#51
Posted: 8/25/23 at 9:27am
Doesn't seem like a slam dunk re: reviews, but hopefully has more life to it.
Next to normal Donmar Warehouse — Page 3
#52
Posted: 8/27/23 at 1:59am
I've loved ''Next to Normal'' for many years, and even first saw it when it was originally called ''Feeling Electric.'' So thrilled it's finally getting done in London. Anyway, here's a video of Tony winner and Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Kitt performing one of his terrific tunes from ''Next to Normal'':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA5-ucRj-Ns
Updated On: 8/27/23 at 01:59 AM
#53
Posted: 8/27/23 at 9:35am
Broadway Flash said: "Although this musical might be too dark for audiences. They want happy and cheery, not depression and manic."
The original production had a very respectable two year run despite not winning Best Musical and the show itself is one of the defining American musicals of the century so far. The younger people with whom it struck a cord in 2009-2011 are now in their prime ticket buyer age. There’s no reason to think a limited run wouldn’t do well.
Hell, when the government seizes the Marriott Marquis, tears it down, and puts up a park, maybe they could even do it there. You could even invest your $25 in it.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
Updated On: 8/27/23 at 09:35 AM
#54
Posted: 8/27/23 at 10:27am
Michael Arden was at the show recently.
Give me claws and a hunch, just away from this bunch.
#55
Posted: 8/27/23 at 7:13pm
Well since you already know it will do well, I think you should put up the money.
#56
Posted: 8/28/23 at 4:15pm
Kept an eye and snagged £10 tix for standing room on the second night of our trip! Thanks for the tip.
Booked Cabaret as well. Going to add Guys & Dolls and Operation Mincemeat based on suggestions here on the boards. Definitely want to see La Cage, but waiting until a little closer to make sure the weather isn't a rain out. If we have time, we'll toss in Crazy For You. Have seen (and we love) Six a few times here in NY, but would be cool to see it in the UK. We may do that on a Sunday when other shows are dark along with Mouse Trap (which I just feel like I have to see for the history of it haha). It's our first trip to London and it seems there really couldn't be a better time for theater. Very excited!
#57
Posted: 8/28/23 at 4:48pm
This summer alone was an incredible season of theatre in London! I miss it so much but hope to be back in a year or so!
The idea is to work and to experiment. Some things will be creatively successful, some things will succeed at the box office, and some things will only - which is the biggest only - teach you things that see the future. And they're probably as valuable as any of your successes. -Harold Prince
#58
Posted: 9/1/23 at 8:21am
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/theater/next-to-normal-review-donmar-london.html
Always prestigious for the nytimes to review a London show, and a rave! Happy to have this proper stamp of approval than some of the amateur London ‘critics’ complaining about stupid things.
Give me claws and a hunch, just away from this bunch.
#59
Posted: 9/1/23 at 9:14am
This needs to transfer to West End so I can catch it!
#60
Posted: 9/4/23 at 5:58pm
Caught this tonight and it was absolutely phenomenal. I saw the Original Broadway Cast and the replacement ensemble with Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley and while comparisons are hard because these are differently directed productions, I found myself much more moved by this company.
SPOILERS AHEAD regarding the direction/performances
This is a much more grounded and realistic production than the original which felt like it leaned much more on theme. As a result, the performances feel much more devastating and the vocals were uniformly outstanding. Caissie Levy is giving the performance of her life and while Alice Ripley played the part as big and crazy, Levy is really in each moment and makes smaller choices which somehow had a stronger impact for me. And goodness, her vocals are insane - she found new runs that made some of the songs even stronger for me.
The rest of the cast is really great, with Jamie Parker giving a heartwrenching turn, but my other MVP is young Jack Wolfe as Gabe who actually reads as 18 (even though he is older) and his falsetto is CRAZY. The chemistry within this ensemble is incredible and Michael Longhurst's direction is revelatory.
If this doesn't transfer to the West End and Broadway, it would be a shame so fingers crossed that it does!
#61
Posted: 9/6/23 at 11:48am
What a great review. I'd love to see this in New York in some capacity.
