Next to Normal at Drury Lane

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 12:15pm

After visiting Drury Lane Oakbrook only once and leaving a really horrific production at intermission, I was extremely skeptical about ever returning, especially for a show like Next to Normal that I dearly love. I'm happy to report the production is fantastic. Susie McMonagle as Diana is worth the price of the ticket alone. They need to bring her back to star in Blood Brothers ASAP. The staging is obviously inspired by the Broadway production, but they managed to make it distinctive enough not to be a copy, yet quite effective.

I highly recommend seeing this production even if you're a fan of the show and especially if you've never seen the show. GO!

[RW3]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 12:35pm

When i saw this i thought you meant that N2N was coming to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane after Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was like what!!!

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 1:35pm

I'm seeing this in a few weeks, and I'm very excited! The show got a 4-star review in the Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/theaterloop/ct-ent-0824-normal-review-20130824,0,7732924.column
There are tickets on Goldstar as cheap as $12.

I'm really sorry that you didn't have a great experience at Drury Lane before. Generally, the more challenging shows there are much better than the old-fashioned musical comedies. You should have seen their stunning production of Ragtime.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 4:12pm

What was the horrifying how you walked out of? They used to be a pretty standard dinner-theater but he last 5 or 6 years has seen some stunning work there. The only show I saw there that I thought was weak was Aida- their Ragtime and Sweeney were both far better than the recent Broadway versions.

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 1:11pm

With all the buzz, I couldn’t wait to see this production and got my tickets on Goldstar for this weekend (thanks for the heads up on that offer!), but I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. Perhaps it was too overhyped for me, but, while I found it overall a fairly solid production, I left the theatre feeling something was lacking.

At first I was having a hard time pinpointing what about the production didn’t connect with me, but after ruminating on it a bit more, I think it comes down to how the characters were played. I am not sure if this is the fault of the actors or if they were directed in this manner, but I found many of the characters to be one level throughout the entire show, especially Diana and Natalie. I found I was only invested in the show because the script is so good, as opposed to truly really caring about the characters onstage. I found Susie’s performance to be fine…nothing more, nothing less. And, I felt Natalie’s sassiness to be less out of neglect, hurt, and typical teen angst and more simply out of meanness (many of her funny lines didn’t land very well with the audience at my performance, which I truly think was a product of this). I also never saw any hints of her wanting to try with her family, so toward the end when Natalie finds a little more patience with and compassion toward her family, it felt very out of place and unearned. I also had a hard time finding anything in the Henry of Act One that Natalie would at all be interested in (usually, within all the stoner persona there is usually a charm that seeps through, but I didn’t get any of that from this actor), and then he seemed like a completely different character in Act Two (and, not in a way that seemed out of him needing to step up for Natalie and be the “more responsible” one…it felt almost as though the actor was playing each scene as if it was on its own, as opposed to as a part of a whole and with a consistent character). The actor who played Dan probably had the most dimensions for me, but that is not saying much.

I feel like I have been noticing a trend of directors (and, playwrights, for that matter) trying to make characters “so real” that the result is often just subtly. This can absolutely benefit a piece, but sometimes the theatricality or characters who out-right express their emotions are the tools that better help to tell the story. I am not sure if that was what the director and cast was going for in this production, but, to me, it felt as though they were trying too hard to make the characters real that it resulted in scaled back emotions, something that I do not think benefits this show.

Not to say the show is not worth seeing (especially if you have never seen “Next to Normal” before), I just felt so underwhelmed after all of those rave reviews. What this production left me with was just a reminder of how strong the written show is and what a beautiful piece of theatre it is, as opposed to much of anything good to say about this production itself.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 3:00pm

What was the horrifying how you walked out of?

It was Curtains. I really enjoyed it on Broadway, so it wasn't an issue with the book or the score. Everything else about the Drury Lane production was just painful to watch. I'm considering going back to see Hello Dolly just because 1) I've never seen it on stage and 2) Karen Ziemba is playing Dolly.

Speaking of Ragtime, I did enjoy the production that had the extended run at the Apollo. I actually preferred it over the original Broadway production.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 9/3/13 at 4:24pm

Yes! I am in agreement this production is fantastic. McConagle is great, with a superb cast to support her.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 9/9/13 at 2:58pm

Saw this on Saturday and agree with the consensus that it's an outstanding production extremely well acted. Every one of the 6 cast members did a wonderful job. Truly well done!

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 9/9/13 at 5:23pm

I saw the show last night and was blown away. At times, I felt that the production was stronger than the Broadway production. It was nice to see a fresh staging, especially one more grounded in realism. While the original abstract staging certainly worked in its own way, this production's more literal, naturalistic staging made it feel more immediate. I had heard quite a bit of buzz about the actress playing Diana, but every single actor had a strong and unique interpretation of their character. I was worried that all of this hype would ruin the show for me, but it somehow surpassed those expectations. I am trying to plan another visit to this production before it closes, thanks to the wonder that is Goldstar.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/9/13 at 6:58pm

Dying to see this. Susie is one of my favorite actors in Chicago, and Callie Johnson, who's playing Natalie, is going to be huge. I've loved this show for a really long time, in about seven different incarnations. I haven't seen it in years, but it's time to revisit, I think.