Next To Normal (tomorrow night, 2/22)- Page 2

[Baiseur82]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 6:48pm

Thanks snl89 LOL I see they are from you. Thanks for sharing!

[jaystarr]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 6:57pm

Go to Broadway.com for videos of Opening night...

J*


Updated On: 2/22/08 at 06:57 PM

[jaystarr]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 7:12pm

and there's samples of songs there... youll get some idea!

enjoy

J* Updated On: 2/22/08 at 07:12 PM

[Baiseur82]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 7:18pm

Thanks for the info Jay

Updated On: 2/22/08 at 07:18 PM

[aliciag]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 10:39pm

Sorry you can't make it tomorrow Jay. Stay safe with all the snow and have a great time next weekend!

Thanks for the b-day wishes!

[jordangirl]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 10:49pm

Be safe J*! :)

Um...yeah... I really did try the Wicked lottery tonight. But didn't win... It was a sign! (Yes, I was at 2nd Stage tonight. LOL.)

[jaystarr]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 10:52pm

How's the Theater District tonight?

J*

[jordangirl]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 10:59pm

It wasn't too bad. Swampy with lots of water against the curbs. But the sidewalks were mostly clear.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 11:00pm

I'm staying home... I am seeing a show here in Boston.-THE SCENE.

J*
Updated On: 2/22/08 at 11:00 PM

[jordangirl]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 11:21pm

Understandable. Enjoy!

[chris d]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 11:29pm

I saw the show tonight and I thought it was quite good, especially Alice Ripley and the production design.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 11:34pm

Yeah...it was good tonight. :) Each night is a little different. I love it!

[East Village]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 1:49pm

I saw the show last night. Sara Ramirez (looking beautiful) was in the audience along with Jason Robert Brown (composer of Parade and Last 5 Years.)

I'm a huge Alice Ripley fan -- and she was in great form last night. The score is clever and easy on the ears but lacking a memorable song or two. However, all and all, its one of the most touching shows I've seen in a long while and heartedly recommend it.

Some folks have criticized the depth (or its lack of) when it comes to dealing the subject of mental illness. It's not unjust criticism. The scenes with her psychiatrist are some of the least compelling. Audiences know a lot about this subject -- and of their own therapists. I think that's were the show needs to grow and expand upon these themes. There's certainly fertile territory there for a more complex relationship with her doctor -- and maybe room for that memorable song or two.

For it to be great, it needs less shock theatrics in favor of more than a surface dive into the DSM. Its so close and could be the great psychiatric musical of all time.

But as it stands now, its Alice's show. It's a great role and she dazzles in it.

[TheatreDiva612]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 2:57pm

Hey. I loved the show. I cried... a lot.... I got really emotional for some reason.

Sara Ramirez looked like she has lost weight.. Do you agree?

Stanley from Spelling Bee was also there.

[East Village]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 3:19pm

Sara is beautiful no matter what -- and her smile never quits.

[snl89]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 3:22pm

DUDE, that's awesome that Sara and JRB were there! I would have been freaking out haha. (and yes, Sara is so gorgeous)

and East Village, thank you for that awesome review :) Even I, being completely addicted to the show, agree that it COULD use a few changes here and there. My first reaction was "it's pretty much perfect as it is", and I still think that, in general, it's pretty darn CLOSE to perfect. But the more I listen to it and think about it, the more I realize there ARE some changes they could make- and SHOULD make- to make it even better. It's just so strong already, it would be silly for them not to take a little bit more time to work with it so that it could be the best it could possibly be.

have to disagree about the songs though- I'm constantly getting them stuck in my head- especially I'm Alive :)

Updated On: 2/23/08 at 03:22 PM

[TheatreDiva612]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 3:52pm

Oh yeah, Sara looked absolutely beautiful. She always looks beautiful no matter what. It did look like she had lost weight though, that's all I was saying. But she is drop-dead gorgeous.

