Chris Daniels with The Show Report experienced the emotional complexity of Next to Normal:
Read full review' | Buy Tickets | More about 'Next to Normal'‘“Next to Normal” does not, in other words, qualify as your standard feel-good musical. Instead, this portrait of a manic-depressive mother and the hybrid of fractured people she loves and damages is something much more: a feel-everything musical, which asks you, with operatic force, to discover the liberation in knowing where it hurts.”
“sensitively directed by LA Drama Critics Circle Award winner Matthew McCray (“The Other Place”) and musically directed by the incredible Stephen Hulsey (“Sweeney Todd”), throbbing with an emotional intensity that cannot be dismissed as synthetic.”
“A strong, surging tidal score by Tom Kitt, with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey enables an evocatively touching force of passion and jaggedness from Jocelyn A. Brown (“Into The Woods”) as Diana Goodman, a housewife with bipolar disorder, as well as astounding performances from vocally flawless Chance newcomer Tym Brown (“Rent”) as Dan, the moving and moreish Jaylen Baham (“In The Heights”) as Gabe, the resonant, spine-chilling Andie Chavez (“Edges: A Song Cycle”) as Natalie, the intensely gifted Jared Machado (“The Merchant of Venice”) as Henry, and the versatile and ever-impressive Ovation nominee, Ron Hastings (“Fun Home”) as Dr. Madden.”
“Ms. Brown also reveals a gleaming sardonic side that captures Diana’s wry detachment from herself while never trivializing the hurt and bewilderment at her core. And Mr. Brown (no relation), in excellent voice, summons an embattled strength that makes Dan the show’s true emotional anchor. Both performances stay with you, and they only get better in memory.”
“Ms. Brown is giving what promises to be the musical performance of the season. Her achingly exposed face and her sweet, raw-tinged voice capture every glimmer in Diana’s kaleidoscope of feelings. Anger, yearning, sorrow, guilt and the memory of what must have been love seem to coexist in every note she sings.”
“Together, with tenderness and poise, Director McCray and company creates a painful portrait of a family heaving under the pressure of mental illness – and the audience aches, sobs and recovers with them. Most memorably, Jocelyn A. Brown’s poignant, nuanced performance is inspiring despite Diana’s terrible sadness, offering shards of light amid the darkness this complex show explores.”
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