"Wish I Were Here": Directed by David Cromer, 'Next to Normal' Feels at Home at Glencoe's Writers Theatre -- Chicago Theater Review

Theater Review

Next to Normal

Writers Theatre, Glencoe, IL

Thru June 16

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The dramatic musical Next to Normal opened on Broadway 10 years ago, in April 2009, and ran there until January 2011.

Even more that commercially, the original work--with book & lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt--was a critical success.

It was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, winning three--though losing Best New Musical to Billy Elliot--and was awarded the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

I did not see Next to Normal on Broadway, but on its first national tour, which came to Chicago in 2011, Alice Ripley reprised her Tony-winning turn as Diana Goodman, a suburban mother battling mental illness. 

Prior to Wednesday night at Writers Theatre, I had also seen NTN twice more in strong local productions with lead actresses I found to be terrific.

Photo credit on all: Michael Brosilow

Though certainly not the first musical to address serious themes, Next to Normal felt groundbreaking for telling a genuinely dramatic story with music, without any traditional "Broadway" song & dance numbers.

I don't think it coincidental that Fun Home, Dear Evan Hansen, Once and The Band's Visit--all of which won the Best New Musical Tony--followed in its wake.

As I've said in my previous reviews (1, 2, 3) of this show--each time, as now, bestowing @@@@1/2--I think Next to Normal is a great piece of theater, but, due in part to a collection of songs more strong than routinely spectacular, it's not quite on par with my very favorite musicals.

It had been four years since I'd last seen the show, so I was certainly glad to do so again at Writers Theatre, with a fine cast under the direction of David Cromer, a Chicagoan--actually from Skokie, like me--who won a 2018 Tony for directing The Band's Visit on Broadway. (That show also won Best New Musical.)

From having seen Cromer as an actor in A Long Day's Journey Into Night to appreciating his work as a director on The Adding Machine, Our Town--in which he also performed--and Sweet Bird of Youth, I have no shortage of reasons for admiring his talent.

But truth be told, I wasn't blown away by The Band's Visit.

And though I don't have much recollection for details, I can't say I noted obvious ways he made Next to Normal any better than it was before.

Certainly, Next to Normal's Broadway director, Michael Greif, is a terrific one, having directed Rent and 2017 Tony winner Dear Evan Hansen, which I think is even better than NTN as a dramatic musical.

Still, it's cool that Cromer came home--he's worked at Writers in the past--to direct a musical that feels as if it could easily take place in Glencoe, whose affluent homes certainly may well contain families that are struggling--in one way or another--more than many might imagine.

Keely Vasquez does a fine job as Diana, in the throes of bipolar episodes that have long plagued her, as she, husband Dan (David Schlumpf) and behavioral health professionals--the always stellar Gabriel Ruiz plays two different doctors, one he imbues with "rock star" moves--try to find the right combination of treatment and meds to bring relative stability and comfort.

Opening song, "Just Another Day"--which also features the Goodmans' two children, Natalie (Kyrie Courter, whose fine voice I recalled from Company last year at Mercury Theatre) and Gabe (Liam Oh, who is remarkable, especially as just a Northwestern underclassman)--sets things up well, while I relish how "My Psychopharmacologist and I" references not only Rodgers & Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things," but, slyly, John Coltrane's jazz cover of it.

Alex Levy rounds out the cast as Natalie's fledgling high school boyfriend, Henry. Together they deliver a great rendition of "Perfect for You."

Well-sung by Vasquez, "I Miss the Mountains" poignantly sheds light on the repercussions of Diana's illness AND its treatment, while Schlumpf--joined by Vasquez and Oh--does a nice job in leading the powerful "I Am the One" (which I included in a "Broadway Rocks" Spotify playlist referenced in this blog post).

Yorkey, Kitt and Greif continue to deserve great credit for creating--from scratch, not as an adaptation--a different kind of musical, with difficult subject matter.

Not every song nor scene transfixes me, but Next to Normal is a show that anyone who loves theater--and not just musical theater--should be familiar with, and Writers, Cromer and co. do it fine justice in Glencoe.

There are characteristics in a couple of the actors I didn't find pristine, but nothing that warrants specifying, as the performances are all strong.

And while Diana's challenges are always front and center, the show isn't merely dour, as it depicts family, resilience, young love and more in rather realistic ways.

