Rumor- Riverdale Next To Normal musical episode

[Erin V]

Posted: 9/11/21 at 4:01pm

https://www.google.com/amp/s/decider.com/2021/09/10/riverdale-season-5-musical-episode-next-to-normal/amp/

Rumor is Riverdales next musical episode will be Next To Normal and it will be airing soon!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/11/21 at 4:04pm

My God, people still watch Riverdale? 

[binau]

Posted: 9/11/21 at 4:28pm

I kind of feel like the material deserves better and I’d be surprised the creators would want this to happen before any filmed version of the show on stage or adaptation is officially made?

[bway0]

Posted: 9/11/21 at 4:54pm

Sutton Ross said: "My God, people still watch Riverdale?"

I do.. somewhat. It was good background noise for remote work when my office was shut down and also when I was finishing up grad school last fall. I’m planning on using Riverdale’s newest episodes on my flights to and from New Orleans next month in hopes they put me to sleep on my flights. 
(edited to reword)

Updated On: 9/11/21 at 04:54 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/11/21 at 4:58pm

Haha, well that's one way to enjoy a show! I watched it until season 3 where things just got too weird for me. 

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 9/11/21 at 6:30pm

The writing fell off the rails. 

[bway0]

Posted: 9/11/21 at 6:38pm

They lost me at creepy Chic. What in the world were they thinking. And the whole Gargoyle King stuff.

Wow.. I guess I paid more attention than I thought considering I thought Riverdale was just background noise hahah

[darquegk]

Posted: 9/11/21 at 8:17pm

It's still going and still absurd. This past week, a character delivered a passionate and somewhat pointless performance of the Nina Simone version of Janis Ian's "Stars." If you're a premium TV fan, you'll know that song is pretty exclusively associated with "BoJack Horseman," and Riverdale seemed to want to mine some of that pathos and prestige.

Also, minor character Dr. Curdle Junior is still around, and still inexplicably referred to constantly by that full title, Dr. Curdle Junior.

[Leaf Coneybear]

Posted: 9/13/21 at 1:05pm

Sutton Ross said: "My God, people still watch Riverdale?"

My roomates and I love it! We look at it more as a comedy since it's impossible to take seriously (although season 1 had potential) but once the serial killer came in season 2 it got ridiculous. I thought the Carrie and Heathers episodes weren't awful, but the Hedwig and the Angry Inch one was painful. Seems weird to have such a serious musical in the show, but I can't imagine anyone actually gave it that much thought.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/13/21 at 1:28pm

That's cool, I really loved season 1 but then it just became too bizarre but I never thought to consider it like a comedy. Maybe I'll give it another try! Haha. 

[thirtythirtyninety]

Posted: 9/13/21 at 1:30pm

There is an hilarious Riverdale joke on one of the most recent episodes of The Other Two on HBO Max:

https://twitter.com/neil_mcneil/status/1436902341026877440?s=21

[bway0]

Posted: 9/29/21 at 8:43pm

I’m watching- anyone else? This is my first experience with any of the Next to Normal material and it seems very heavy. So I Googled the show and WOW I don’t know if I could sit through it because of the heavy material. How did it do when it was on Broadway?

(Edited for wording)

Updated On: 9/29/21 at 08:43 PM

[Erin V]

Posted: 9/29/21 at 8:47pm

It was on Broadway for a year and half! From April 2009 to January 2011.

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 9/30/21 at 12:53am

Next to Normal is actually a lot lighter than most plays you would see on and off Broadway, Musical-wise it was also less bleak than the likes of Kid Victory or Ride the Cyclone from my personal experience.

Updated On: 9/30/21 at 12:53 AM

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 9/30/21 at 3:05pm

It was painful to listen to the soundtrack...Not sure if it worked in the show but I just can't let my ears suffer any more of this...thing.

[bway0]

Posted: 9/30/21 at 3:25pm

Was rough in the show. They record the songs and lip sync while filming. So some of it was off. But the songs were brutal to listen to. Casey Cott was good. The rest.. no.

[Platypus]

Posted: 9/30/21 at 9:45pm

That was painful to watch and listen to. Now I need to go listen to the OBCR to wash my ears out.

