San Francisco in love with Next to Normal

The reviews in San Francisco are glowing and extremely positive. The show seems to resonate with SFO....
http://www.sfexaminer.com/entertainment/theater/2011/01/tony-winning-next-normal-actually-extraordinary

http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-01-28/entertainment/27054348_1_asa-somers-brian-yorkey-music-by-tom-kitt

http://www.mercurynews.com/theater-dance/ci_17217601?nclick_check=1

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/01/31/theater-review-next-to-normal/

http://www.starkinsider.com/2011/01/review-next-to-normal-goes-for-the-heart.html

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Based on ticket sales, SF is NOT in love with Next to Normal. But the show is good, thanks to the great ensemble and no thanks to the horrible Alice Ripley who sucks every time she 'sings'. Someone replace this gal, STAT!

How is her singing voice holding up?

Her voice on the amazon clips from the new album sounds absolutely wrecked.

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She seems to choose to use her voice differently in different situations, still. I've heard her sing more pop-ish music recently and sound great (and VERY different than the show) - I think on stage she is extremely wrapped in Diana and is only thinking about telling her story, not about vocal technique and production quality. So I don't know that I would say something's "happened" to her voice aside from maybe being vocally exhausted. I don't think there's permanent damage or a career-altering change; I think she can still sing well when she chooses to, she's just focusing on different things on stage...maybe?

Her voice on the clips from the new album sounds wrecked. She needs a break.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004I1WIZW/

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Updated On: 2/5/11 at 03:13 PM

So true Namo. Guess I'm a fag too, cause I completely agree.

I was hoping we'd get a full studio "Peppermint Twist"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAy392PU5Tc

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I saw her on press night in Denver and I just referred to her vocals as having issues in my review. I can only compare what I heard live once to what I heard on the recording and I wasn't a big fan of her live vocal performance. What really save her performance was her acting. JMO

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The review, however, refers to Kushnier, and the photo is most definietly Jeremy Kushnier.

Probably just a typo.

I really do like the show and feel very bad for Alice, who I feel is generally a great actress and a nice gal. Everyone I know who's seen it, myself included, says that her voice is seriously lacking. As much as she may hate to do it, she really needs to take some time off and let someone else play the part if she is vocally unable to maintain. It can't be good for her health, and not really fair to the audience who is shelling out a lot of money to see a show that SHOULD have someone sing appropriately, not struggle through every song like Alice does.

Honestly, the only time I cringed because of Alice's voice was during 'So Anyway'. The rest I just shrugged off. I would love for her to stick with the tour. It will be the last time for her to work with Diana and the material.

I saw the show, and her yesterday. It is clear that her voice is tired and she does struggle some. It's not the same voice from the cd or when I saw her in NYC but she is incredible as Diana. After so much time in that role she still manages to act the **** out of it and you can tell she still cares deeply for the role. One of the most amazing performances I have ever seen on stage....for the second time.

I hope she knows what she's doing with her voice and she doesn't destroy it.

My friend is seeing it for the first time today and was very excited to see Ripley. She was disappointed as hell to find out Pearl Sun was on for today's matinee.

@uncageg-In 'So Anyway', towards the end of the song ('it's time for me to fly; and so, goodbye') is where I felt bad for Alice. And 'Maybe' is my favorite song from the show and like Anastasia_Beaverhausen said, it's not the voice from the cast recording.

But she sings the hell out of 'Didn't I See This Movie' and 'The Break'. I rock out every time.

Oh so they have announced a rush. I was waiting for them to do that, although it's sad that the show hasn't caught on as well as it could have in this city. I saw the show in SF on a Friday night and was able to secure front row center seats with no trouble. The rows to the side in the orchestra were empty.

As far as Alice goes, I'm still an avid fan of hers. There is nothing like seeing that woman bare her soul onstage, her acting is out of this world.

As far as her voice goes though you can tell it's been put through its paces. It makes me sad because I've been following her since her early days and her voice was truly something glorious to listen to (both her soprano and belt). What I'm confused about is how she was able to sing Violet in Sideshow (which seemed more strenuous) and she came out pretty well.

In any case, the tour is brief and I'm hoping that her voice recovers from almost 5 years of this show.

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