It may not be perfect, here or anywhere, but Next to Normal is close enough for this to be a strong recommendation, particularly if you've never seen it.

'Next To Normal' Feels Quite Fine Rather Close to Home -- Chicago Theater Review

Theater Review

Next to Normal
MadKap Productions
Skokie Theatre
Thru September 27
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There can be something rather illuminating about seeing the same piece of theater done across various levels of the theatrical domain. (In that vein, see my latest review of The Producers, which I recently saw for the 13th time.)

Not only can you note how different actors perform the same roles, and how directors, set designers, costumers, etc. deal with spatial and financial considerations in interpreting shows that often began in big Broadway theaters, but particularly in more spartan environments with less celebrated performers you can really get a sense of how strong the source material actually is.

I have now seen the musical Next to Normal three times in the last 5 years, initially in 2011 on its first National Tour featuring Alice Ripley reprising her Tony-winning leading role.

A much lauded--and really strong--regional production brought me to the Drury Lane Oakbrook in 2013, and with Next to Normal even closer to my home, I caught it on Friday night at the intimate Skokie Theatre.

I have always found the show to be a first-rate piece of theater, not only one of the better new works of recent years--especially among the ever-shrinking realm of truly original musicals not based on movies or other name-brand material--but possibly the best combination of drama and musical I've ever seen. (Though Next to Normal didn't win the Best Musical Tony in 2009, it earned the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2010.)

In my previous reviews--which you can access via the hyperlinks 2 & 3 paragraphs up--I recapped the
show's storyline and explained why, despite greatly liking the piece, I rated excellent productions @@@@1/2 rather than a full @@@@@ (in large part because not enough of the narratively-strong songs stand out on their own).

So I won't go into the same depth here, but wanted to extol a rather sublime rendition staged by MadKap Productions at the Skokie.

That the cast & crew retained the emotional resonance and musical merits of Next to Normal in a tight space with just a 4-piece band is all the more impressive when one notes that only 9 performances were being done (the last being today at 2pm).

Certainly, viewers had to imagine the various rooms of a house, psychiatrists' offices and hospitals rather than actually see them, a few of the actors seemed a bit young for their roles and while the singing was strong throughout, some of the vocal timbres were a bit less than Broadway caliber.

But with many audience members likely seeing this work for the first time, the almost-full house at the Skokie undoubtedly got the full essence of Next to Normal, an emotionally-wrought story of a family in which the mother suffers from bipolar disorder.

Whitney Morse, who I really liked last year in The Children's Hour in another dramatically-intense role, is outstanding here as Diana (played by Ripley on Broadway/tour and by the always superb Susie McMonagle in Oakbrook).

All of the other actors are also notably good, including Brian Zealand as Diana's husband Dan, Molly LeCaptain and Jordan Grzybowski as their kids, Natalie and Gabe, Christopher Selefski as Natalie's boyfriend Henry and Nick Shoda embodying two different psychiatrists that Diana sees.

The band was also terrific, so in this review that essentially serves only to salute fine work (coming as it does on the last day of the run), I'll also give a shout out to musical director/keyboardist Gary Powell, pianist Jeff Poindexter, guitarist Scott Sedlacak and drummer Dylan Frank, who I consistently noted for his particularly fine playing.

And while I think the emotional storyline (by Brian Yorkey) is more the greatest strength of Next to Normal--the theater went hear-a-pindrop silent upon a major revelation--than is the music, the score by Tom Kitt (with lyrics by Yorkey) serves the narrative quite well and features some standout tunes like "I Am the One" and "I'm Alive."

Unless you read this and rush right over to Lincoln Avenue in downtown Skokie, you probably won't get to this production of Next to Normal.

But even if you generally prefer plays, this is a musical well-worth seeing.

And even in far more sizable spaces with larger bands, grander scenery and much longer runs, you would be fortunate to see it enacted as good as it has been within my hometown.

Next to Normal, in the neighborhood of magnificent.

Susie McMonagle and Superb Castmates Render 'Next To Normal' Next to Perfect -- Chicago Theater Review

Theater Review

Next to Normal

Drury Lane Oakbrook

Thru October 6

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As firmly reiterated by a terrific local production at Drury Lane Oakbrook, coming just two years after I saw the first National Tour (which came to Chicago just months after the show closed on Broadway and featured the original star), Next to Normal is a great musical.

