Darlesia Cearcy & Wilson Jermaine Heredia in NEXT TO NORMAL at Westport Country Playhouse

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 3/1/22 at 12:55pm

https://www.playbill.com/article/darlesia-cearcy-and-wilson-jermaine-heredia-to-star-in-next-to-normal-at-westport-country-playhouse

Tickets here, with Wednesday night performances offering pay-what-you-can (minimum $5):

https://tickets.westportplayhouse.org/overview/5546

Updated On: 3/1/22 at 12:55 PM

[starcatchers]

Posted: 3/1/22 at 12:59pm

And Katie Thompson as the doctors...shut up and take my money. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 4:17pm

 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/7/22 at 12:15am

Just saw the first preview tonight, and all I have to say is: Darlesia Effing Cearcy. A spectacular, gorgeously sung performance, and definitely worth the trip if you can swing it. 

[tomwsjr]

Posted: 4/7/22 at 11:47pm

I just came back from tonight’s performance, it was outstanding.  I preferred this production to the one on Broadway.  The big draw here is Darlesia, who gives a star making performance, she’s sensational, wow what a voice.  Don’t miss it!!!!

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 4/8/22 at 6:48am

So happy to hear these positive reviews! I’m going this weekend and even more excited having read your comments! Any thoughts on the production?

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/8/22 at 11:11am

I never saw the original, so I can't compare, but I thought this was a very strong production of the material, with an excellent supporting cast, particularly the 3 kids. Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Katie Thompson both seemed tentative in their performances, but it was the first preview, so I'm assuming they'll settle in. Since the cast of the family in this production is Black and Latin, bits of Spanish dialogue are used very sparingly here and there, but I actually wish there had been more. As has been said, though, the night belongs to Darlesia Cearcy. I thought everything about her portrayal was perfection, and I'm excited to see it again next week. Also, kudos to the band, which sounds spectacular. 

I thought the staging was effective, consisting of a 2-level contemporary house set accented by rear lighting, and smaller set pieces brought out as needed. Hard to see in this pic, but you get the idea.



 

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 4/8/22 at 12:18pm

Thank you so so much! I’m even more excited to see this on Sunday. Very different look from the Broadway production but similar to David Cromer’s production in Chicago, which I preferred to the original. That production was more intimate and he treated the show like a chamber musical. It was a masterful decision.  

Updated On: 4/8/22 at 12:18 PM

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/8/22 at 7:36pm

 

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 4/8/22 at 10:03pm

Any discount codes for this?

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/8/22 at 10:27pm

The only discount I've seen is $10 off through 4/13 with code NORMAL. They also have Pay What You Will on Wednesday nights, minimum of $5. 

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 4/10/22 at 10:24am

I saw it last night and wasn't thrilled. As others have said here, the three kids are great, particularly Ashley LaLonde as Natalie. Dar.Lee.See.Ah. (as it's spelled in the program) was a disappointment for me. She does sing it beautifully, but she seems to be going for The Big Stuff - both vocally and in the book scenes - and missing a lot of the quieter moments. For me, the most frustrating moment in the show was So Anyway. I remember when the show first came out people complained that Diana didn't have a giant "tear down the house" 11 o'clock number. This production seems to be trying to make up for that by turning So Anyway into a self-consciously Big Moment, which ends up feeling false.

Wilson Jermaine Heredia was dropping lines left and right, but hopefully that's a symptom of a bad night and not a bad performance.

The biggest issue for me, though, was the (to my mind) slapdash way the production approaches the family as mixed-race Black and Latino. I'm toggling spoilers below.

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

At the top of the show Gabe calls Diana Mami, but that drops away later on. His first line to Natalie is in "Buenos dias," instead of "Morning, sunshine." Dan occasionally has a line in Spanish later on when he's angry, but it feels like sign-posting, and a lazy way to telegraph to the audience that this is a mixed-race family without actually exploring the implications of that as it applies to their loss or Diana's illness. The changes to Diana's character are similarly surface-level. She now sings "I'm explorer Mansa Musa" rather than "I'm some Christopher Columbus," and the Sylvia Plath and Frances Farmer references are gone. Frances Farmer is replaced with "I ain't no Ethel Waters kind of find for you," but I didn't catch what they replaced Plath with. Gabe's line to Dan is now "Hola, Papi," instead of "Hi, Dad," but it feels so false and self-conscious. Aside from these cosmetic-level changes, there is nothing in the direction or production which indicates that this is anything other than blind casting.

