Why I think the teenagers are flocking to Next To Normal...And why I think they're wrong- Page 2

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 4:19pm

If you had to directly relate to every show that spoke to you, then how do you explain all the little white boys who love Dreamgirls?

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 4:20pm

ray, you are not demeaning it at all. I should have also said that I think "Caroline" can deeply touch even people who have not experienced all of what is depicted in the show. I know many people who haven't who are deeply affected by it. I think for me it was that I knew the storyline but when I sat there in the theater and it all unfolded before me, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Plus it was the 1st show I had seen on Broadway in about 15 years. I was extremely excited just to be sitting in a Broadway theater again, and then I got hit with the brilliance of that show.

I think that you can go into a show and it may not even be the main storyline that affects you. So many people come out of shows with so many different things. That is part of the beauty of theater in my opinion.

[Q]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 4:23pm

Phyllis - they're gay. Duh.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 4:27pm

There's no gays in Dreamgirls!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 4:29pm

That too, Q -- I almost threw in "self-righteous," but then decided to just leave it be. But you're exactly right. It's very, "Well, I connect with this more than you do, so THERE." And really, you can't really comment on levels of maturity when you're behaving like that.

Kelly, yes, and adding on to that, I think a lot of it has to do with which casts are the nicest and most approachable. There's a definite set that will flock to whichever show has a cast that makes them feel like they're friends, and those often happen to be these smaller -- I hate to keep using this word, but -- edgier shows. I don't like to get TOO down on that because I have formed long-lasting friendships with performers and members of creative teams simply by supporting a show, and nay-sayers be damned I know it can happen; but the traveling herd sensibility is an obvious trend, and that's more the thing that I find both strange and irritating, because if status-boosting friendships are what you're after, then you're in it for the wrong reasons.

Updated On: 8/4/09 at 04:29 PM

[Jane2]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 4:44pm

"The show is not just about mental illness, it's a show about a dysfunctional family trying to cope...."

I think it IS basically about mental illness - and how it has affected the entire family. I relate because I lived it.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 4:48pm

It is fundamentally about mental illness in that you can't say it's not about that, but I think what people mean when they say that is that it's not a textbook lesson, it's a story about what something tragic can do to a family. And in that sense, what it presents is much more universal than how limiting a description like "it's a show about mental illness" can sometimes feel. What this family goes through can be applied to all sorts of difficulties that families face, even if some of the details don't fit. (Does that make sense?)

Updated On: 8/4/09 at 04:48 PM

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 4:54pm

My entire family, including myself, have a long history of bipolar disorder, So naturally I expected that I would find NEXT TO NORMAL interesting, even moving. I heard Alice Ripley sing "I Miss The Mountains" in concert a year or two previously and thought it was an unusually beautiful and powerful song, and made me especially excited to finally see the show. But I found that song the one element of the show that had truth to it - the story line concocted around it verged just this side of Charles Ludlumesque. Quite unexpectedly, I found NEXT TO NORMAL to be the funniest shows I had seen in a long time.

Updated On: 8/4/09 at 04:54 PM

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 4:56pm

There is a lot to relate to in next to normal that has nothing to do with mental illness.
Anyone who has had parents who fight, difficult relationships, breakups, moments of sadness, loss, grief, etc, can relate to this show. And the list goes on.
The fact that I had mental illness running in my family helps me. But I just love the show anyway. And the statement that teenagers can't relate to this show is FALSE. I'm sorry, but it just is.

[Jane2]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:01pm

After reading everyone's take on the show, I'm trying to see it all different ways, but I just can't separate the illness from the rest. I still think it's all about mental illness and how it affects not only the person afflicted.

At least I tried!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:06pm

I'm not arguing that. That's how I've always described it, more or less. But I don't think it's only about that, or that it can't be applied to family struggles at large, or just move people by virtue of its emotional journey. If it were that limiting in its reach, then it wouldn't be getting the kind of response it has. I was just saying to a friend the other day that one of the most incredible things about this show, to me, is that what you personally bring to it is such a huge part of your experience. A lot of what you take away relies on what you bring in, and I think that's great.

[Jane2]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:19pm

I hear ya, and I think I understand what you're saying. However, I can't stop believing that the type of struggles they are experiencing are those caused by Diana's illness. That's what the show is about, for me that is.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:19pm

OP: You make me want to cough up phlegm on you.

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:19pm

My mother suffers depression, as do I. N2N speaks to me in that I can catch a glimpse of what others go through with a similar disease in the family. Don't underestimate today's teenagers. We go through a lot more than we get credit for.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:30pm

luvtheEmcee, I'm sure in rare situations friendships can be formed, but that's definitely not at all the norm, and most peformers, at least those that I know, don't look for their friends in a line of mostly crazy fans. Most people, sadly, flock from show to show looking for nothing more or less than "stagedoor friendships" to brag to their friends about. I used to hang with a crowd where that was a very big thing. Who you were "friends" with. Luckily, I'm not involved with those sad, toxic people anymore, but it's very all-consuming for some. I know people who are over 30 years old and still waiting outside the stagedoor and trying to be friends and be connected with those onstage. It's sad. You'd hope that people would have more to fill their lives with, but sadly, they don't..

