REVIEW: Next to Normal (Round House Theatre)
Preview
Of all the Pulitzer Prize for Drama recipients, ten of them have been musicals, from the Gershwin’s 1932 Of Thee I Sing to 2021’s Michael R. Jackson bop-fest A Strange Loop. Smack in the middle of the list lies 2010’s winner Next to Normal, a rocky, emotional slugfest in which Nothing Good Happens™. As we approach the 15-year mark of its prizedom, it’s sort of having a moment. There’s a buzzy production in London (can you believe it’s the first time they put it on??) that’s eyeing Broadway next season, and now Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s masterpiece is coming home to the DC area via Round House for the first local staging of it since it played at Arena in 2008 as a pre-Broadway tryout. Co-produced with Massachusetts’ Barrington Stage Company and directed by its artistic director Alan Paul — who himself has deep DC ties — the beloved musical hitting the scene in times like this makes it fragile to absorb. There is a lot more scrutiny surrounding mental health these days than there was when it was written, y’know? Even a show as recent as Dear Evan Hansen is getting canceled (though, for good reason) for what was initially seen as a progressive look at the topic. Perhaps in hindsight, 2010 Tony voters were right in giving Best Musical to some tap-dancing British children.
Book/Music
When I said “masterpiece” in the sixth line of that paragraph, I meant it. The score is tippy-top-notch, satisfyingly encompassing the highs and lows of the family trauma as well as its mid-level confusions. In just the first act, you get the angsty “You Don’t Know”, the goofy “It’s Gonna Be Good”, and zappy “Didn’t I See This Movie?”, all part of an alt-rock score that has several tracks that could easily stand alone (“I’m Alive” and reprise? Hello? Some of the best villain numbers out there.) Chris Youstra’s music direction amplifies just the right sounds at just the right times, bringing lots of depth to an already profound song cycle. Yorkey, beyond his poeting wordsmithing, also wrote the book, which was not as dated as I was expecting, but still a little odd here and there. The plot covers Diana, matriarch of the Goodman family, her rapidly-spiraling bipolar disorder, and how it creeps to perturb her family: husband Dan, daughter Natalie, and son Gabe. This by itself is an entire production’s worth of potential, expertly explored by Yorkey and made all the more poignant by the post-premier developments of the opioid crisis and general air of corruption surrounding the pharmaceutical industry in the 2010s. But no, why stop there? Why not explore grief? Academic pressure? Murky consent practices around mental health patients? It’s a show that just hits you over and over, building things up just to have them crash down again, with a sorry, taciturn ending that tries its darnest to leave you with something resembling optimism. But you know what, Tom & Brian? I gave that up six songs ago. I’m here for a soul-crushing picture of not always having the answers, and not always being able to be fixed, but with incredible music to match. And dammit, that’s what I got. 10/10
Acting
Casting director Sarah Cooney did an excellent job with these roles, full stop! It was so interesting to see Paul’s direction choice include yet ANOTHER layer of commentary with the Goodmans now being a mixed family. For starter’s, I’m mixed, so there’s a level of familarity that resonated instantly. Even further down is that I’ve been face-to-face with the show’s exact dynamic with only minor differences in my own life, not with my own family but with others I was close with. Downright eerie how some of the scenes played out, and how superbly-acted they were in comparison to these memories. Diana is performed almost too well by Tracy Lynn Olivera and gives such an absent, troubled characterization that merely masks all the chaos in her mind; which often seeps through via her astounding voice and stage presence. While most of the cast are locals, I’d like to personally thank Lucas Hinds Babcock for making the trip to our ‘burg to do a masterclass performance as Gabe. Not only does his toxic charisma radiate infectiously around the intimate space, his voice is somehow rough and angelic at the same time, and he is never wasted for a second onstage. Sophia Early, whom locals saw recently in Ink at Round House, is absolutely splendid as the troubled daughter Natalie. I loved her natural command of the angst, the wear-and-tear of trying to get a crumb of attention as the only daughter of such a broken home. Kevin Stephen McAllister has made a superfan out of me, too, as the powerfully rigid voice behind the husband Dan. In the original cast recording, Dan seems to be put aside as some sort of mental tchotcke, but McAllister brings so much fullness to this person. The entire family’s onstage chemistry is top-notch, believable to the very end, which is an achievement in ANY production, but especially one as layered as this. 10/10
Production
“Who even knew this show NEEDED a choreographer?”, to paraphrase Round House’s managing director on opening night. Well, turns out it does, and Eamon Foley makes the total most of it with motion tinged with yearning and erraticism. Seriously, who woulda thunk it be something I left thinking about in a show like this? Sherrice Mojgani shines (😉) as the lighting designer, when afforded the opportunity; much of the show’s presentation is dominated by projection work by NIcholas Hussong. Some could say his work is Lynchian. Me, I’m going with Arronofsky. As engrossing as it often is— and this is coming from Mr. Hates-Projections-And-Screens himself — it’s a little over the top. Granted, it’s not as big an offender as Tick, Tick…Boom! at KenCen is right now, but it is distracting more than a few times. But it does work more than it doesn’t, and combined with the constant opening and closing of the metaphorical “eye” atop the stage (by Wilson Chin), makes for a visually stimulating playground of performance. 9/10
VizDev
The audience is greeted by a sparse, clean set with just some suburban home decor and a window through to backstage where you can see the band. Projected onto the backstage wall is a discordant loop of Diana’s cerulean eyeball, tracing around the space nervously. I’d say that sets you up pretty well, even if the program art is just a purple array of picture frames on a piano. 9/10
Verdict:
Next to Normal at Round House is a nigh-immaculate representation of grief, mental illness, and turmoil, put to stellar music and unbeatable casting.
38/40
