My thoughts on the new company of NEXT TO NORMAL

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 8:16pm

Watching the new company of the heartbreaking musical NEXT TO NORMAL, I finally saw what I didn’t see at Second Stage or at the Booth with the original company.

True, everything about Alice Ripley’s jaw-dropping performance was stuff of legend: her crooked smile, her expressive, crazed eyes, and a voice that sounded like it would break at any second. Ripley bulldozed her way through Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s script and score like a tornado, leaving no room for anything else in its path. And while J. Robert Spencer (and before and after, Brian d’Arcy James), Jennifer Damiano and Aaron Tveit were quite strong in their roles (Damiano in particular), the show was Ripley’s, TKO.

Was there emotion? Of course there was. I didn’t see it. And I thought that Michael Grief’s staging didn’t match the direction in which Kitt and Yorkey had taken their material post-Second Stage.

But that all changed watching the new company, as I found myself dissolving into a teary-eyed mess at multiple points throughout the first and second acts. What Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley, Meghann Fahy and Kyle Dean Massey have done is turn NEXT TO NORMAL into an ensemble piece.

Mazzie’s Diana is far stronger a woman than Ripley’s. You wouldn’t think that she’s about to fall off the deep-end; she seems far-stronger, yet terribly addled. But ultimately, you can't help but think that she will get through it, and be better because of it. It's well-thought-out, sans rawness, but with knife-like precision. It was really interesting to hear how the songs sound when sung sans vocal flourishes. Mazzie’s beautiful rendition of “I Miss the Mountains,” is a true show-stopper.

Having her real-life husband, Danieley, play Dan, her stage husband, brings an interesting dynamic to the piece. Singing the role spectacularly, his Dan is just as much of a tortured-soul as her Diana, but you’re unsure if he’ll get by in the end. Together, they make a dynamite team, mutually trusting, sexy, and believable.

A strong, yet tortured woman and a strong, yet tortured man, have raised a very weak, very tortured daughter in Fahy's Natalie. That's not to say she's weak - FAR from it - but you could easily see her fragile Natalie walking down the same path, sliding into the mental instability of her mother feet-first.

Massey, who performed with the original cast, Adam Chanler-Berat and Louis Hobson are all quite solid in their roles and are still making interesting choices in their roles, years down the pike.

With NEXT TO NORMAL now as an ensemble piece, everyone has a chance to shine, and they do. It’s not just one person’s show anymore, it’s all of theirs.
Updated On: 8/1/10 at 08:16 PM

[doombuggy25]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 8:33pm

Thank you so much for your review! This makes me even more excited to get to see them :)

[mikem]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 9:27pm

Yankeefan, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'm wondering if you had seen the previous cast a long time ago or fairly recently. I went to Ripley et al's last performance after not having seen the show for over a year, and was also struck by how the show was much more of a balanced piece than when I had seen it earlier, when it really seemed like The Alice Ripley Show.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 9:37pm

I saw it shortly after it opened, or something close to that. And once at Second Stage.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 9:54pm

Glad to hear this!

[CandiceElyse]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 10:22pm

I saw the new cast last weekend and I couldn't agree with this review more! beautifully put!

[CountA]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 10:45pm

I knew Marin Mazzie would be great! Jason too! I can't wait to see it.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 10:59pm

Yankee, thanks for the review. I brought a ticket a week or so ago. Seeing it Tuesday week. Can't wait.

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 11:22pm

I really need to get a ticket for the new cast.

[BellatrixxLestrangee]

Posted: 7/31/10 at 11:55pm

Thanks for the review! I can't wait to go see the show!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 1:00am

Good review, and I agree with about 80% of it. I was also at the matinee, and Marin has improved greatly since I saw her at her first performance.

Mercifully, they've adjusted a lot of the keys, which has allowed her to belt the score a lot more then she was doing (her first show, she sang 85% of her songs in her head voice). They haven't changed any of the harmonies, so any time she harmonizes, she's in her head voice. This was only a noticeable problem during the last verse of I Am The One, when she comes in singing You Don't Know. You couldn't hear her, and Kyle and Jason drowned her right out. That part of the song remains her weakest moment. The most noticeable key change is Didn't I See This Movie. It never made sense to have her singing in her upper register when she's yelling at Dr. Madden. Another interesting change, is the oft discussed I Dreamed A Dance. Marin and Kyle have amped up the sexual undertones exponentially. I've never seen the number played that overtly sexual before. Anyway, her act 2 remains very strong. She doesn't, and I don't think she ever will, throw herself into the role with the reckless abandon her predecessor did, nor does she have the raw emotion that Alice did. But she's still very effective.

