People will debate Normas until the end of days and I totally love and respect that everyone has a favorite. I do feel that Glenn has had the most success with the role and I love her cast recording. It’s like a radio play. I had it memorized long before I saw the show.
I will say it was very interesting and I believe a very rare thing to be able to see an actress revisit a role she already played to great acclaim. Her 90s Norma was far campier, kabuki at times and yet no less effective. She was stunning and heartbreaking.
Her 2000s Norma was infused with more compassion I believe, as Glenn had more experience with the “overlooked” dimensions of Norma’s professional life. It was more understated and nuanced. The end was more of a true nervous breakdown and less of a cinematic performance in Normas mind.
I thought both performances were great. I think some people did laugh at points in both performances often out of discomfort. I think some people don’t know what to do with pathos so they shriek or laugh. It’s a defense mechanism. Also some people might find the antics bizarre and not be as psychologically minded so they chuckle. There are people who chuckle at seeing mental illness. Sad, but it happens.
People can shred Glenn’s performance and her voice but after she passes, folks may realize they witnessed one of the greatest actresses of stage and screen in a master work. To see an actress shed vanity and primally inhabit a character twice is a rare thing. She gave 110% at every show and that is what audiences responded too. I saw both incarnations many times and the audiences went wild for her because she truly showed up to every show. She was trained to give everything. Another rare thing. The voice might not have always been pristine but the emotion was. That is what audiences connect with. I think that is why she needs to do the film.
To me, anyone else would be a walk through.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello