BWW Reviews: NEXT TO NORMAL at Providence Performing Arts Center

As Act One closes on Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's Next to Normal, there is hearty applause and then a bit of stunned silence. The audience needs a just a moment to re-adjust to their own reality after spending the last hour in Diana Goodman's. This happened during its run in New York, and it happened in Providence, RI last night where Next to Normal is playing at Providence Performing Arts Center through March 27th.

Next to Normal picked up an armful of well-deserved awards during its recent Broadway run, including winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (a rare nod for a musical), as well as Tony Award for Best Score, Best Orchestration and Best Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley, who is also headlining the tour. It is less usual now than it has been in the past for a Tony-winning lead actor to reprise their role on tour. Ms. Ripley's presence on this tour is a treat for theater audiences.

As Diana, Alice Ripley plays a suburban mom who, along with her family, is dealing with the loss of a child. Diana's grief is compounded by mental illness and frequent breaks with reality. Diana's husband, Dan (Asa Somers) and daughter Natalie (Emma Hunton) are emotionally spent after enduring years of maternal neglect along with the mountain tops and deep valleys of Diana's bipolar disorder.

At rock bottom, Diana makes the difficult decision to undergo Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) knowing that there is a real chance she will lose the crucial parts of her memory, including the memory of her son, Gabe (Curt Hansen).

There are many extraordinary pieces of Next to Normal, starting with its story of a family on the edge. A straight drama production would be compelling on its own. Then, there is the score which, like opera, telegraphs the action and emotion on stage. Even if sung entirely in Italian, an audience member would still be able to follow the narrative. There is Alice Ripley's intense, deeply felt, performance which she weaves in and out of musically, with near-unparalleled finesse.

Finally, Asa Somers, Emma Hunton and Curt Hansen, along with Michael McElroy, step up with apparent ease to meet the challenge of sharing a stage with Diana Goodman and Alice Ripley.

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Next to Normal runs through Sunday, March 27th at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC). Ticket prices range from $41 - $68 and can be purchased at the PPAC Box Office which is located at 220 Weybosset St., Providence, RI; by calling (401) 421-2787 or at www.ppacri.org.

Photo: Alice Ripley & Curt Hansen in the National Tour of Next to Normal. Photo by Craig Schwartz.

 

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