It's always interesting to track a career. Caissie Levy left FROZEN after a lengthy 2-year run to take a supporting part in a limited-engagement nonprofit revival of of CAROLINE OR CHANGE. That production introduced her to Michael Longhurst and career-best reviews for N2N, and probably also helped get her cast in LEOPOLDSTADT.
#62
Posted: 9/6/23 at 4:06pm
I agree. Maybe I’m underestimating how much respect she used to have but it feels like she is emerging as a highly respected serious actor now not just someone with a voice. For me, I always thought there was something special about some of her ‘Ghost’ tracks but it was only listening to Caroline or change that I started to realise there is so much depth. And of course next to normal is a whole new league.
Give me claws and a hunch, just away from this bunch.
#63
Posted: 9/19/23 at 5:36pm
They've announced a free performance this Friday, September 22 at 2:30 p.m., featuring the production's cover actors. Here's the request form, which needs to be submitted by 10 a.m. tomorrow:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdH5Xrl7XpHwxOsXiUk_yVxjX1dqRaunykWJn7qavK4bsqfXw/viewform
Updated On: 9/19/23 at 05:36 PM
#64
Posted: 9/19/23 at 6:55pm
Completely agree with every word Dusoleilcanwhistle said.
Saw this last night and left completely bowled over. It truly felt like I was seeing the show for the very first time.
It is a much more grounded and bare bones production. No real flashy lighting, a mostly utilitarian set, but performances that feel so lived in and natural. With direction from Michael Longhurst that really seems to take you into Diana's mind in often harrowing ways.
Caissie Levy is giving a career-defining performance. Vocally, she has never been better, and it was a breath of fresh air to hear the score sung this beautifully without sacrificing any of the acting. I really loved Alice Ripley in the role, but Caissie's performance feels more nuanced in many ways. She is a Diana who is really trying her best to cover up what is happening to her, and the cracks begin to show until she can no longer hide it. She has really become such an incredible actress over the years. I've always loved her voice, but since Caroline or Change it seems like she just keeps getting better and better, and this performance is truly spectacular.
Jamie Parker is a Dan you instantly understand, you love, and more than anything, you feel for him. This is the first time it ever really seemed like Dan and Diana actually love each other. His breakdown at the end of the show is devastating, and while he may not vocally hold a candle to J. Robert Spencer, Brian d'Arcy James, or Jason Danieley, he acts the absolute crap out of this material.
For me, Jack Wolfe is sort of the unsung hero of this production. A performance that is definitely helped by the direction taking a character that I didn't think was much more than a role for a hot guy with a beautiful voice and turning it into something I really don't even know I can put into words. At times haunting and sad, at others terrifying and impish, he is doing things with this role I truly did not think were possible.
Eleanor Worthington-Cox is a perfect Natalie. Vocally incredible. And it was heartbreaking to see a Natalie who from the very start feels like she herself is on the brink of falling apart. She's such a younger actress but she approaches the role with a level of fearlessness I haven't seen from some actors twice her age.
Desperately hoping this transfers for a proper West End run, and hopefully a New York stage sometime in the future. If nothing else, this cast needs to be preserved on a recording.
#65
Posted: 9/20/23 at 11:12pm
Very very last minute trip to London. Looks like it is solidly booked. Is there any verified resellers over there like stubhub/ticketmaster here in the states? Have tickets for Sunset Blvd. Gonna wait for Cabaret here in NY. Any other suggestions for the end of sept would be greatly appreciated.
#66
Posted: 9/21/23 at 12:25am
DurantPlummer41 said: "Very very last minute trip to London. Looks like it is solidly booked. Is there any verified resellers over there like stubhub/ticketmaster here in the states? Have tickets for Sunset Blvd. Gonna wait for Cabaret here in NY. Any other suggestions for the end of sept would be greatly appreciated."
Check out the theatre board message boards. Folks are selling every once in a while in the next to normal thread.
