Next To Normal Will Take You on an Emotional Journey at Theater Latté Da

Next to Normal is a well known and highly celebrated rock musical that I had somehow never seen. Now that I have, I’m not sure I know where to start with this one. There is a lot to process, and I think in terms of content, everyone’s experience will differ. It’s going to depend on how close to home the themes and emotions explored in Next To Normal hit. There is one aspect that will strike everyone the same, the quality of the production is beyond reproach. That is no surprise, this is Artistic Director and co-founder of Theater Latté Da Peter Rothstein’s final production before he makes the move to a new state and a new creative adventure. Based on the quality of his work over the years, I don’t think there was the slightest doubt that he was going to end on anything but the highest of notes. For his final production he has brought us a show he’s been wanting to mount for years. As an audience, we are in the fortunate position of being on the receiving end of what happens when someone of Rothstein’s artistic vision has years to contemplate how to produce a certain show. The result is accomplished through the precise execution of every departments talents which culminates in an emotionally devastating production.

With music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, Next to Normal premiered Off-Broadway in 2008, opened on Broadway in 2009 winning three Tony Awards that year. It also won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Next to Normal is an exploration of mental illness, specifically Bipolar Disorder and its effects on the person suffering and their family. The show tells us the ways in which her Bipolar Disorder manifests itself in Diana, the mother of a suburban family. We see her in the opening moments as a woman who seems to be holding the entire family together, worrying about her kids, advising them, and keeping the romantic spark alive in her relationship with her husband. Going in blind as I was to this story, the opening song reminded me of the more recent Dear Evan Hansen, and assumed one of the children would be the one with Bipolar Disorder. It wasn’t until she began making sandwiches on the floor that I realized I had it wrong. We will see through Diana’s visits to various Doctors the different treatments and the side effects of them, including ECT and the memory loss she suffers from it. We will also see the results of her condition on her relationship with her husband. We get a sense of what life is like for Diana but also for her husband Dan. The important thing about the work, it shows us the hardship that both Diana and Dan are dealing with day in and day out. It doesn’t judge either of them but allows them both to have their feelings and perspectives heard through the songs. We also see the effect on her children, particularly her daughter Natalie, who is in high school, which is hard enough. Natalie is driven to get a musical scholarship to get away from the home life that is all too uncertain and unstable. She begins a relationship with a fellow student, Henry, and we can see how her home life impacts that relationships development; it also leads to some exploration of drug use. While her relationship with Henry ultimately feels like a positive, it’s hard not to see some of the codependent aspects of her parents relationship developing between the young couple.

Leading the cast as Diana is Erin Capello who is absolutely flawless. A strong voice that never misses a note, never has a moment that feels less than at full power even when flooding it with emotions. Matt Riehle plays her husband Dan and a good match for Capello vocally. Dramatically, he captures the constancy of the character, but also shows us his frustrations and moments of hopelessness. Kyle Weiler plays their son Gabe and Audrey Mojica is Natalie. Weiler plays Gabe with a confidence which helps explain Diana’s over attentiveness to him. Mojica plays Natalie as someone who has learned to guard herself against caring too much about parental attention, as she is clearly not where her mother’s focus is. Henry is played by Sayer Keeley, who caught my attention two years ago at Stages in the role of Buddy in Elf, it’s great to see him in a professional role with such a prestigious company, and proves that he deserves to be there. The various Doctors are all played by Riley McNutt who as my wife pointed out, is an All is Calm boy and thus can do no wrong, which has yet to be disproven.

Rothstein has given us a tremendous parting gift in Next To Normal. Having not seen any previous productions, I can’t say what was inspired by other runs and if there’s a new take on the material. What I can say is that it all works beautifully. The Band led by Music Director Jason Hansen does what Theater Latté Da always does, makes a small group of musicians sound like a much larger group; they do Tom Kitt’s compositions justice. Paul Whitaker’s Lighting and Set Design are a thing of beauty. The lighted outline of the house gives us enough to suggest the settings, and the use of changing the outline from white to red makes the emotions in those moments pop. The decision to utilize a second layer both as the upstairs on the family home but also as the school music practice rooms help to clarify the change of locations and allowed for some visual variety. There is one aspect that I’m still wrestling with and it has nothing to do with this production, it’s with the book itself. I was going to try and keep this vague so as to avoid spoiling the story for others new to the show as I was, but as I tried to write it, it became obvious that no matter how vague I was, in order for it to make any sense almost anyone would know what happens. So skip to the next paragraph if you don’t know the show, and I promise to be brief. At the end of the show Diana decides to not pursue treatment, no more ECT and if I followed it correctly no more medications. Bipolar Disorder is incurable, it can only be treated. I have concerns about the message this sends. To put it another way, a person suffering from severe alcohol abuse has a right to drink themselves to death if they chose, but I’m not sure that’s the best reality to perpetuate.

Next To Normal, is a powerful and difficult work, I was moved throughout the performance by the emotional truths of its characters. Technically and artistically it’s superb, but be prepared to be put through the emotional wringer. Please note these trigger warnings (suicide, drug use, ECT, BiPolar Disorder). Next To Normal runs through July 16th at Theater Latté Da for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.latteda.org/next-to-normal

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States. You can dial 988 or go to this link for more information and to access their chat service https://988lifeline.org/

Click here to listen to the new Twin Cities Theater Chat Podcast episode featuring an interview with Peter Rothstein https://bit.ly/43UtIuQ

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