Next To Normal (Arena Stage)
Run date: November 21, 2008 – January 18, 2009
Theater: Arena Stage (Washington, D.C.)
Cast: Alice Ripley (Diana Goodman), J. Robert Spencer (Dan Goodman), Jennifer Damiano (Natalie Goodman), Aaron Tveit (Gabriel “Gabe” Goodman), Adam Chanler-Berat (Henry), Louis Hobson (Doctor Fine/Doctor Madden)
Libretti by: Brian Yorkey
Lyrics by: Brian Yorkey
Music by: Tom Kitt
Directed by: Michael Greif
Choreographed by: Sergio Trujillo
This contemporary musical explores how one suburban household copes with crisis. With provocative lyrics and an electrifying score of more than 30 original songs, Next to Normal shows how far two parents will go to keep themselves sane and their family’s world intact.
ACT ONE
01. Prelude
02. Just Another Day *
03. Everything Else
04. Who’s Crazy/My Psychopharmacologist and I *
05. Perfect For You
06. I Miss The Mountains
07. It’s Gonna Be Good *
08. He’s Not Here
09. You Don’t Know
10. I Am The One *
11. Superboy And The Invisible Girl *
12. I’m Alive *
13. Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling *
14. I Dreamed A Dance *
15. There’s A World *
16. I’ve Been
17. Didn’t I See This Movie?
18. A Light In The Dark
ACT TWO
01. Wish I Were Here *
02. Song Of Forgetting
03. Hey #1
04. Seconds And Years
05. Better Than Before
06. Aftershocks *
07. Hey #2
08. You Don’t Know (Reprise)
09. How Could I Ever Forget?
10. It’s Gonna Be Good (Reprise)
11. Why Stay?/A Promise
12. I’m Alive (Reprise) *
13. The Break
14. Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling (Reprise) *
15. Maybe (Next To Normal)
16. Hey #3/Perfect For You (Reprise)
17. So Anyway
18. I Am The One (Reprise) *
19. Light *
An asterisk (*) denotes a song featuring Aaron.
PLEASE NOTE: These musical numbers are from Broadway, not the Arena Stage production.
REVIEWS
“Tveit is terrific reprising his role as Gabe for which he also received a Lortel nomination Off-Broadway. What a stretch from playing Fiyero on Broadway in Wicked!”
— BROADWAY WORLD
“Tveit’s performance is so powerful, he’s more electrifying than ECT.”
— D.C. THEATRE SCENE
“Tveit’s blistering vocals make Gabe a presence to reckon with, virtually every second he’s on stage.”
— WASHINGTON CITY PAPER
“All the voices are splendid, and particularly that of the captivating Aaron Tveit, who plays the role of the couple’s other child, the source of much of their pain and confusion.”
— WASHINGTON POST
Photos
TRIVIA
• After the off-Broadway production, Next To Normal was brought to the regional theater location of the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.. It was rewritten from the first public performance run.
• The opening number in the previous production, “Feeling Electric,” was eliminated for this adaptation.
• The glitzy and comic numbers in the off-Broadway production were also scrapped, and this new form of a family drama emerged. The Arena Stage production of Next To Normal focused on Diana and the sad truths intermingling with the Goodman family.
• Because of his commitments to Shrek the Musical, Brian d’Arcy James was replaced by J. Robert Spencer.