Next To Normal is an intimate exploration of family and loss. At its heart is Diana Goodman, a suburban wife and mother living with bipolar disorder and haunted by her past. Donmar Artistic Director Michael Longhurst directs this powerful rock musical about a far‑from‑average family.
They are the same cast that premiered the musical at The Donmar Warehouse in 2023, in a production by director Michael Longhurst, and it is clear that their bond has only strengthened since then, which is crucial for a show that interrogates such heavy themes. Indeed, from the opening number, there are already signs of Diana’s mania, and by the second, she is assembling stacks of sandwiches across the stage floor at breakneck speed, throwing around slices of cheese and ham.
This harrowing, tough-minded musical about mental illness, trauma, love and family is a genuinely courageous attempt to expand the form. Written by Tom Kitt (music) and Brian Yorkey (book and lyrics), it was a multi-award-winning Broadway hit in 2009; now Michael Longhurst’s British premiere production, first seen at the Donmar last summer, triumphantly transfers to the West End. Maybe some details of the staging don’t register with quite the same impact in a less intimate venue. But the show still rips out your heart and hands it back to you, bruised but overflowing. The cast of six is superlative, and Caissie Levy, returning in the lead role of Diana Goodman, is phenomenal, her every moment meticulously calibrated and freighted with delicately observed emotion, and her vocals frankly jaw-dropping.
2008 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2009 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2010 | US Tour |
1st National Tour US Tour |
2010 | US Tour |
2nd National Tour US Tour |
2013 |
Weston Playhouse Production |
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2020 | Washington, DC (Regional) |
Kennedy Center Broadway Center Stage Production Washington, DC (Regional) |
2024 | West End |
West End |
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