[Synecdoche2]

Posted: 4/10/22 at 7:42pm

Saw this today and thought it was pretty great. GlindatheGood22 accurately describes the problems with this production, but for me the performance was forceful enough that the problems were eclipsed by the drama. It was searingly emotional and devastatingly powerful like all good stagings of this musical are.

Can we admit yet that this is a great musical? Every time I see a good production of it I just feel like I've been hit by an 18-wheeler. It's operatic in intensity and deeply unembarrassed to be mawkish and just accepts that musical theatre is a sentimental art-form. And the story is devastatingly sad. If you give into its boldness, it's so so moving.

Updated On: 4/10/22 at 07:42 PM

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 4/11/22 at 7:32am

Saw this yesterday and was very impressed. I will say, I think this show works best on a smaller scale like the Westport production or Cromer’s take in Chicago a few years ago.  Sadly, the direction was noticeably absent throughout the night and actors were left to their own devices, particularly Heredia who often took the lyrics too literally. 
 

Darlesia was a revelation and reason enough to see this performance. This performance was the first effort I’ve seen that was a complete 180 from Alice Ripley’s version. To call the rendition soulful doesn’t do it justice but begins to identify what she brings to the part. While, as an earlier poster points out, she delivers devastatingly powerful high and sustained notes, she also treats the music delicately where appropriate. There were moments throughout where I felt I was listening to Audra. Going to remember this performance for some time. 
 

Updated On: 4/11/22 at 07:32 AM

[binau]

Posted: 4/11/22 at 8:01am

"Can we admit yet that this is a great musical? Every time I see a good production of it I just feel like I've been hit by an 18-wheeler. It's operatic in intensity and deeply unembarrassed to be mawkish and just accepts that musical theatre is a sentimental art-form. And the story is devastatingly sad. If you give into its boldness, it's so so moving."

The show continues to be constantly performed across the globe 10 years later and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. I know it has some 'haters' and maybe the writing can be a tad clunky at points but overall I think the show has certainly proved it is aging well and one of the greats! 

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 4/11/22 at 8:29am

Play Esq. said: "Saw this yesterday and was very impressed. I will say, I think this show works best on a smaller scale like the Westport production or Cromer’s take in Chicago a few years ago. Sadly, the direction was noticeably absent throughout the night and actors were left to their own devices, particularly Heredia who often took the lyrics too literally.


Darlesia was a revelation and reason enough to see this performance. This performance was the first effort I’ve seen that was a complete 180 from Alice Ripley’s version. To call the rendition soulful doesn’t do it justice but begins to identify what she brings to the part. While, as an earlier poster points out, she delivers devastatingly powerful high and sustained notes, she also treats the music delicately where appropriate. There were moments throughout where I felt I was listening to Audra. Going to remember this performance for some time.
"

She was Audra's understudy in Shuffle Along, so that's a fitting comparison. 

[WesternSky2]

Posted: 4/11/22 at 6:53pm

Has anyone traveled here from NYC via public transportation? It looks like it's possible, with some transfers. Wondering if it's straightforward/worth it!

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/11/22 at 7:08pm

WesternSky2 said: "Has anyone traveled here from NYC via public transportation? It looks like it's possible, with some transfers. Wondering if it's straightforward/worth it!"

No transfers necessary from Grand Central, on Metro North's New Haven line. Westport is a stop, so you'd just need to rideshare from/to the train station. The Playhouse is only a couple of miles away.

[WesternSky2]

Posted: 4/11/22 at 7:13pm

Oh amazing!! Google maps was showing me some very strange directions lol Definitely going to make the trip for the last show!

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 4/11/22 at 7:31pm

We caught this too and agree Darlesia is fantastic - mainly vocally.  The direction is non-existent and insecure.  It felt choreographed and without purpose or by a less skilled director.   Also surprised Katie T wasn't as strong as she usually is -  We too enjoyed the Cromer direction/ Chicago production and Broadway version to this.  Darlesia's vocals are the reason to see it - but in a stronger production. Nothing here that hasn't been done in regions beyond her performance including multi-ethnic casting we've now seen a few times in the west and south. General regional production with Broadway vocal from Darlesia. 

Updated On: 4/11/22 at 07:31 PM

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 4/15/22 at 12:50pm

Just a head's up, this is on TDF for only $15.