Next To Normal (Second Stage Theatre)
Run date: January 16, 2008 – March 16, 2008
Theater: Second Stage Theatre (New York, NY)
Cast: Alice Ripley (Diana Goodman), Brian d’Arcy James (Dan Goodman), Jennifer Damiano (Natalie Goodman), Aaron Tveit (Gabriel “Gabe” Goodman), Adam Chanler-Berat (Henry), Asa Somers (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.
KEEP IN MIND: These musical numbers are from Broadway, not the Second Stage Theatre production.
REVIEWS
“[Diana’s] teenage son and daughter, Gabe and Natalie, affectingly played by Aaron Tveit and Jennifer Damiano…”
— NEW YORK TIMES
“Tveit has a vibrant presence that shines in songs such as the anthem, ‘I’m Alive,’ and a sweet tenor that slips easily into a haunting falsetto.”
— THEATER MANIA
PHOTOS
TRIVIA
• Prior to being called Next To Normal, it was called Feeling Electric. It was originally developed as a ten-minute sketch about a woman undergoing electroshock therapy (ECT). Throughout workshops from 2002-2007, it was decided that the musical would focus on the family’s dilemma rather than the medical establishment.
• This was the first time Brian d’Arcy James became involved with the production, portraying Dan. Eventually, he had to leave due to other work commitments, but he returned in May 2010 for a limited engagement.
• Aaron was involved with the first public performance and stayed with the production until its Broadway run. He was playing Gabe on and off from January 16, 2008 until January 3, 2010.
• The above list of musical numbers is from the Broadway show. The Second Stage Theatre’s production opened with a song called “Feeling Electric,” and otherwise had many numbers that were considered comic and glitzy.