#67
Posted: 9/21/23 at 6:14am
Returned tickets appear very regularly on the website, if you keep checking you'll eventually get one
#68
Edit: sold
Posted: 9/21/23 at 6:40am
When do you get to London? I have a ticket for tomorrow (Friday Sept 22) I can't use
Edit: sold
Updated On: 9/21/23 at 06:40 AM
#69
Posted: 9/30/23 at 11:35am
I saw the show on 9/11. We had seen Frozen the night before and Samantha Barks (who is on maternity leave) was at next to normal supporting Caissie! Thought that was very sweet.
I was a huge fan of the show from the minute the cast recording dropped and got to see the US Tour with Alice Ripley in 2010. (Major shoutout to Emma Hunton who I felt was the definitive Natalie for over a decade). I will share that I was diagnosed with bipolar 1 in 2016, so my relationship to the show has changed in subtle and substantial ways.
I cried the last 20 mins of Act 1 and nearly all of Act 2. It felt very cathartic. We were in the front of the dress circle and I wish I had planned a subsequent trip so I could have seen it again while in London.
This show won a Pulitzer for a reason, so I feel like you don't need to reinvent the wheel to make it effective. The subtle changes they made to staging and certain dynamics really make it feel more real/grounded, as others have mentioned. I didn't see Dan as a villain, but he came across as somewhat flat until the end of Act 2 in the original staging. You see Jamie Parker cracking on the surface throughout the show as he tries to maintain a semblance of togetherness. This makes his arc more devastating.
Caissie Levy has handed in the performance of a lifetime. I woke up at 4am and cried for another twenty minutes after the show, in all honestly. Ripley tapped into the mania and elevation. From what I've seen, Marin Mazzie leaned more into the depression. Caissie straddles both, but also conveys this sense of frustration/exhaustion from the constant dips in mood/energy and the fact that while Diana's neuro-divergent brain has mapped on a sense of logic/reality to make sense of what she can't comprehend, no one else sees what she does.
The entire cast is beyond incredible. Eleanor Worthington Cox in particular destroyed me.
I desperately hope this has a second life, either a West End transfer/remount, or a Broadway one. Also hope this leads to renewed interest in a film adaptation if it gets to the right hands.
#70
Posted: 10/6/23 at 12:46pm
They released a trailer to celebrate the end of the run
#72
Posted: 10/6/23 at 2:09pm
DurantPlummer41 said: "Very very last minute trip to London. Looks like it is solidly booked. Is there any verified resellers over there like stubhub/ticketmaster here in the states? Have tickets for Sunset Blvd. Gonna wait for Cabaret here in NY. Any other suggestions for the end of sept would be greatly appreciated."
CRAZY FOR YOU is fantastic....Charlie is brilliant.
#73
Posted: 10/6/23 at 3:29pm
I will sell my soul for this to come to NYC!
The idea is to work and to experiment. Some things will be creatively successful, some things will succeed at the box office, and some things will only - which is the biggest only - teach you things that see the future. And they're probably as valuable as any of your successes. -Harold Prince
#74
Posted: 10/6/23 at 4:52pm
"The original production had a very respectable two year run despite not winning Best Musical and the show itself is one of the defining American musicals of the century so far. The younger people with whom it struck a cord in 2009-2011 are now in their prime ticket buyer age. There’s no reason to think a limited run wouldn’t do well."
Winning Tony award for "Best Original Score" is pretty big deal for any musical so I would think that could help a "limited run".
#75
Posted: 10/7/23 at 4:58am
Zeppi2022 unfortunately I would suggest that a "Best Score" Tony has not seemed to have a massive impact on box office historically. Especially when talking about a revival of a production where Tony Awards were won years ago, to take it further for example "Spring Awakening" won "Best Musical" - the biggest deal for any musical and one that consistently has shown to ignite the box office (though not as much in recent years). Yet in the revival it didn't seem to matter and sales were weak.
I would agree with Kad that the show stands to be successful for other reasons. It is interesting to look at a show like next to normal and it shows the importance of time in suggesting the success of a show or not. Some shows close and are quickly forgotten only to become rare curiosities. For whatever reason, next to normal has stood and survive the test of time. It is performed all over the world, audiences seem to react well and the material works. The last 10 years have been a pretty good 'out of town' Broadway tryout that audiences want this material.
Give me claws and a hunch, just away from this bunch.
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