[binau]

Posted: 10/1/21 at 4:40am

I haven’t seen it yet but looking and listening to the soundtrack I think:

* they seem to have captured the spirit of the show with song selection and arrangements, even if the singing is not exactly the best

* some of the lyric changes make me wonder the context of how the songs are used now!

[bdn223]

Posted: 10/1/21 at 10:09am

It was probably the best Riverdale Musical episode to date, as they actually somehow managed to fit the songs into the actual plot of the show instead of randomly breaking into lavish musical numbers that had nothing to do with the plot. Was it cringe inducing at times? Yes, but that's Riverdale. I have read some complaints that some of the songs were too on the nose, but that's what you get when you use songs from a sung through musical.  

I should note I do not regularly watch Riverdale, but just from a sheer "how do we make this work perspective", it worked. 

It actually very much fit the plot of Betty's mother having a nervous breakdown after loosing her older daughter and finds solace in playing N2N over and over on their record player remembering the trip they took to NYC to see it, until she starts adopting the same coping mechanisms as Diana. 

It did make we wonder if a gender swapped N2N with Diana and Dan could work? I would be interesting to see a production where they alternate the performances nightly, like the Little Foxes Revival with Laura Linney and Cinthia Nixon. 

This does give me hope that despite being so innately theatrical N2N could actually work in a screen adaptation. I know Rob Reiner has been working on it for years, and has said its just figuring out how to frame a film that literally pops in and out of 2 characters minds, (Diana and Natalie). Then again there's how do you film Gabe and give the audience hints without truly revealing his truth until at least a third of the way into the movie. Then on top of that actually making it possible for viewers to point out that Dan actually is able to see him on a re-watch. Riverdale's episode clearly showed its capable of working in Diana's fantasies and blending the line between her reality and actual reality through Betty's interactions with her, but how do you make that work for a 2+ hour film.

Then there's the criticism that the main thesis of N2N is too problematic for today's audiences? Is the treatment for mental illness sometimes worse than the symptoms? The musical has the nuance the treatments being forced upon Diana by Dan, whose intentions are not get help Diana get better so much as he simply want his old life back. Then he also convinces Natalie to gaslight her mother about Gabe, which only causes Diana to spiral further. The question is how to you actually make sure that comes across in a film adaptation, especially in light of how badly the film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen  failed to even show the slightest concept of nuance. 

[Codeman109]

Posted: 10/5/21 at 1:46pm

I’ve stuck with Riverdale through the years and enjoyed the Next to Normal episode a lot. The music matched the plot context and both show/musical were able to stay true to themselves. I always thought the Riverdale musical episodes have been fun for what they are but this one was the best for sure.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 10/6/21 at 2:11am

Cosmopolitan.com: Let the 'Riverdale' 'Next to Normal' Episode Heal the Hole 'Dear Evan Hansen' Left in Your Heart

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a37822613/riverdale-next-to-normal-episode-dear-evan-hansen-movie/

Updated On: 10/6/21 at 02:11 AM

[binau]

Posted: 10/6/21 at 2:57pm

I personally loved it - I thought the whole concept of the characters trying to identify with the musical made it actually work (and something that I think we kind of do informally on day-to-day so it's interesting to see someone fictionalise and represent this in an actual TV show)...yes some of the vocals were bad (the 'Diana' in particular - in fact I think I also remember her butchering Margaret from the Carrie episode). However, I thought they did a good job at trying to supplement her vocals with other characters (e.g. the Daughter) - and the whole focus of the Daughter kind of playing both Dan & Natalie parts if I recall really worked for me. The photo of the family together outside the N2N poster at the end was so cute and nostalgic. 

The selection of music also covered quite a lot of the best songs in the short amount of time...I think they can probably get the 60 minute Spain version to work based on this attempt! 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 10/6/21 at 9:08pm

Honestly, I’m really impressed with how this one turned out. This was the most successful musical episode, in my opinion, because it wasn’t a “let’s put on a show” framing device. The songs actually forwarded the plot for all the characters. Vocal performances and lyric changes aside, I was pleasantly surprised. (And yes, I do watch regularly, and this episode was one of the more sane episodes.) Also, they made mention of seeing Moulin Rouge! on Broadway, so that show exists in their world.

In general, I’m glad Riverdale uses fringe musicals in their show. I’m still shocked they used “People Like Us” from LaChiusa’s The Wild Party in one of the earlier seasons.