NEXT TO NORMAL Tour plans

[singtopher]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 2:44pm

I thought the tour was a go months ago. The only thing new here is the Scandinavian production. Is anyone else put off by the quote about "Next to Normal" being an American story? I am by no means and expert on mental health in Scandinavia, but I'm sure folks there have issues like this.


A national tour and an international debut are among the future plans of the Tony-winning musical Next to Normal, Playbill.com has learned.

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The musical's Tony-winning book writer and lyricist, Brian Yorkey, told Playbill.com, "A tour is in the works. [Producer] David Stone's at work putting it together. I think it will launch later this year, in the fall or winter." No official announcement about a tour has been made.

Yorkey also said that a Scandinavian production company is at work translating the musical for an upcoming production. "It seems very American to us, but there are some chords that it strikes that are universal, maybe more than we knew," he said.

The Scandinavian production will likely debut later this year or in early 2011, according to Yorkey.

Yorkey and his Next to Normal collaborator, composer Tom Kitt, are also exploring a new project for the stage. "We're at work finding our next show," Yorkey stated. "We're talking about properties and possibly about an original musical. Hopefully, [we are] looking to do it again with David Stone and [director] Michael Greif."

Next to Normal arrived on Broadway in March 2009 following an Off-Broadway run at Second Stage and a regional engagement at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The musical earned Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Orchestrations, as well as Best Actress for Alice Ripley.

Next to Normal currently plays the Booth Theatre. Visit NexttoNormal.
Playbill

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 2:45pm

They are casting for the tour right now.

[steven22]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 2:46pm

i hope this show does well touring...I love the broadway production but can't imagine anyone but Alice Ripley as Diana...

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 2:50pm

But when will they announce they've recouped on Broadway? They must be close by this point!

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 3:11pm

Alice and Diana are the same person, no one else can play Diana but her.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 3:12pm

Alice and Diana are the same person, no one else can play Diana but her.

Jessica Phillips plays her quite well now.

[steven22]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 3:27pm

I would love to see Jessica Phillips version of Diana..I heard she got much better

[Elke]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 3:56pm

I hope the show will play the West End sometime. Would be interesting to see what the Brits think.

And for the Broadway or Tour productions, I would love to see Will Chase as Dan. I think he'd be excellent.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 4:33pm

Last I heard was N2N was doing a MINI tour with a confirmed stop in Chicago. It's currently booking through On The Road.

[winston89]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 4:36pm

I had heard the same thing about a mini tour. Rather then playing short stints in various cities, they are going to do longer runs in some of the major theatrical cities in the country.

[BwayBoundJoe]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 4:36pm

"I would love to see Jessica Phillips version of Diana..I heard she got much better"

I'm glad. I felt bad for her after her first performance and all the crazed Ripples fans bashed her. Also, Will Chase as Dan would be Great! I also think Julia Murney would be a great Diana. I know her name has been put out there. I'd rather her than Orfeh or Patti Lupone! lol

[kellymarie465]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 4:40pm

I'm assuming the tour is going to be equity, right?
Updated On: 1/19/10 at 04:40 PM

[winston89]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 4:41pm

Yes, the tour is going to be equity I believe.

[kellymarie465]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 4:47pm

Oh, that's great, I'm excited for this!

Does anyone know when it is rumored to start up? End of 2010 or early 2011?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 5:09pm

I heard it's booked for the fall in Chicago.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 7:36pm

*I was being sarcastic*

[mina3]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 8:41pm

The tour is currently planned to begin in fall 2010. It'll make stops of 2 to 3 weeks in most cities, with some longer stops in large cities like LA and Toronto. It's currently scheduled through mid-2011, so it'll be hitting quite a few cities across the country.

I can't make any promises about casting because none of the contracts are signed yet.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 10:02pm

^ Aren't you the person who swore the next Elphaba would be a "famous Country singer" ?

[goober1632]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 10:11pm

The only other person on Earth I can think of to play Diana, other than Ripley, is Toni Collette.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 10:23pm

delete.

Updated On: 1/19/10 at 10:23 PM

[mina3]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 11:00pm

lj889 - I agreed with someone who said that, yes. And I'll stand by it, because it came from a source as credible as anyone could possibly want, but who knows, something could have caused a change of plans since I got that information. If you want to vilify me for it, go right ahead - I should've known better than to talk about casting when I couldn't provide a direct link to a news source or something.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/19/10 at 11:09pm

Mina, Mandy Gonzalez is all but confirmed as the next Elphaba. You're going to have to let that one go.

[Salene]

Posted: 1/20/10 at 4:26pm

The Norwegian production opens in the fall. They're announcing the details next week.

"It seems very American to us, but there are some chords that it strikes that are universal, maybe more than we knew

I agree with the "more than we knew" part ...
Updated On: 1/20/10 at 04:26 PM

[ThePinballWizard]

Posted: 1/20/10 at 4:39pm

Yes I completely agree. Aside from her booked taping schedule, and if she had the time I think Toni Collette would be an amazing, inspired choice as Diana. The role needs someone with strong if not amazing acting skills and she has it. While I love Julia Murney, I don't think she has the acting chops to pull it off and well Jessica Phillips just seems too clean cut for me.

Updated On: 1/20/10 at 04:39 PM

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 1/20/10 at 5:07pm

I think Julia Murney definitely has the acting chops for Diana, but her vibrato grates on me. Jessica Phillips actually sounds very good from what I've heard. Lisa Brescia would be an interesting choice. I'm not sure if she could pull it off, but I think she might be able to.