February 28 - 'Next To Normal'

On Saturday the 28th my partner and I took time out from my busy production schedule to see 'Next To Normal' on Broadway.  I had previously downloaded the music on iTunes, so I thought I knew what to expect, but the show far exceeded my expectations.  From a production standpoint, the show was impressive across the board, and the performances (particularly of the two female leads) were spectacular.  What I wasn't expecting is how moving and emotional it is; and that despite the many leaps in time and place, the storytelling and character arcs are quite clear.  

Much of the music, as is often true in a 'character study' piece, involved the main characters expressing their feelings directly and unapologetically to each other and/or the audience.  My work got criticized a bit for doing this last weekend, and it was somewhat vindicating to see an award-winning Broadway show full of such songs.

Some of the most effective moments in the show, however, involved characters describing a memory or event with a set of lyrics that evoked an emotion as much as or more than told a story.

From a learning perspective, this show stands as an example to me that an audience will follow a show much more nimbly than one might expect, and that I can perhaps allow myself to be more poetic, more 'random' and perhaps even more obtuse, without necessarily losing the audience in the process.

I would highly recommend the show, which approaches dysfunctionality and mental illness in a raw and approachable way.  I enjoyed it, and was impressed by it, but more importantly, it moved me.