N2N seems to be a big show for those types. Especially considering that whole incident with fans of the show adding themselves as Alice Ripley's "children" on Facebook.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:32pm

However, I can't stop believing that the type of struggles they are experiencing are those caused by Diana's illness.

They are. They're the reason for it. I'm not arguing that, either. At all. You seem to think I'm debating that her illness is the center of this show, and I'm not. For me, as well, this has always been a show about how mental illness can be destructive to relationships. But that being acknowledged, ALL I'm saying is that it doesn't mean people who haven't experienced it can't relate in some way. Families break apart, things go wrong for all sorts of reasons -- and on a general level, this is a family struggling with a tragedy and a problem. That's widespread and it's relatable. Maybe not as strongly or specifically, but it's still applicable. That's all I'm saying.

Updated On: 8/4/09 at 05:32 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:34pm

N2N seems to be a big show for those types. Especially considering that whole incident with fans of the show adding themselves as Alice Ripley's "children" on Facebook.

Oh my God. I mean, she clearly had to approve it, but lol.

But anyway, yes. This is another topic entirely, but it's sad when it simply becomes about bragging rights. And if that's all you're after, then it'll never be real anyway.

[Jane2]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:38pm

"You seem to think I'm debating that her illness is the center of this show, and I'm not. "

No, it's the other way around. I"M the one saying that her illness is the center of the show, not you.

I'm not even saying other people can't relate. The only point I'm making is that I think the show is all about mental illness, whereas many others here don't.

It's all fine with me, just posting my view.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:41pm

Right, no, I meant that you seem to think I'm fighting you on that point, and I'm totally not. It centers on that, yes, but I don't think it's the exclusive way into the story for the audience. If it were, you would have a pretty limited audience, and it would be really alienating. Even if you tell a story about something very specific, it's got to be accessible to people who haven't had that experience, and I think Next to Normal succeeds at that. :)

[binau]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:42pm

I don't think it is about her illness itself as it is how it affects her family and herself..

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:45pm

^ That's exactly what I think people usually mean when they say, "Well it's not a show about mental illness!" or whatever. It's not a textbook; it's not a psychology lesson, it's a story about how that affects a family, which is precisely what makes it have a wider appeal.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:46pm

If this show was only about mental illness, I doubt it could find the kind of audience it has. The bigger over all message is one of love, family, coping, desperation and finding of self.


To the OP: really, who are you to judge who should relate to any piece of theater? If it makes them feel something then they are relating to it.

[Jane2]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:50pm

I agree with you for the most part, emcee. But just to stretch the point a little-

"If it were, you would have a pretty limited audience, and it would be really alienating. "

I don't agree here. I think a huge amount of people who aren't affected by it would be interested in seeing a show about mental illness. It's a fascinating topic, and I don't agree about it being alienating. Why do you say alienating?

I know I'm interested in seeing shows, films, tv documentaries, et. al. about things I have nothing to do with. Just for the sake of learning.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:50pm

People can have a musical "speak to them" without having to directly experience the exact same situations and story. It's like saying the only way the actors can connect to the material is by actually living under the exact same circumstances (pure method, which is mostly a narcissistic and unnecessary endeavor to gain sympathy and attention, but that's another topic of discussion). Next to Normal definitely spoke to me when I saw it for various reasons at different times. Sometimes, it was solely in the music and orchestrations, which I found to be expertly written, if at times a little too fleetingly. There were also some emotions beautifully expressed in lines that perfectly encapsulated precisely how I've felt in a vivid and concise way I wish I had thought of myself. And then there were performances where I felt a direct connection to a very precise situation whether it be the cloudiness of a person under the influence of a trial medication, a frightened kid who is trying to gauge what can't be explained, or a co-dependent partner who so desperately wants nothing more than their partner back but can clearly see the end approaching. Does it mean that I used the same medications, had the same relationships, or even dealt with the same illness? None of the above. But I can identify and validate what they are saying and feeling at times, nonetheless. And when I hear the song progress of I Miss the Mountains/You Don't Know/I Am the One/Superboy and the Invisible Girl/I'm Alive, I don't have to have any connection to the story whatsoever to be moved by that music. It's utterly brilliant and brings me to the verge of tears each time I hear it.

[Jane2]

Posted: 8/4/09 at 5:51pm

"I don't think it is about her illness itself as it is how it affects her family and herself.."

You've repeated word for word what I have posted, and what is my entire point.