Ripley to Star in NEXT TO NORMAL at the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre

Alice Ripley, who received the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning "Next to Normal," will reprise her acclaimed performance in the musical's 36-week, multi-city North American tour, launching this November at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles followed by confirmed engagements in San Diego, Seattle, Des Moines, Providence, Hartford, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, St. Paul, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., and more cities to be announced in the near future. Ms. Ripley will play her final Broadway performance on Sunday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m.

"Alice is one of the main reasons I wanted to bring the show to Broadway. Her performance has proved to be the stuff of Broadway legend," stated producer David Stone. "We will miss her in the New York company, but I am thrilled she will be headlining the national tour and that audiences across the country will be able to see a true Broadway star giving a Tony-winning performance in their hometown."

Alice Ripley's portrayal of Diana Goodman, a woman crippled by mental illness, received unanimous critical acclaim when the show opened on Broadway in April 2009. Ben Brantley of The New York Times called her portrayal "the musical performance of the season" and Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News called it "a towering performance that leaves you tongue-tied for superlatives." Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press raved, "Alice Ripley is giving one of those fearless performances that is astonishing in its theatrical intensity and vocal commitment" and Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called Alice Ripley "simply magnificent. Ripley doesn't just occupy the stage - she owns it." In addition to the Tony Award, Ms. Ripley earned the Helen Hayes Award as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations.

Ms. Ripley's numerous other Broadway credits include "Side Show" (Drama Desk, Tony Award nominations), "The Rocky Horror Show," "James Joyce's The Dead," "Sunset Boulevard" and "The Who's Tommy." She also appeared on Broadway and on national tour in "Les Misérables." Her off-Broadway/regional theatre credits include "Next to Normal," "Five Flights," "James Joyce's The Dead," "The Vagina Monologues," "Tell Me on a Sunday" (Helen Hayes nomination), "Shakespeare in Hollywood" (Helen Hayes nomination), "Company" (Helen Hayes nomination). Her recordings include "Next to Normal," "Little Fish," "Skinner/Ripley," "Raw at Town Hall," "Sondheim: The Stephen Sondheim Album," "Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens," "The Rocky Horror Show," "The Stephen Schwartz Album," "Duets," "Unsuspecting Hearts," "Side Show," "The Who's Tommy." With her band RIPLEY, Alice has written and produced the albums "Everything's Fine," "Ripley EP" and "Outtasite."

"Next to Normal," which is the second production of the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre's 2010-2011 season at the Los Angeles Music Center, begins previews at the Ahmanson Theatre November 23, 2010, opens November 28 and will run through January 2, 2011.

"Next to Normal" has had a surprising and highly unlikely route to Broadway. The musical originally opened at Off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre on February 13, 2008. Producer David Stone, who had been guiding the musical since 2005, took the unexpected step of bringing the show to Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage where it was significantly reworked, and then back to New York and to Broadway, where it opened to rave reviews on April 15, 2009. This unusual trajectory from a New York off-Broadway premiere to an out-of-town regional theatre engagement and then back to New York is unprecedented.

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

Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and three 2009 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.

Tickets for "Next to Normal" (and the rest of the Ahmanson Theatre's 2010-2011 season) are currently available by subscription only. For information and to charge season tickets by phone, call the Exclusive Season Ticket Hotline at (213) 972-4444. To purchase subscriptions on-line, visit CenterTheatreGroup.org. For information regarding audio description and Project D.A.T.E. (sign language interpreted, open caption and audio description performances) call TDD (213) 680-4017 or voice (213) 972-4444.

For more information please visit www.CenterTheatreGroup.org or www.NextToNormal.com.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

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