Blown Away by Next to Normal

Last night, I watched my second performance of the Broadway musical Next to Normal in as many weeks at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. I was so emotionally blasted by the first performance that when an opportunity popped up to see the show again, I jumped at the chance.

Next to Normal tells the story of a seemingly "normal" family. There's the high-strung mother, Diana, on a quest to be the perfect wife and mother. Her hard-working, long-suffering husband, Dan, is intent on keeping the family functioning and on track. Oldest son, Gabe, is an all-American, almost-eighteen specimen of physical perfection, a bit of a cad but loving to his mother and distanced from his father. Daughter Natalie is a caffeine-addicted musical genius, vying for her parents' attention in the shadow of her perfect brother.

There's just one problem. Diana is mentally ill. After the show's first song, she has an small psychotic episode and Dan hustles her off to the doctor to try new drug regimens. But the drugs and their side effects wear on her and with Gabe's encouragement, she flushes her meds and spends the next several weeks faking normality in the manic phase of her bipolar disorder.

Then, at dinner when Natalie's new boyfriend, Henry, is in attendance, Diana brings out a birthday cake to celebrate her son's ascension to manhood. Alas, Gabe has been dead since he was eighteen months old -- before Natalie was even born. His presence in his mother's life is a delusion. Only she sees and hears him. Only she interacts with him. He exists solely for her.

We learn that her inability to stop grieving for her son has dramatically affected the rest of her life and the lives of her family. When Natalie was born, Diana couldn't even hold her infant daughter. Natalie grew up receiving only the affection her mother could spare from within the delusional love for her perfect son, poignantly voiced in the song "Superboy and the Invisible Girl." Dan spends each day at work wondering when he will get the call that his wife is acting out again in some bizarre way.

Gabe comes to symbolize not only Diana's mental illness, but everything wrong with the family: he tempts Natalie into experimenting with drugs and eventually becomes his father's despair. Color, of the wonderfully innovative staging and of the clothing selected for Gabe, offers up another symbolic clue to his role in the story.

Toward the end of Act One, Diana has been in drug-free therapy with a new doctor but still cannot give up interacting with her deceased son and, led by a tuxedo-clad Gabe, attempts suicide by slashing her wrists. The doctor recommends ECT - Electro-convulsive Therapy. With Dan's encouragement, feeling that this might be their last resort for finding peace, she consents to the procedure.

A small aside before I continue with the story: I have written previously about my relationship with my mother and her struggles with mental illness. Like Diana, she attempted suicide several times -- never with cutting, only with pills. Like Diana, she was given numerous "shock therapy" sessions. But unlike the family in the show, I never had the mitigating presence of a father. I first went to this show completely ignorant of the plot and by the end of Act One, I was crying to the point of weeping. I couldn't stop crying during the intermission. Hell, I'm starting to cry now, just typing this. I told my musical theater buddy, Missie, that they should post a sign in the lobby stating: "If you grew up with a paranoid-schizophrenic mother who attempted suicide, please carry extra tissues. You'll need them."

Anyway, in Act Two Diana undergoes the procedure, Dan tries to hold things together at home and Natalie drags Henry to clubs and makes him watch as she delves deeper into drugs while keeping herself emotionally distant from him. The ECT gives Diana a newfound clarity, but at a cost -- most of her memories of the last 19 years, including all memory of her marriage, her son and daughter, are gone.

Dan tries to lead her through memories of the good times they shared, while carefully avoiding the bad or anything to do with Gabe. He thinks that by carefully editing their history, he can create a better present. Of course, Gabe's djinn won't stay bottled. When he reemerges, Diana flees the family home and seeks counsel from her doctor. The doctor, as they so often do, suggests that a relapse was always a possibility (though never forewarned) and that she should try more ECT combined with more drugs. Diana refuses this option. She has a wonderfully lucid moment of clarity and reconciliation with Natalie, suggesting that while they can never be normal, perhaps they can try for something like it. Natalie agrees that "next to normal" would be good. Diana then encourages her daughter to go to the school dance with Henry.

Another aside: at one point, Natalie expresses to Henry her fears that she might go crazy someday, like her mother. I know that fear. I've lived that fear. My brother and I talk about it from time to time, wondering if the genetic predisposition could still strike us or one of his children. I wept for Natalie and for myself.

At home, Diana packs her things and tells Dan that she needs to try to beat her illness on her own, without his constant support. Left alone, Dan gives into the vision of his son, finally and for the first time saying his name; Gabriel. The show ends with Natalie and Dan forging ahead at home, Natalie doing homework with Henry, Dan surreptitiously asking the doctor how his wife is doing and learning that she is trying and understands the risks. For her part, Diana seems free of Gabe, although his presence is always onstage.

Photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging

The Cast:
Curt Hansen's performance as Gabe was athletic and frenetic in both performances. His movements were sharp, almost superhuman and he managed to convey and eerie blend of loving and menace. He was brilliant. Emma Hunton's Natalie had the perfect blend of innocence and bluster. Asa Sommer's turn as long-suffering Dan was pitch-perfect, both vocally and emotionally.

Last Saturday, the role of Diana was played by the understudy, Pearl Sun. Physically, she seemed a bit young to be a mother of teenagers, but her voice was fantastic and moving.

I admit to feeling a little disappointed because I really wanted to see Alice Ripley in the role she originated. I know Ripley from my other favorite oddball musical, "Side Show." (Last night, I took the score to Side Show and the CD set of the N2N Original Broadway Cast album with me, just in case I got an opportunity to get something signed. I didn't.) I have to admit to being a bit disappointed by Ripley's vocal performance. Her voice was a bit ragged and unlike the smooth, soaring lilt I'm accustomed to hearing. Her acting was flawless and her performance was still stellar, but it sounded like she needed to give her larynx a rest.

Next to Normal is a moving, emotional experience I'd recommend highly to anyone and everyone. If you want to experience the musical theater equivalent of independent cinema, buy a ticket to this show. Bring tissues. Lots of 'em.