabrillo MusicTheatre) and the World Premiere of Caught (Zephyr Theatre). As the Artistic Director and Founder of Havok Theatre Company he directed the LA Premieres of Dog Sees God, Kiss of the Spider Woman (LA Ovation Award for Production), Thrill Me and The Story Of My Life. LA Premieres: Side Show (8 Ovation Nominations including direction and was voted One of the Top 10 Plays of 2002 by The Los Angeles Times), The Spitfire Grill (Laguna Playhouse: OC Weekly Award Best Musical), Zanna, Don't! (West Coast Ensemble: LADCC Award for Direction), Bad Apples (Rubicon Theatre: World Premiere Play), A Man Of No Importance and Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party (Musical Theatre Guild), Basic Training (2nd Stage: NAACP Nomination for Direction). Ovation nominated productions: Side By Side By Sondheim (The Rubicon Theatre and Pasadena Playhouse), Guys and Dolls and La Cage Aux Folles (Musical Theatre West), The Last Five Years and I Do! I Do! (Pasadena Playhouse), The Full Monty (San Diego Music Theatre), Beehive (El Portal Theatre), I Left My Heart, Altar Boyz and The Andrews Brothers (Welk Theatre) and City of Angels (Ovation Award for Production), The Fantasticks (Performance Riverside). Nick is an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Theatre Director's Lab West.

Darryl Archibald (Musical Director) Memphis Broadway tour (musical director/conductor); Dreamgirls national tour (associate conductor); Disney's The Lion King Broadway tour (vocal coach/assistant conductor); Wicked at the Pantages Theater (substitute conductor); Jonathan Dove's Innocence (Banff Centre, Manhattan Theatre Club); Nightmare Alley - workshop with Marti Pellow (The Geffen Playhouse); Swing! (Sacramento Music Circus); Smokey Joe's Café (Ovation Award), Serrano - workshop with James Barbour and directed by Joel Zwick (El Portal Theater); I Married Wyatt Earp - workshop with Carole Cook and Carol Lawrence (Wadsworth Theater); The Sound Of Music (Ovation nomination), The Producers, White Christmas, A Chorus Line directed by Kay Cole, The King and I with Deborah Gibson (Cabrillo Music Theater); Swing!, The Buddy Holly Story (McCoy/Rigby); Merry Me A Little - revised version (Celebration Theater); Two By Two with Jason Alexander and Faith Prince, How To Succeed In Business... with John O'Hurley, Carousel with M. Emmet Walsh, The Fantasticks with Eric McCormack, Once On This Island (NAACP Award) with Ledisi, Li'l Abner with Cathy Rigby and Fred Willard, Merrily We Roll Along with Teri Hatcher, I Do! I Do! with Diana Canova and Harry Groener (Reprise); Great Expectations, My Fair Lady, 1776, Little Shop Of Horrors, Camelot, and Forever Plaid (Utah Shakespearean Festival); Company (Los Angels Drama Critics Circle nomination), Cabaret, Merrily We Roll Along (West Coast Ensemble); Loving Repeating, The Fix, The Threepenny Opera, Raisin with Nell Carter (ICT); The Fix, Kiss Of The Spider Woman, Lady In the Dark, and Sail Away (Musical Theater Guild). Guest conductor for the pop-rock group ERASURE (Palm Springs Convention Center); Arrangement and orchestration credits include: the prime-time television special A Hollywood Holiday Celebration (ABC), The Fountain Show and Christmas Trolley Show (The Grove Los Angeles), Great Expectations (Utah Shakespearean Festival).

NEXT TO NORMAL will feature: Bets Malone as Diana, Robert Townsend as Dan, Tessa Grady as Natalie, Alex Mendoza as Henry, Keith Bearden as Dr. Madden, and Eddie Egan as Gabe.

The design team for NEXT TO NORMAL is as follows: The Scenic Design is by John Ezell. The Lighting Design is by Steven Young. The Sound Design is by Josh Bessom. The Costume Design is by Kish Finnegan. The Props Coordinator is Terry Hanrahan. The Casting is by Julia Flores.

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING

NEXT TO NORMAL will begin performances on Friday, May 31, 2013 (with a press opening scheduled for Saturday, June 1) and runs for four weeks through Sunday, June 23.

Performances will be 7:30pm on Wednesdays & Thursdays; 8pm on Fridays; 2pm and 8pm on Saturdays; and 2pm on Sundays.

There will be no matinee performance on Saturday, June 1. Talkbacks with the actors will be on Wednesday, June 5 and Wednesday,
June 19.
Tickets range from $20 - $70 and can be purchased at La Mirada Theatre's website, www.lamiradatheatre.com or by calling the La Mirada Theatre Box Office at (562) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310. Student, Senior and group discounts are available.

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