POTENTIAL SPOILERS Next to Normal Question

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POTENTIAL SPOILERS Next to Normal Question

Posted: 3/16/10 at 2:37pm

*** DO NOT READ BELOW IF YOU DON'T LIKE SPOILERS ***

Hey all,

I just got tickets to see Next to Normal when it comes to town on tour. I am very clear on what the show is about, and who the characters are, etc. I've also got the soundtrack.

That being said my girlfriend is afraid that if the show doesn't have a happier ending, that she'll be really sad when we leave. So I wanted to know... without giving away too much about HOW the show ends (because I'd still like to be surprised)... does Next to Normal have a happy, or at least happier ending than the rest of the show?

Thanks!

Shows Seen - Swing!**, Rent (Broadway)**, The Lion King***, Wicked*****, Legally Blonde***, Chicago****, Cats***, Fiddler on the Roof***, Burn the Floor**, In the Heights***, Hair*****, A Christmas Story**, Rock of Ages***, Vanities*, Billy Elliot****, Next to Normal*****, 9 to 5**, Mary Poppins***, Guys and Dolls***, Aladdin***, Les Miserables*****

Upcoming Shows - Cinderella, Oklahoma!, Damn Yankees, Rent

Paramount Theater and 5th Avenue Theater season ticket holder

Proud Gleek

POTENTIAL SPOILERS Next to Normal Question

Posted: 3/16/10 at 2:39pm

I would describe the ending as "hopeful", but certainly not happy.

ETA...and just so you know, any minute now someone is gonna get on you about your use of the word "soundtrack." You should edit it to "cast recording."

Updated On: 3/16/10 at 02:39 PM

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 2:47pm

My god, are you serious? People are so nit-picky about semantics here, it's ridiculous.

I'm just going to leave it and let them complain. Guess what category my iPod puts it under? It's not cast recording...

Updated On: 3/16/10 at 02:47 PM

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 2:50pm

They can be about that. And also of the spelling of semantics

"A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men" - Willy Wonka

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 2:51pm

listen to the final song for an idea. that is literally the last part of the show. as adamgreer said it is hopeful, not happy.

even though the show is not "a picker upper" it is still beautiful and i'm sure you two will leave feeling like you just saw a wonderful show...

Updated On: 3/16/10 at 02:51 PM

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 2:54pm

I'm sure I'll be fine, I'm not terribly sensitive to that kind of thing like she is. Though she loves depressing movies like The Notebook. *shrug*

Thanks for your help everyone.

Updated On: 3/16/10 at 02:54 PM

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 3:11pm

I left happy it was over!

Those Blocked: SueStorm. N2N Nate. Good riddence to stupid! Rad-Z, shill begone!

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 3:22pm

I hope it's not too much of a spoiler, but I was glad to hear that the Mom only acted that way because she'd been kicked in the head by a horse.

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 3:27pm

I wouldn't say it's being TOO nitpicky. It's just incorrect. (And while I cringe, I'm not a nazi about it.) They're called soundtracks cause film has a "sound track" that runs next to the picture on the stock.

And it's just laziness on iTunes' part.

#10

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 3:41pm

Personally, I would NEVER bring a date to this show. Just the content is too much of a turn-off! But I've become overly conservative since bringing a date to 'Company' and undergoing a breakup the same night due to an argument about and overall pessimistic mood stemming from the show!

"Are you sorry for civilization? I am sorry for it too." ~Coast of Utopia: Shipwreck

#11

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 3:54pm

Joe, that made me LOL.

And yes, it is a cast recording, not a soundtrack. It's really not that nit-picky if you're into musical theatre.

"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian

#12

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 4:22pm

I am so nitpicky, that I correct iTunes when I download a cast album.

"I am open, and I am willing, For to be hopeless would seem so strange. It dishonors those who go before us, So lift me up to the light of change." Holly Near

#13

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 4:28pm

the show is very hopeful and sees "light" at the end...

#14

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 5:20pm

I found the end very uplifting and hopeful, especially after the rest of the show.

#15

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 6:34pm

I'm comfortable bringing her to this show because we've been together well over a year, have seen a number of shows together, and she likes musicals even more than I do. I was surprised she even brought up a concern over this one.

#16

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 7:36pm

It's interesting because the people I have gone with have had different opinions about how the show left them feeling. To me...it's incredibly hopeful at the end. The reason I can handle the whole journey is because of the place we get to at the end. It is consistent with our life experiences. Our lives don't always end in a nice little scene where everybody gets well. We are left to wonder how things go when Diana stops treatment. We know Dan acknowledges the loss and starts the process of his own healing. We know that Natalie and Henry are still seeing each other. Maybe the way the end of the show makes a person feel is dependent on how the viewer sees life in general. If you find the good in all things...you feel hopeful. If you're a person who is more likely to be negative, you leave feeling depressed.

"The price of love is loss, but still we pay; We love anyway."

#17

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 7:37pm

Trainwreck

You got tickets to N2N already. Has the 5th started season subscriptions? I haven't got anything in the mail yet from them.

Oh, and I agree with the soundtrack vs. cast album thing being a touch nit-picky, but I do rename all my cast albums in iTunes to cast albums (since iTunes does not differentiate), and leave all my recordings of movies (musicals and non musicals), as sound tracks, as those are tracks that the actors dub themselves with. I miss the way that some brick and mortar stores that sold CDs used to seperate out movie soundtracks and cast albums into seperate sections (and label them as such), as the few remaining lump them all together into one big messy section that you have to weed through. Most people don't care, but the ones who are vocal about it are pretty vocal about it. After all, we do have a site named "castalbumcollector.com" and not "soundtrackcollector.com" (though they lump in the soundtracks to the site).

Xanadu! Can't cry on cue!

#18

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Posted: 3/16/10 at 7:44pm

Don't plan on getting any afterwords.

"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>> “I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>> -whatever2

#19

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Posted: 3/17/10 at 3:16am

Choitoy,

You can sign up for season tickets now, but no, my tickets have not arrived yet (I just paid last week). I am not sure by your message if you can't find the subscription page. If you can't here you go - http://www.5thavenue.org/showsandtickets/subscribe/

#20

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Posted: 3/17/10 at 7:54pm

If your girlfriend likes weepers like the Notebook, she may like this show. I agree with those who say the ending is hopeful rather than happy - but there is not a lot of joy in this show - I actually really liked it - but I would still not say there is much joy in this show.

#21

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Posted: 3/17/10 at 9:25pm

It doesent have a "happy" ending, but it's a hopeful ending

#22

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Posted: 3/17/10 at 9:49pm

I agree that "hopeful" more appropriately describes the ending rather than "happy."

The last time I saw this show was with my aunt and she is a very sensitive person and cries at the littlest thing. So I knew that she was in for a ride when seeing this show. She got very emotional during the first act and at intermission asked me why I didn’t tell her it would be that upsetting (even though we DID warn her plenty of times). I did tell her that the ending would be uplifting. “So Anyway” and “I Am the One (reprise)” ripped her apart, yet before and after those songs, she was smiling by the end of “Maybe” and when Henry and Natalie are at the dance. She was also smiling through “Light” and felt incredibly moved by the ending.

If my aunt can make it through this show and leave with a promising, positive feeling rather than a depressing one, then anyone else I know can. And hopefully your girlfriend will enjoy it and be moved by it.

#23

POTENTIAL SPOILERS Next to Normal Question

Posted: 3/18/10 at 10:54am

Well, I , (being the emotional baby I am) cried from start to finish. The ending is very powerful but still I found it to be very sad. Make sure your girlfriend brings lots of tissue.

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