the musical & the mindset
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Click above for the official website for "next to normal".
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last updated Feb. 2008
Table of Contents
1) VA/D.C. production - articles, interviews, photos, videos, audios
2) reviews
3) NYC off-Broadway production
4) reviews
5) "Feeling Electric" (earlier incarnation of N2N)
includes audios for the songs:
I Miss the Mountains, I'm Alive, and Just Another Day
sub/text
interviews, audio for "Song of Forgetting", videos, behind-the-scenes, costume design sketches, and more
Next to Normal to Receive Cast Recording on Sh-k-Boom Records
Cast Album Of NEXT TO NORMAL To Be Recorded 2/11, 2/12
Ghostlight Records [Sh-K-Boom] to Record Next to Normal
with Ripley, Tveit, Spencer, Damiano, Chanler-Berat, and Hobson
Arena Stage's blog - with rehearsal photos and comments, info on how previews are going, and you can leave your comments about the show
A Chance to Get Back to 'Normal'
Washington Post interviews Alice Ripley
After a New York Run, an Unusual 'Next' Step
Washington Post interviews Tom Kitt, Brian Yorkey, & Alice Ripley
"'I feel like it's continued to crescendo,' Ripley says of Next to Normal. Her role is exhausting -- 'full-frontal emotional trauma,' she calls it."
"'We were really proud of what we had done,' says Yorkey, the book writer and lyricist. 'But we still felt there was work to be done.' Most of the time, that would have been that. The director, the actors, the writers would have moved on to the next thing. "Next to Normal" might have continued to live, in revivals across the country. In this case, though, a twist occurred: Nearly everyone wanted to stick with it."
Tveit, Hobson, Chanler-Berat and Damiano Added to Cast at Arena Stage
Entertainment Weekly's Best of 2008: Stage
J. Robert Spencer - brief interview
JRS: "This piece is completely original—it’s emotional, heartbreaking, uplifting, and chaotic."
In the Middle of "Next to Normal"
Jennifer Damiano and Tom Kitt article
Back to 'Normal'
Tom Kitt interview
Broadway at the Summit
N2N excerpt:
Alice Ripley: “I learned a lot about myself through my exploration of Diana, and I was able to reveal aspects of my psyche with the audience that even I had never realized was there,” Ripley said. “Through this exploration, a wondrous and powerful healing is still taking place inside of me.”
In Psychiatry, Can a Punch Line Be a Lifeline?
NY Times
Village Theatre's Blog
ton of photos
Wikipedia info (contains spoilers!)
Facebook (official)
You have to sign up to access.
MySpace (unofficial)
Arena's N2N fan community (official)
main Live Journal community
RIPLEY - Alice Ripley's band's official site - incl. song samples
and
Drastic Alice for 2 more songs
Alice Ripley's page
The Alice Ripley Link-Up
over a hundred links for Alice Ripley + photos
Emily Skinner & Alice Ripley of "Side Show" (official)
Fair warning: If you mix them up, you will be ejected from this site, haha.
J. Robert Spencer's official website, including songs from his solo CD
J. Robert Spencer's MySpace (official)
J. Robert Spencer's film: Farm Girl in New York (official)
more J. Robert Spencer info
Louis Hobson, MySpace (official)
Aaron Tveit at Facebook (unofficial)
You have to sign up to access.
Aaron Tveit Fan Page - MySpace (unofficial)
Adam Chanler-Berat's band, "Socially Unacceptable Sweaters" (official)
The Tom Kitt Band's official website - incl. song samples
Tom Kitt's MySpace (official)
Tom Kitt's "High Fidelity" the musical (official)
Tom Kitt's "13" the musical (official)
Michael Greif's RENT (official)
Aaron Tveit to guest star on "Gossip Girl"
audio interview: Tom Kitt & Brian Yorkey
D.C. Theatre Scene
audio interview: Alice Ripley
D.C. Theatre Scene
video - documentary of D.C./VA production, incl. song clips
video montage of VA/D.C. production
I Miss the Mountains, I'm Alive, and Just Another Day
sub/text
interviews, audio for "Song of Forgetting", videos, behind-the-scenes, costume design sketches, and more
Next to Normal to Receive Cast Recording on Sh-k-Boom Records
Cast Album Of NEXT TO NORMAL To Be Recorded 2/11, 2/12
Ghostlight Records [Sh-K-Boom] to Record Next to Normal
with Ripley, Tveit, Spencer, Damiano, Chanler-Berat, and Hobson
Arena Stage's blog - with rehearsal photos and comments, info on how previews are going, and you can leave your comments about the show
A Chance to Get Back to 'Normal'
Washington Post interviews Alice Ripley
After a New York Run, an Unusual 'Next' Step
Washington Post interviews Tom Kitt, Brian Yorkey, & Alice Ripley
"'I feel like it's continued to crescendo,' Ripley says of Next to Normal. Her role is exhausting -- 'full-frontal emotional trauma,' she calls it."
