Pictured (from left to right): Aaron Tveit, Alice Ripley, J. Robert Spencer
Prior to entering the theater, I was given fair warning that I would not get through Next to Normal without a fair share of tear-shedding. I took that statement in stride but with a grain of salt as I knew very little about the show and what I knew seemed upsetting but not necessarily devastating. However, by the end of the first act, I was a weeping mess.
Next to Normal is one of the rare musicals that reminds you that the term “musical” doesn’t have to mean flashy song and dance numbers with glitzy production and glitter. There is no dancing in this show and the characters are dressed in everyday garb at all times. Indeed, it is less of a musical than it is a play with some of the dialogue sung.
It is a drama strongly in the vein of Arthur Miller in that it is about one member of one family who has one big problem that leaves its impact on every other member of the household. Diana, the matriarch of the Goodman family, has suffered from bipolar disorder for the last 16 years. Her husband Dan spends his days trying to stabilize his wife within the home as various doctors prescribe all sorts of medication. Her daughter, Natalie, struggles to find her own identity living with a mother who blatantly places favoritism on Natalie’s older brother, Gabe.
Overall the performances are strong and emotionally relentless. Alice Ripley, who won the Tony Award for Best Actress, is the life force of the show, presenting Diana’s disorder as something to understand and sympathize with rather than just pity. However, vocally speaking, Ripley’s annunciation of certain words was unconventional to the point of being distracting. While it did not exactly remove me from the moment, it certainly stood out in terms of the show’s overall aesthetic experience.
The character who earned the greatest sympathy from me was disgruntled daughter Natalie, played by Jennifer Damiano, who is clearly the heaviest victim of Diana’s disease. Hers struck me as the most interestingly evolving arc of the story, and the eventual parallels between her actions and those of Diana is troubling but fascinating, a testament to the expert writing of Brian Yorkey.
Next to Normal is the next step up from Spring Awakening in terms of so-called “rock” musicals. However, this is not so much a “rock” musical as it is a musical in which the music itself accurately reflects the emotions of the piece as a whole. None of the songs are concerned with sounding pretty, they are orchestrated around the character and what he or she is feeling. And in my mind, that is how music was intended to be written.
I loved this musical so much. SO AMAZING.
ReplyDeleteConcerning Ripley's vocals: this is hearsay (if someone could find source material for it, it would be awesome), but apparently Ripley purposely made her voice sound like that to press upon the audience that her character wasn't mentally sound/was experiencing things a different way from the other characters.
One of my favorite moments in the show was the penultimate song where it's revealed that the father, too, had never had a chance to grieve either. It made me gasp.
According to Oliver Graney, who has done his fair share of research on this show, Ripley's voice sounded the way it did for me because of vocal damage mainly, which is totally plausible. That role is incredibly taxing on the pipes. In terms of the character I can understand why she puts the strain into the voice, how it always sounds like she's wailing and crying, but in terms of annunciation and things like that, it's mainly because she doesn't have the vocal chords anymore to really bring it like she did at first.
ReplyDeleteI think for me the most powerful moment was when the son is singing "I know a world" and then we hear about the suicide attempt. Oh my lord that had me bawling like a baby.
Hahaha, I think I will trust Oliver's resources much more than mine.
ReplyDeleteAaaah that entire scene, and he's dressed for prom and dancing with his mom and you know that this is one of those desperate "what-ifs" the mother has been thinking about and al;dskjfa;lsdkjf so sad.
From an analytical point of view, my favorite character is the son. When I watched it (and I've only watched it once though listening to the soundtrack multiple times, so perhaps my opinion would change), I began to realize that the son didn't actually have a personality, I guess you could say. He's just this catalystic force that the family must deal with in some form on a daily basis. He's this overwhelming idea that has taken form, and he represents many things, but isn't actually a person. Which makes sense, of course, but it was a very interesting characterization and really personified how he wasn't a "ghost" as we would normally think.
Gah, I ramble.
Also, the ending song - "Light" - has such a beautiful message and al;skdjf;laksdf
ReplyDeleteI can seriously talk about this show for hours.