Meghann Fahy's more innocent, more fragile Natalie remains outstanding and about as perfect as can be.

Kyle Dean Massey (who took an optional high note at the end of I'm Alive that sounded incredible), Adam Chanler-Berat, and Louis Hobson all remain stellar.

And then there's Jason Danieley. He's not bad, just a complete non-entity. His Dan doesn't register with me. He's just kind of there. No emotional impact whatsoever. He doesn't have the big booming voice that Brian D'Arcy James or Michael Berry do, and actually seemed to struggle quite a bit with the low notes.

Good energy today, and a good audience as well today.

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 1:36am

"And then there's Jason Danieley. He's not bad, just a complete non-entity. His Dan doesn't register with me. He's just kind of there. No emotional impact whatsoever."

I couldn't disagree with this more. I thought he was wonderful tonight (well last night) and his "I am the one (reprise)" killed me.

Updated On: 8/1/10 at 01:36 AM

[CockeyedOptimist2]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 1:42am

I'm with you, Blockhead. Jason was a huge standout of the new cast for me and he broke my heart as Dan (which, of course, I loved). I went home and bought his country cd and his cd with Marin. Wonderful, both of them.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 8:04am

I've been wanting to see this ever since I first saw the article announcing who would be in the cast. Has anyone heard how long they are scheduled to be in the production?

[MeggilyWeggily08]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 8:31am

Through January.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 9:19am

Yankee, I agree with pretty much everything you said. I didn't particularly care for Massey, though. He seemed to be vocally walking through the show the night I saw it.

Mazzie is as much of a force of nature as Alice; they just have different styles. It was a brilliant performance.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 10:18am

"Marin and Kyle have amped up the sexual undertones exponentially. I've never seen the number played that overtly sexual before."

I, too, noticed the very steamy relationship between the two of them, to the point where it looked like they were kissing while silhouetted.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 11:21am

I've seen this show so many times (Second Stage, Arena Stage, multiples times on Broadway), and seeing it with the new cast was the first time that I felt ANYTHING for the characters. I find myself crying so much at all the heartbreak. I really enjoyed the new cast. I could never really connect with Ripley. I just didn't think she was a good actress at all. She was just throwing all her **** on the wall and seeing what stuck. And sure, that works for some people and a lot of you loved it - which is fine - but it just never connected with me. But Mazzie is giving a stellar performance. Her voice wasn't as "rocky" as I would have liked, but it was nice to hear a real voice singing the show.

Everything else was great, but I still have to say I think towards the end of Act 2 the momentum of the show just halts to a stop. "Maybe" needs to be cut or reworked or something, but coming closely after "So Anyway I'm Leaving" it is just too many slow songs and I think the show just moves at a rather dull pace at that point.

Random side note: What happened to Tim Young? I noticed there was a new cover/standby for the younger male roles?

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 11:37am

Tim hasn't been in the show for months.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 12:56pm

Oh I know, but I was just curious to know why he didn't renew his contract or what exactly happened there?

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 1:14pm

I heard that they didn't ask him to renew..no idea how true that is

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 2:17pm

There was a random rumor floating around that he was going to play Henry on the tour. Again, no idea how true that is.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 2:27pm

Hm. He's def. a henry more than a Gabe. I semi-knew him personally and he's kind of crazy. But I was just curious. It seems like he left awhile ago, right? So if he's doing the tour, I don't know why he would need more time off than Ripley? But who knows, I guess.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 2:31pm

Ripped, I felt the same way about Ripley. Actually, what you say might make me re-visit this show. Why did you keep going to the show if you couldn't connect?
Marin is one of Broadway's brightest stars and her voice is terrific...I might have to check her out. Marin is a terrific actress and singer.

[RyToast1]

Posted: 8/1/10 at 4:31pm

"Kyle Dean Massey (who took an optional high note at the end of I'm Alive that sounded incredible)"

YES!! I was there too yesterday, and that note was unbelievable!!!