"'We were really proud of what we had done,' says Yorkey, the book writer and lyricist. 'But we still felt there was work to be done.' Most of the time, that would have been that. The director, the actors, the writers would have moved on to the next thing. "Next to Normal" might have continued to live, in revivals across the country. In this case, though, a twist occurred: Nearly everyone wanted to stick with it."
Tveit, Hobson, Chanler-Berat and Damiano Added to Cast at Arena Stage
Entertainment Weekly's Best of 2008: Stage
J. Robert Spencer - brief interview
JRS: "This piece is completely original—it’s emotional, heartbreaking, uplifting, and chaotic."
In the Middle of "Next to Normal"
Jennifer Damiano and Tom Kitt article
Back to 'Normal'
Tom Kitt interview
Broadway at the Summit
N2N excerpt:
Alice Ripley: “I learned a lot about myself through my exploration of Diana, and I was able to reveal aspects of my psyche with the audience that even I had never realized was there,” Ripley said. “Through this exploration, a wondrous and powerful healing is still taking place inside of me.”
In Psychiatry, Can a Punch Line Be a Lifeline?
NY Times
Village Theatre's Blog
ton of photos
Wikipedia info (contains spoilers!)
Facebook (official)
You have to sign up to access.
MySpace (unofficial)
Arena's N2N fan community (official)
main Live Journal community
RIPLEY - Alice Ripley's band's official site - incl. song samples
and
Drastic Alice for 2 more songs
Alice Ripley's page
The Alice Ripley Link-Up
over a hundred links for Alice Ripley + photos
Emily Skinner & Alice Ripley of "Side Show" (official)
Fair warning: If you mix them up, you will be ejected from this site, haha.
J. Robert Spencer's official website, including songs from his solo CD
J. Robert Spencer's MySpace (official)
J. Robert Spencer's film: Farm Girl in New York (official)
more J. Robert Spencer info
Louis Hobson, MySpace (official)
Aaron Tveit at Facebook (unofficial)
You have to sign up to access.
Aaron Tveit Fan Page - MySpace (unofficial)
Adam Chanler-Berat's band, "Socially Unacceptable Sweaters" (official)
The Tom Kitt Band's official website - incl. song samples
Tom Kitt's MySpace (official)
Tom Kitt's "High Fidelity" the musical (official)
Tom Kitt's "13" the musical (official)
Michael Greif's RENT (official)
Aaron Tveit to guest star on "Gossip Girl"
audio & video
audio interview: Tom Kitt & Brian Yorkey
D.C. Theatre Scene
audio interview: Alice Ripley
D.C. Theatre Scene
video - documentary of D.C./VA production, incl. song clips
video montage of VA/D.C. production
Reviews
VA/D.C. production
VA/D.C. production
They are very positive across the board.
Revised Musical Hits Home: Moving, Beautiful 'Next to Normal'
Washington Post
Next to Normal: Kiss Me, Medicate
"Next to Normal is about smart people who deal with tricky issues of love and loss and who do so in soaring, searing melodies. And at Arena, it’s being sung to the rafters (and at several points, from the rafters) in ways that prove exhilarating and roundly affecting."
DC Theatre Scene
"a fiercely unsentimental examination of the impact of chronic mental illness on a seemly typical all-American suburban family."
The Safe Space Heard 'Round the World - BackWard Press
"a show that’s brave, necessary, and rock-and-roll bold, almost completely sung through for two hours, and lit in colors that fuel a continuous emotional journey"
Next to terrific at Arena
"More than a show about dysfunction, 'Next to Normal' is about grief, loss and how memories are both a balm and a source of exquisite pain."
Potomac Stages review
"Strikingly original, engrossing and satisfying musical with a message of compassion. Tom Kitt's music and Brian Yorkey's lyrics flow through the act in a nearly organic manner that makes it difficult to detect when a song starts or ends ... each musical number being an integral part of a scene."
Musical 'Next to Normal' At Arena Stage Is A Must See
"Is there anything more exciting to witness then something NEW, not based on a film, a cartoon, or a book- something entirely original?"
Talkin' Broadway
"Kitt's intense musical score and Yorkey's clever and lacerating lyrics provide dynamic underscoring and provide a way for the audience to experience life through Diana's perspective."
A Musical That's Refreshingly Next To Normal
"Next To Normal is one of the most emotionally assaulting new musicals that D.C. audiences have had the pleasure of experiencing in some time."
'Next to Normal' tackles emotional extremes, family ties
"The local opening-night audience gave the spiffed-up D.C. show a long, heartfelt standing ovation."
Musical Therapy
"a well-paced, inventive songbook, and a sure-footed cast", "gives one hope for the future of the American musical"
brief video review, "Around Town"
"It knocked me flat." "Complicated, plot-wise and certainly ambitious."
