Posted: 4/19/16 at 10:18am
The Hamilton win got me thinking about Next to Normal, and why has it not 'conquered' the world, specifically, why hasn't it made its West end debut? While its an american story, its not like mental health issues aren't universal- Anyone know why this many years later, its remains only a Broadway success (and please correct me if I'm wrong)
Posted: 4/19/16 at 10:20am
It's been produced regionally all over the place in the past several years!
Posted: 4/19/16 at 10:27am
It is not a very commercial show and something tourists would flock to see. Personally, my oldest daughter and I loved it.
Posted: 4/19/16 at 10:33am
The true reason why it hasn't opened yet in the west end is less romantic, someone is holding the rights and won't let them go. It is enjoying a large international success tho! Now there is an excellent Italian production, last year there was a German one and it has been staged in sweden, austria, peru, argentina, brazil, Canada, finland...
Posted: 4/19/16 at 10:40am
Yes it's because of the rights. They tried to do it at Edinburgh Fringe two years ago and it got cancelled because they couldn't get the rights.
As a Brit that loves this show it disappoints me greatly that we probably wont see it here for a long, long time.
Posted: 4/19/16 at 10:46am
NEXT TO NORMAL is one of, if not my favorite show. I think it deserves all of the recognition and then some!
Posted: 4/19/16 at 1:35pm
Thanks- the rights issue makes sense. Loved the musical and the production, but would love to see a talented west end creative team (and cast) take a stab at it
Posted: 4/19/16 at 1:54pm
That is a shame. There are so many talented ladies across the pond that I would love to see tackle Diana
Posted: 4/19/16 at 10:22pm
I think next to normal has been quite successful - like other people have said, not only has it been produced worldwide but there are many regional productions throughout the US. Whether they are comercially successful is anybody's guess, since we don't know their grosses. (though I think they are), but just the total of productions is impressive. I wouldn't even go so far as to say that next to normal is an american story (as are West Side Story, Ragtime, Gypsy, etc), I'd say it's universal like you pointed out, which is partially the reason that it has enjoyed so much success worldwide in my opinion.
Funny how a dark, heart-wrenching musical can achieve that, who'd've guessed (I am by no means complaining, I love next to normal)?
Updated On: 4/19/16 at 10:22 PM
Posted: 4/19/16 at 10:25pm
Yeah, N2N was quite successful: it recouped it's investment on broadway which no one expected, critics loved it and it got a fair amount of tonys, and it has a pulitzer. It may not have been the cultural phonomenon Hamilton is, but not many shows are. I also think it was one of the heads of the pack that allowed other small shows (Gentleman's Guide, Fun Home) to have long/profitable/successful runs.
Posted: 4/19/16 at 10:36pm
I remember that when it started previews many people here commented along the following lines "I love it, it's a masterpiece. It's such a shame it won't be successful / will close soon". I'm so happy we were wrong.
Posted: 4/19/16 at 10:39pm
But why wouldn't they release/sell the rights, or however that works?
