Next to Normal is a contemporary musical that explores how one suburban household copes with crisis. With provocative lyrics, and an electrifying score of more than 30 original songs, Next to Normal shows how far two parents will go to keep themselves sane and their family's world intact.
It's a tough sell: a rock musical about mental illness. One or two people losing their marbles is pretty much de rigeur in a play; where would Shakespeare, O'Neill, Williams, or Tracy Letts (August: Osage County) be without it? But composer Tom Kitt and lyricist-librettist Brian Yorkey chose to devote two hours and 20 minutes (and nearly 40 songs) to this generally unappealing subject; the result, in Next to Normal, is incongruously, sometimes agonizingly beautiful.
Ms. Mazzie, whose roles on Broadway include leads in “Kiss Me, Kate” and “Ragtime,” is, on her own terms, an equally strong presence. But even playing the mercurial diva in “Kate,” she has never seemed touched by the sort of temperament that could run away with her. She has always registered as a woman who is, on some level, practical and in control — of herself, if not her situation. If you were casting “Hamlet,” she’d be an automatic Gertrude but not a natural Ophelia.
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 |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | The Pulitzer Prize | The Pulitzer Prize for Drama | Tom Kitt |
2009 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Leading Actress in a Musical | Alice Ripley |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | Brian Yorkey |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Michael Greif |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Kevin Adams |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | David Stone |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Ellen Richard |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Carole Rothman |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Second Stage Theatre |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Patrick Catullo |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Barbara Whitman |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | James L. Nederlander |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Michael Starobin |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Tom Kitt |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Michael Starobin |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Tom Kitt |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Tom Kitt |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Brian Yorkey |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical | J. Robert Spencer |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Jennifer Damiano |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Alice Ripley |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Musical | Mark Wendland |
2009 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Musical | Brian Ronan |
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