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mmFan
Broadway Star Joined: 10/13/03
#1Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 11:01amNext to Normal is coming to my area in the summer. I'll have just returend from NY so would have seen some shows, but am wondering if it's worth seeing? How's the music?
#2Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 11:25amYes, it's worth it. One of the best musicals I've seen.
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bwayfan7000
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/28/09
#2Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 11:36amVery, very worth it. Phenomenal music.
"Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos."-Stephen Sondheim
Patti4President
Understudy Joined: 2/8/11
#3Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 11:45amIt's fantastic! It won the Tony for Best Score. So yeah, the music is REALLY great. you should absolutely plan on seeing it.
mmFan
Broadway Star Joined: 10/13/03
#4Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 11:51amThanks for the comments. Definitely sounds worth seeing....even if just returning from a trip to NY
#6Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 2:59pmSee it. I cannot speak enough good about this show. Saw it on broadway 9 times. 6 with Ripley as Diana. This show has fantastic music and a fantastic cast. I've heard bad things about Ripley (her voice) while on tour. Either way you will enjoy it. Pearl Sun is an excellent Diana cover. Enjoy!
#7Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 3:14pmYou absolutely must see it. One of my all-time favorites, if not my favorite musical. The story is heart-wrenching and the music is, as everyone has said, phenomenal. Alice Ripley is perfect as Diana so the tour is still worth seeing, I think. The rest of the original cast was absolutely stunning as well, so I'm curious to hear about the tour cast.
#8Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 3:35pm
From what I've "heard":
Alice Ripley: Some like. Some don't.
Asa Somers: Great.
Curt Hanse: No. They seem to have hired him based off of his looks. (Looks like Tveit)
Emma Hunton: Amazing. Really.
Preston Sadlier: Fine
Jeremy Kushnier: Fine
All of the u/s are great, but I havent heard anything about Jason Watson.
#9Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 3:54pmI've heard great things about Preston Sadleir's Henry. Has the Natalie u/s gone on yet? I think its Caitlin Kinnuen.
Patti4President
Understudy Joined: 2/8/11
#11Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 4:18pm
I saw the tour in Denver and then again in Seattle. Alice was sick for the first two weeks in Seattle which is why there was all the drama about her. But I saw the Saturday before closing and she sounded exactly like she did the 10 or so times I saw her on Broadway. The rest of the cast is really strong.
Jeremy is on family leave apparently. I saw him in Denver and he was great. Michael McElroy played the Doctor the last weekend in Seattle. He was still getting the hang of things, but I think he'll be fantastic with a few more performances under his belt.
Emma is a FANTASTIC singer and a okay actress. I like that she isn't the tall thin pretty type they used on Broadway. It makes for a more interesting dynamic between she and Gabe the perfect son.
Curt is really good. No he isn't Aaron or Kyle. But he's also 6 or 7 years younger and doesn't have the experience they do. I'm guessing they were in the exact same place he was at his age.
Preston is fine. Asa is good (better than Jason Danielly, but not as good as Bobby and Brian).
I have not seen Pearl but many of my friends did while in Seattle and said she blew it out of the water. Caitlin went on for the first time in Seattle as well. By all accounts she doesn't have the vocal power of Emma, but she is a far superior actress. Again, I didn't see her. I'm just passing on the thoughts of people I know.
I think overall, the cast is stronger than the closing cast on Broadway. It's awesome to be able to see Alice do the role again. I hope to catch the tour a few more times before it's gone.
#12Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 4:37pm
I saw all of the cast combinations on bway (minus Tim Young and Jessica Phillips). The closing cast was phenomenal. Kyle Dean Massey blows it away as Gabe. Marin Mazzie as Diana. She does things that most other broadway singers cannot. CONTROL. I love Ripley and Marin for different reasons, however Marin has control...something that Ripley has nothing of.
Didn't know McElroy performed the drs. He was a vacation cover on bway when Louis was on vacation and I dont think he ever went on. Has Jason Watson gone on for Dan or Docs yet? And another thing: Curt Hansen. His voice is so whiny and annoying. All of the Gabes I've seen (Tveit, Massey, Crum) are FAR superior to Curt. They should have hired Crum..His Gabe and Henry are outstanding. Crystal clear voice and nice belt.
fade2black2
Chorus Member Joined: 7/21/09
#13Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 4:40pmSee it! The entire tour cast is really good. I have seen it twice. I would recommend taking advice from only those that have actually seen it (some people on this board are a little biased). Google some reviews and see what they have to say. There are even a few on this website from a couple of different cities.
#14Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 4:46pm
Is this how Ripley's voice sounds at the moment?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sf54mwUzn4
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#15Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 9:51pm
Saw the tour twice in Seattle (second Tuesday and third Tuesday).
The first time I saw it, Alice was out and Pearl was on. Pearl did a really good job, and having an Asian actress play Diana really put an interesting spin on the family. She was pretty strong voiced, and still complemented the rest of the cast.
The second time I saw it, Alice was back in, and Jeremy Kusnier was out, Jason Watson played the Dr.s. Alice sounded like she was in better voice than how some of the others described her. I was trying to figure out what her voice sounded like, and the best way to explain it is, you know that feeling you get when you're choked up and about to cry, and your voice gets a little out of control. That's what Alice's voice was like while singing. Which worked O.K. for me for the most part. Her regular speaking voice was fine, and her acting was great, a little more off kilter than Pearl's performance.
As for the other cast memebers, I really likes Asa and Emma, and felt they did put their all into the roles, and I found myself really sympathizing with them. Preston I really liked (and I like his voice better than Adam's on the cast album).
As for the two doctors, I liked Jeremy's singing voice better, it was a little more forceful. Jason's singing and acting was a little more "lightweight", but Jason I thought was "sexier" in the role of Dr. Madden, which I liked, putting that added tension to the relationship between Diana and Dr. Madden.
I think the weakest cast member is Curt. Sure, he looks the part, but I found his singing voice a little too nasal to my liking, and I had this constant problem with him. Whenever he sings "I'm alive, I'm alive, I am so alive", the very first "alive" he never enunciates it well, though he does the second time he sings the word. It sounds like he's singing "I'm a lies". I noticed this from the very beginning, but my sister (who also saw both shows with me), did not notice this until after the second time when I talked to her about it during intermission. She really noticed it then during the reprise of "I'm Alive" in act 2.
But it's a great show (I did end up crying both times I saw it), and it really resonated with me.
Xanadu! Can't cry on cue!
#16Next to Normal
Posted: 3/14/11 at 10:55pmWOW! qolbinau that is really a different version than Broadway.
"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
mmFan
Broadway Star Joined: 10/13/03
#17Next to Normal
Posted: 3/15/11 at 8:25pmWow. Sounds like this is a really well loved play. Haven't heard of the cast members but they sound like they're a good match too. Thanks for all the comments.
#18Next to Normal
Posted: 3/18/11 at 1:29am
I saw this production in Des Moines. It was great! I did think Alice struggled a little on a few songs, but overall she was excellent. Mostly, it was hard to understand her in a couple areas as it sounded like the singing was a little too far back in her throat.
Emma was great as well. She can really belt!
Curt isn't given nearly enough credit. He has a wonderful falsetto and can really sing.
Asa and Preston were great as I had expected.
The doctor is a wonderfully written role, but I sometimes felt it just got skimmed over. The actor was very talented, but I did feel he got lost a bit at times.
Highly, highly recommend this show. So much to enjoy.
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