Review: M.A.D. Theatre's NEXT TO NORMAL at the Shimberg Playhouse

Community theatres hold a very important place in my heart. (Good community theatres do; the bad ones are, well, horrid, but even their bad shows can be loved like a lost kitten in the rain that needs someone, anyone, to love her.) Several professional theatres hold a snobbery and sometimes even a disdain towards the unpaid actors and stagehands in community shows, and sometimes those reactions can be well founded. I have seen some community theatre shows that have very little to offer, but I always try to find something positive in the experience.

Many of you will agree that community theatres sometimes get the short end of the stick when they should be celebrated because they play a very important part in our theatrical history. First, so many people (including me) started off in community theatre plays; some stay for the love of it while others look back fondly and with a soft place in their hearts for their original sojourn onto the stage. Second, some community theatres are so wonderful that they can compete with many professional companies (and even outdo several of them in quality).

Eight O'Clock Theatre in Largo, The Players Theatre in Sarasota and West Coast Players in Clearwater all do above and beyond the call of community theatre duty. Added to this list, and perhaps now placed at the very top, is M.A.D. Theatre of Tampa. This company has been around for 15 years, starting with an energetic production of Pippin, moving on to Hair, Cabaret, The Who's Tommy, Avenue Q, all the way to Rent earlier this year (and their upcoming spring 2016 production, [title of show].). It's not your everyday community theatre fare. This group is for real, and they put on fantastic, worthy productions of edgy, iconic shows.

Their latest, NEXT TO NORMAL with music by Tom Kitt and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, at times transcends community theatre. I hasten to call it community theatre because, although the actors are up there for the love of it and not for the money, it's heads and shoulders above other community theatres who are stuck doing the umteenth production of Camelot or The Music Man or some Neil Simon knockoff.

NEXT TO NORMAL is one of the two or three best-written musicals of the past decade and a half; it rightfully stands as one of only a handful of musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (and the last one to do so, although that may change with Hamilton this year). And M.A.D. Theatre's high-spirited production of it is quite accomplished...a good production of a great musical. The show deals with extremely serious themes in a very entertaining, non-preachy way. If you are in the mood for a deep musical about bipolar disorder, hallucinations and mental illness, all to the tunes of Tom Kitt's rollicking rock score, then you've entered the right place. (On the other hand, if you're waiting for Harold Hill to sing about "76 Trombones," then obviously you haven't.)

If you have never seen NEXT TO NORMAL, then this is a fine place to start (it's perfeclty suited for the small Shimberg Playhouse at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts). If you have experienced it, then you may have some issues with the show here and there, but you will still enjoy it mightily, especially some of the performances.

There are a lot of new, wonderful faces in this production. Let's start with Casey Vaughn as the bipolar-stricken Diana. This is a part any actress worth her salt would kill for (originally made famous by Alice Ripley), and Vaughn brings it to life in a heartbreaking tour de force, especially in songs like "I Miss the Mountains" and "Didn't I See This Movie?" We feel for her, understand her struggle, and buy in to her story. It's an electric performance, at times almost dizzying, but overall incredibly strong (and it has to be...because if the part of Diana is a snore, then so is the show).

Eric Lamont Newman as Diana's son is blessed with a goose bump-inducing voice that will leave you breathless. (Goose bumps as well as breathlessness? That must be some voice!) He hits impossible notes and vocally is the strongest in the cast. Sometimes you wish his acting matched that glorious voice, because oftentimes he spoke too softly and quickly, making it hard to hear him over the (loud) music. But it's an overall sterling turn, and his "I'm Alive" crackles and sizzles. Hopefully this production will be a springboard for this supremely talented young man who has quite a future ahead of him if he wants it.

Tess Carr is superb as Natalie, the attitudinal, angst-ridden, seemingly invisible daughter trying to be noticed. Her rendition of the title tune "Maybe (Next to Normal)," sung with Casey's Diana, is a highlight of the show. (Nitpick Note of the Week: I just wished she wore a blue dress when her boyfriend, Henry, calls her a "vision in blue"; instead, she wears a black dress here, making his line seem nonsensical. But this is a costume problem, not a performance one.)

As the father, Dan, one of the great roles in recent musicals, Stephen Riordan is a very likable presence onstage, very real and constantly in the moment. We no doubt feel his plight. It's a central role, but here he obviously lets the stunning Vaughn take over. Part of this is because Riordan at times seems to strain for the notes in some of his songs. But he is an incredible actor and does the emotional role justice.

Christian Pena, as the stoner Henry ("the MacGyver of pot"), may have taken the "stoner" part a little too close to heart--he seems made of stone. I wish he'd loosen up a bit, because he obviously has a ton of potential and a nice singing voice. He also has a great look, but he needs to add something to the part, some life. I understand that the character is sort of a pothead anchor for Natalie, a respite from the craziness surrounding her, but Pena needs to find some key to the character that makes us want to watch him and understand what Natalie ultimately sees in him.

As the doctor who treats Diana, Jared Michael Shari is more of a caricature than character, donning thick glasses and looking like Buddy Holly in a Surrealist painting.

Anthony Vito's lighting works well with the compact but busy set. Music Director Peter Belk keeps the lively music thumping, and his collection of musicians (Amy Nickerson on keyboards, Alex Paust on bass, Dick Lange on guitar, and P.J. Lalka on drums) sound tight. Sometimes, however, the music drowned out some of the vocals and seemed a tad loud for the Shimberg. (On the plus side, the creators of the show's program added a much-needed song list, of which I am thankful.)

This production of NEXT TO NORMAL is filled with wonderful vocals, gutsy acting and smart staging--staples of the very talented director, Anthony Paul Gilkinson. The show's always on the move, never dull, its secrets popping up left and right. The staging is sharp, with Gilkinson confidently guiding this ship through emotionally choppy waters; it's quite a powerful journey.

So yes, M.A.D. Theatre has done it again. NEXT TO NORMAL has everything you want in a night of theatre--music that touches the heart, a story that challenges the brain, and performances that make your soul sing. It represents the best of what community theatres can do. What are you waiting for?

M.A.D. Theatre's production of NEXT TO NORMAL plays at the Shimberg until Sunday, November 15th. For tickets, please call (813) 229-STAR (7827).

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