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.
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.
In short, no matter your own backgrounds or experiences with mental health or grief, this story of an emotionally fraught family on the precipice of danger and longing for something normal (or even just Next to Normal) is sure to deliver an emotional gut punch.
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 |
|
2020 | Washington, DC (Regional) |
Kennedy Center Broadway Center Stage Production Washington, DC (Regional) |
2024 | West End |
West End |
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