Off-Broadway production
Second Stage, Jan - Mar. 16, 2008
Second Stage, Jan - Mar. 16, 2008
"There, Amid the Music, a Mind Is on the Edge"
The original NY Times review by Ben Brantley
"Ms. Ripley and Mr. d’Arcy James do their best work to date here. Ms. Ripley reveals a gleaming sardonic side that captures Diana’s wry detachment from herself while never trivializing the hurt and bewilderment at her core."
"Next to Normal is is steeped in an inescapable, aching compassion for people crippled by pain" and "is of real value to anyone who cares about the direction and possibilities of the American musical."
Tony Awards - NY Times
The article of the century, LOL - Just go! Scroll down to Alice Ripley's name.
Second Stage's MySpace (official)
long radio interview - Alice Ripley talks about N2N, as well as her whole career, incl. her band
Alice Ripley and Brian d'Arcy James Will Be Next to Normal in New Off-Broadway Musical
Cast Complete for Upcoming Off-Broadway Musical Next to Normal
New Musical Next to Normal, with Ripley and James, Begins Off-Broadway
includes an audio interview with Tom Kitt and Alice Ripley
"How does an almost average family navigate today's over-stimulated and over medicated world? In this darkly funny and haunting new musical, one suburban household confronts its past and its future."
Ripley and James Are Next to Normal in New Musical Opening Off-Broadway Feb. 13
Photo call - Opening Night
Photos - "Not a Normal Off-B'way Opening for Brian d'Arcy James, Alice Ripley & Co.
The talented cast of Next to Normal headed to Junior's on February 13 to celebrate the opening of their new off-Broadway musical. The tuner, directed by Michael Greif, features music by Tom Kitt, lyrics by Brian Yorkey and a tight-knit cast led by Alice Ripley and Brian d'Arcy James. Check out the anything but ordinary people at the fine fete.
Brian d'Arcy James, Alice Ripley Set for New Musical Next to Normal
"Controlled Chaos"
Brian d'Arcy James ("Dan" off-Broadway) gives a thoughtful, kind commentary to a video slide show, which includes photos from his previous shows.
New Musical Next to Normal Closes Off-Broadway March 16
Kevin Adams, lighting designer
Photos - production stills
Next to Normal Will Be Part of Arena Stage Season - Apr. 10, 2008
fun I.M. interview, 2003 - Alice Ripley
brief interview with Aaron Tveit
Reviews
Off-Broadway production
Off-Broadway production
"There, Amid the Music, a Mind Is on the Edge" - NY Times
TheaterMania
an "emotionally resonant musical" that "tackles head-on the issue of depression, and the treatments that may or may not make things better. But while the show, plumbs the depths of despair, it also offers a vision of hope."
Variety
"The beating heart of the musical and the chief reason it remains absorbing is the emotional integrity both Ripley and d'Arcy James bring to their characters."
"'Next to Normal' has a heartfelt tenderness that's genuinely moving. It also has Michael Greif's dynamic production for Second Stage and two penetrating lead performances in its favor."
The high & low notes of a bipolar mom in 'Next to Normal'
"Under Kevin Adams' moody lighting, Mark Wendland's tri-level set of cold steel and sliding glass walls isn't just eye-popping, it's poetic. It conveys a jail-like world, which is what a home with a sick parent becomes."
"The show is exactly like Diana - always unpredictable, never fully balanced. But if you're looking for something that'll shake you up, "Next to Normal" is just what the doctor ordered."
NY Theatre
"Ripley and d'Arcy James are Broadway pros of the first order, and they turn in the kind of solid musical theatre performances that are one of the joys of living in New York."
"In the number "You Don't Know" that the duo really get to show just how deep their talent is. It makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up as you watch these two characters, who love each other very much, so thoroughly miscommunicate their pain to each other, causing even more pain in the process."
Entertainment Weekly
"The phrase crazy in love best describes Next to Normal, an intense new musical centering on a suburban mom and her struggle to balance marriage, motherhood, and manic depression."
Almost There: Next to Normal
"Next to Normal will shake you awake."
(the following are mostly negative reviews)
Curtain Up
Backstage
Electroshock 'n Roll: Next to Normal is Kitschy, Twitchy, Depressing
"This week I report on a new musical about suicidal depression, a new play about suicidal loneliness and the revival of a classic play that hinges on suicide. And how are you today?"
Next to Normal is Too Much to Take
"A six-member cast is excellent, but Ripley and Damiano give especially heartbreaking and beautifully-sung performances as wound-up mother and wounded daughter."
"A black and blue bruise of a rock musical"
blogger reviews
David Rigano
viewer reviews
Theatre Is Easy: "Next to Normal"
[negative except for] "Brian d’Arcy James and Alice Ripley have intensely good voices.
Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals
[negative except for] "The number 'How Could I Ever Forget?' was absolutely stirring, enhanced by the restrained and nuanced performances of Alice Ripley and Brian d'Arcy James. Ripley was particularly haunting during this part of the show."
videos
montage with interviews (10.5 mins)
the sources for the above montage:
Second Stage and Broadway Beat
contact: lisa.k@nexttonormal.org
