Trinity Repertory Company concludes its season with the Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning rock musical “Next to Normal,” featuring a book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. Directed by former Associate Artistic Director Amanda Dehnert, “Next to Normal” is a deeply human story about mental illness, family, and connection that lands with astonishing force.
“Next to Normal” began as a 10-minute play written in 1998, titled Feeling Electric, about a woman undergoing electroshock therapy. The play evolved through years of numerous readings, workshops, the New York Music Festival, a pivotal 2008 Arena Stage production, and 12 years of musical theatre development before reaching Broadway in 2009, where it became a critical and commercial triumph, earning the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
At its center is Diana, a suburban mother whose difficulties coping with the circumstances of her life send shockwaves through her family. Her highs are dizzying, her lows devastating, and her journey through medication, therapy, and even electroshock treatment is portrayed with blunt honesty. A powerful parallel is drawn between Diana, and her teenage daughter Natalie, both navigating the ache of absence: one by a mother who can’t be fully present, and the other haunted by a child she lost.
Many viewers can likely relate to the loss of someone held dear, and how the ghost of that person haunts us day in and day out. The absence of the person can become a figure in itself, still part of our lives, not gone at all. To many, this may be perfectly normal.
The songs are conversational, in turns argumentative and confessional, layered in the colliding perspectives of the characters to tell a complex story. Diana’s distress grows operatic and Natalie spirals, capturing the fragility of a family trying to stay afloat. In the face of Diana’s symptoms worsening, her exhausted architect husband, Dan, is determined to keep everything “normal.”
Even the show’s dark humor lands with purpose, as when Diana quips, “These are a few of my favorite pills!” Medications come and go throughout the show, sometimes going down the sink and other times being swallowed indiscriminately by Natalie, whose newfound friend Henry tries to keep her on the right track. These actions may seem perfectly normal in the context of living in a modern world where the definition of normal doesn’t seem to truly exist, yet everyone is reaching for it, searching for it and celebrating the moments when they believe they are experiencing it, only to have their illusions shattered by the next heartbreaking disappointment.
And yet, for all its darkness, “Next to Normal” is ultimately a story of survival. Tragic characters represent hope and the belief that through suffering, one can still find grace. By the time the final song, “Light,” arrives, the audience is lifted with it, reminded that even in the most fractured families, love can still illuminate the path forward.
Sung by a cast of absolutely stunning talents, this production is vibrant and beautifully performed. With its soaring score, stunning performances, and unflinching honesty, “Next to Normal” is a must-see experience, and you will feel every beat.
The cast of Trinity’s production “Next to Normal” features Resident Company Member Rachael Warren as Diana, Saidah Lockett as her daughter Natalie, Nathaniel Stampley as her husband Dan and Nigel Richards as her son Gabe. Rounding out the ensemble are guest artists Christopher Moody as Henry, Natalie’s classmate and love interest, and Ariel Neydavoud as the psychopharmacologists Dr. Madden and Dr. Fine.
“Next to Normal” will run through June 28 at Trinity Rep. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit trinityrep.com/show/next-to-normal.
Judith Clinton is a playwright, producer and author, whose work explores myth, and transformation. Her plays and stories reflect her belief that storytelling can both heal and ignite change. She is Co-Executive Director of the Rhode Island Theatre Makers Roundtable.
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