My thoughts on NEXT TO NORMAL

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 6:49pm

I'll go into full details later, but until then:

The changes elevate the show to a whole 'nother level. The trouble now is that Michael Grief's staging is stuck at 2nd Stage.

And let me just say...I wouldn't be unhappy if both Alice Ripley and Jennifer Damiano won the Tonys.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 6:55pm

I'm very excited to hear what you have to say!

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 6:59pm

Can't wait to hear the rest of your thoughts yankee!

Damiano is (after Ripley, obviously) probably the cast member who I'd most like to see get a nomination. Tough, tough role...fantastic performance.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 7:24pm

I think every single member of the cast is outstanding.

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 7:57pm

I liked Next to Normal a lot, however I thought Jennifer Damiano was the weakest link. I thought her voice mediocre and her performance less than stellar. In fact, I think the confrontation with her mom in the second act one of the biggest missed opportunities.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 8:04pm

^ I disagree. I think it would be nice if she got a nomination, but I feel she would have no chance against Haydn Gwynne and Karen Oilvo.

[vlegra]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 8:16pm

My guess on nominations for featured actress in a musical (using the jeffigibility)

Shelley -Billy Elliot
Blackwell - [title of show]
Olivio - West Side Story
Gwyne -Billy Elliot
Damiano-Next to Normal

compared to all the other actresses damiano has no chance but it will be nice to see her nominated

Alice is a winer already they should have us even wait till the awards to tell us. Kinda like Patti Last year

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 8:25pm

I think Hilty will replace either Shelley or Blackwell in that list.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 8:43pm

Agreed. It'll be between Hilty and Olivio. But I think Damiano is great in the show. She's my favorite member of the cast and I think her portrayal is really spot on. It's not "showy" or anything, it's just honest.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 8:51pm

If they don't petition Block for lead, the nominees should be as follows:

Stephanie J. Block (9 to 5)
Jennifer Daminano (Next to Normal)
Haydn Gwynne (Billy Elliot: The Musical)
Megan Hilty (9 to 5)
Karen Olivo (West Side Story)

[heo1128]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 9:04pm

Also looking forward to your thoughts!!

It's iffy for Jennifer, she really has some tough competition. But I don't think there's any way any of the tos cast will even get nominated...Jennifer's performance outshines Blackwell's BY FAR. And I definitely think Bobby Spencer is the weakest link...it's certainly not Jennifer.

[boyfromoz2]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 9:05pm

Totally agree with IBF. Of those, I really have absolutely no favourite - I loved them all in their individual shows and could never pick one.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 9:36pm

Not to threadjack even more but don't count Martha Plimptom out for a nomination.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 10:21pm

If there is one and only one positive result of the commercial transfer of Tom Kitt and Brain Yorkey's NEXT TO NORMAL, it has to be the preservation of their astounding score on disc. After all, N2N, along with PASSING STRANGE, had the best score of 2008. And now, thus far, of 2009.

The changes Kitt and Yorkey made were seen as early as midway through the 2nd Stage run (just about this time last year, give or take). Rather than immediately move the piece to Broadway, the creative team decided to go back to the drawing board and retool, focusing on the problems which every individual critic seemed to point out. The result proves that Kitt and Yorkey are the most flexible duo out there and terrific listeners. Because their show at the Booth theater is a turn-around of MOVIN'OUT-sized proportions.

Unfortunately, they haven't gotten rid of the last shreds of 2nd Stage: Michael Grief and his designers Mark Wendland & Kevin Adams. Grief's staging worked once upon a time, as manic as it was. The show was a realistic fantasy back then, with electroshock Elvis and a breakdown at Costco. Now, it's real realism and the retention of Grief's frenetic, generic staging undercuts all the emotion evoked by the actors. The three-tiered set was just ugly then; now, it's ugly and out of place. The lighting, as well. I did like Jeff Mashie's costumes, though.

I just couldn't help but wonder what someone with original ideas (read: David Cromer, Annie Dorsen, Diane Paulus, hell, even Daniel Sullivan) would do with a number like I'M ALIVE, rather than place it in Grief's favorite spot, the catwalk.

Ripley is jaw-dropping. Her voice isn't as strained as it seems on the record and the rawness fits. She and Damiano and Bobby Spencer are utterly devastating. Louis Hobson is appropriately suave and chilly; Adam Chanler Berat is the guy everyone would want to be friends with. Aaron Tviet made very little impression on me.

Bottom line: Material, performances shine at the Booth; physical production is stuck on 43rd Street.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 11:15pm

I totally agree with your comments on the cast. Even though I did like Tveit more than you I think, I don't see the accolades being justified.

[pli1018]

Posted: 4/25/09 at 11:27pm

^Same here. Tveit was good but not as memorable as everyone has been saying. I think he's very talented, but the role is pretty small. He'll do wonders as Frank once CMIYC comes around.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 12:48am

He was very underwhelming when I saw it. His "hi, dad" at the end just seemed like a throwaway rather than an honest discovery.

And I agree. I think the set is just awful. I wish they had made more of a creative decision with it instead of just three tiers and having people always running up and down stairs.

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 12:57am

oh look, ANOTHER negative post from rentboy. Still waiting on a positive one. Still not sure how someone who claims to like the show can bitch about every aspect.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 12:58am

And I agree. I think the set is just awful. I wish they had made more of a creative decision with it instead of just three tiers and having people always running up and down stairs.


You also think that "I Miss The Mountains" should be cut, "Maybe" should be reduced to dialogue, and "So Anyway" should just be Diana telling Dan she's leaving and walks off.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 1:02am

In reference to 'Maybe', I did prefer 'Everything Anyone Ever Told You' much more.

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 1:04am

it sounded pretty, but it was jibberish

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 1:55am

I saw this the other night. While I liked it, I wasn't really crazy about it. But the more and more I think about it, the more I think I liked it. I'm gonna get the soundtrack, and maybe even revisit the show again if it's still open in the fall.

[heo1128]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 3:46am

Interesting comments about the set/staging...since the set is so much of the show's look, I never really thought about how the show would look on a completely different stage. While I don't think the lighting/set/staging/etc is awful, I do think it would be fascinating to see what someone else could have done with the show.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 8:55am

Indeed.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 4/26/09 at 9:55am

I liked the set . . . . the stark, industrial, conceptual element works so well. The floating glass panels that create "rooms" and ultimately bring you inside Diana's head (IMHO) are incredible.

I'm amazed at what this 6-person cast does. They are all extremely talented and give great performances. Alice is just incredible . . . doesn't seem to overdo tics that could be cliche. I think she's got it spot-on. Vocally, Alice was a knock out MOST of the time. I was trying to decide if the monitors are not aimed correctly, if emotion is creeping into her singing or if she is having vocal problems, because she's not always on pitch . . . . and that appears in some of the moments when she's singing more intimately in her head voice. It didn't bother me, but with some of the discussions aobut her voice, I did notice it.

Jennifer is good, but (IMO) should be a bit more bratty, self-centered tween. I wish Bobby displayed a bit more raw emotion PHYSICALLY. You hear in his voice but don't see the pain.

Loved N2N, though, and the more I think about it, the more I love it.