[chris d]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 4:05pm

I think the music was great. It worked really well in the context of the show, even if it wasn't memorable for me. could just be my own inability to remember songs the first time I hear them. :P
but I thought the set, lighting, and direction was the best aspect, adding a lot of tension (even psychological tension) to the story. I thought the second act was less engaging, slipping into melodrama and psych stereotypes, but the final, intensely emotional scenes kind of erased those flaws.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 4:27pm

Wow. See...I'm useless at spotting celebs. LOL. Totally didn't seen any of them. But that's totally me. I walk by people all the time and friends I'm with are like "That was..." whoever. Probably comes from going grocery shopping with so many country stars when I was little (grew up outside Nashville).

I'm in the stuck in my head camp ~ made testing today VERY interesting with all kinds of songs blending around in my head. UGH!!

[snl89]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 4:29pm

I think the music was great. It worked really well in the context of the show, even if it wasn't memorable for me. could just be my own inability to remember songs the first time I hear them. :P
but I thought the set, lighting, and direction was the best aspect, adding a lot of tension (even psychological tension) to the story. I thought the second act was less engaging, slipping into melodrama and psych stereotypes, but the final, intensely emotional scenes kind of erased those flaws.

^exactly. I agree, I think there are times when the second act can get a little bit less compelling. But then pretty much from "I'm Alive (reprise)" on, it's just SO emotional for me. And even more specifically, from "So Anyway" on (but I also just love "Next to Normal" and the "Hey" reprise too, so that's why I would say it really starts getting good at "I'm Alive (reprise)"). So the whole ending COMPLETELY overpowers any flaws that the second act may have for me. That said, again, it's so good as it is, the more I think about it the more I AM glad for them to do some reworking so that it can really be as close to perfect as possible.



I'm in the stuck in my head camp ~ made testing today VERY interesting with all kinds of songs blending around in my head. UGH!!

Okay, so I had "Who's Crazy/My Phsycopharmocologist And I" stuck in my head ALL last night. And it's not even one of my favorite songs from the show!! ahaha. But yeah, it was annoying yet amusing at the same time. Usually for me I get "I am The One", "I'm Alive", or "Let There Be Light" stuck in my head.

It's kind of funny though- looking back on it, a lot of the songs they kept in the show are songs that I WASN'T crazy about back in the Feeling Electric days. I never used to like Costco, My Phsycopharmocologist And I, I Dreamed a Dance, Song of Forgetting.. and there were a few others.. I mean, I didn't DISlike them really, but I just thought they were slightly boring/slow/strange. But now, having seen the show and everything, I love them! Just... in context there's not ONE song I would take out. Like I've mentioned before, there's one song I'd add IN again ("I've Been"), but not one I'd take out. Even the ones that I still really don't totally love on their own, I love within the viewing of the show :)

Updated On: 2/23/08 at 04:29 PM

[chris d]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 4:38pm

(just thought I'd add: it's cool that you were all there to witness my debut as a theater usher. he he :P)

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 4:41pm

I'm going back Tuesday night ( yay TDF!!). I saw an early preview (the 3rd one) and am anxious to see what's been changed. I've heard the changes have all been for the better, and I enjoyed the early performance a great deal, so I'm looking forward to liking it even more now.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 5:08pm

Ok snl... My time to confess. When I was doing Therapeutic Crisis Intervention training and prepping for the test, we had this list of techniques we had to memorize and my mnemonic device ended up being "My Psychopharmacologist Can Help (by) Reconfiguring (the) Proportion (of) Prozac (in) Drug Therapy"

Hey...it beat the one someone else came up with about a cat peeing on dirty towels. At least in my mind.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 5:45pm

N2N has been the home to Broadway people lately. Stephen Sondheim was sitting across the aisle from me Tuesday night. He seemed to like it :)

[snl89]

Posted: 2/23/08 at 5:45pm

Add in "I've Been" and you have the perfect score

so what do you say, wanna start a petition to have that song back in the show? :P Seriously, I LOVE it so much. And I just can't stop thinking "man oh man how Brian would rock it so hard".