Despite not meeting my #1 prerequisite for great musicals.

So perhaps I should more accurately say that Next to Normal is a musical that is a great piece of theater, even if not quite a great musical in terms of its score. 

Typically, the foremost criteria for me to consider a stage musical truly superb is for it to have great music, including several songs that rise above being tuneful & narrative to the point of being hummable and memorable.

A show can be funny, touching, well-acted and terrifically choreographed--and even abundantly enjoyable in the moment--but without a number of really terrific songs, it generally can't compare to the really classic musicals. This is true, IMHO, about several musicals I've seen, even just this year, including Catch Me If You Can, Big Fish and Flashdance the Musical.

And as I opined two years ago in seeing the national tour with Alice Ripley in it, Next to Normal has a strong set of storytelling songs, but only two or three you're likely to remember the next day.

This was particularly notable Saturday afternoon in the unusually undersold Drury Lane Oakbrook, where classic musicals with oodles of songs well-known to the older crowd (that comprises a large percentage of subscribers and group attendees) are standard fare.

But while Drury Lane and its artistic director William Osetek, who helms this production, clearly took a chance in scheduling such a dark, non-normal, modern musical, I applaud them for it, as literally did everyone in the house in instantly bestowing a standing ovation at the end of Next to Normal.

For while it may be a far cry from My Fair Lady, with only "I Am the One" and "I'm Alive" being truly standout tunes, Next to Normal is one of those rare musicals that works as drama.

Written expressly for the Broadway stage (i.e. not based on a popular movie) Next to Normal tells the story of the Goodmans, a modern-day family in which the mom, Diana, has been beset by behavioral health problems for several years--and remains in crisis throughout the show.

Susie McMonagle stars as Diana, the role originated by Ripley, who ironically also starred on Broadway in Side Show, a local production of which first brought McMonagle to my attention back in 2000.

I've seen her in several musicals throughout Chicagoland since then--from playing the lead in Evita, to key roles in touring versions of Mamma Mia and Billy Elliot, to originating the lead in Snapshots, a brilliant revue of Stephen Schwartz showtunes set to a new story in a world premiere production at Northlight--and she has always been superb, in both her acting and singing.

But I don't recall McMonagle being any better than she is here, and while I remember Ripley also being outstanding--she won a Tony for the role on Broadway--my much closer vantage point in the more intimate Drury Lane Theatre (vs. the Bank of America, nee Shubert) helped me to really appreciate the nuances an actress must bring to Diana, a role I imagine it could be tempting to overact.

But the Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal is far from a one-woman show, and the six-member, mostly Equity cast in Oak Brook is sensational throughout. Local veteran Rod Thomas is terrific as Diana's steadfast husband, Dan, and with the performances given by Callie Johnson and Josh Tolle as their children, one wouldn't suspect they are both recent college grads in either their first or most prominent Chicago-area roles.

Johnson is especially convincing--and well-sung--as Natalie, a 16-year-old girl dealing both with her mother's increasing instability and a first-time romance, with Henry (Skyler Adams, who is also excellent).

And for reasons I won't divulge, Tolle's take on playing the Goodman's son is even trickier, and he pulls it off quite well. 

Colte Julian rounds out the cast in dual roles of Diana's therapists, and his recent turn as Jerry Lee Lewis in The Million Dollar Quartet serves him especially well in one number here.

While the serious themes and narrative are what truly elevate Next to Normal, I don't mean to imply that the music is bad. It's actually pretty strong, just not Leonard Bernstein or Richard Rogers strong. 

So while this is a marvelous musical that takes the art form in a dramatic new direction, the Drury Lane Oakbrook rendition is likely as good a production as you'll ever again be able to see and I liked it to the point of eagerly anticipating standing to applaud at the end, the stellar-but-not-scintillating score is what prompts me to deem Next to Normal right next door to perfect, but not quite there.

(As with my review in 2011, I feel it necessary to explain why I didn't give Next to Normal a full @@@@1/2.)

Still, especially if you haven't seen NTN elsewhere, I strongly suggest you get to Oak Brook before October 6. Particularly as discounted tickets seem to be available for every performance on Goldstar.