I had no prior knowledge about the Tony award winning musical ‘Next to Normal’ before I came to watch The Sandbox Collective’s open rehearsal first and then the show at Circuit during preview night. As someone who grew up with traditional musical tastes from Rogers and Hammersteins to Sondheim, Kander & Ebb to Ahrens and Flaherty, I’ve always had a resistance to contemporary musicals (though that’s changing now). But to hear a musical that’s rooted in rock music and tackling such a heavy topic like mental illness and grief the way that ‘Next to Normal’ does, and with such fervor, it’s quite a shock to the system.

Written by Brian Yorkey (book and lyrics) and Tom Kitt (music), the play is about a family that’s falling apart. Diana, the mom, is suffering from several mental conditions brought forth by an extreme sense of grief. Trying desperately to hold it together is Diana’s husband, Dan, while their kids, Gabe and Natalie are growing up and dealing with their mother’s condition in unique and different ways. While Natalie meets the stoner Henry, who has taken an interest in her, she’s afraid to commit because of the trouble at home while Diana decides to get off her meds which leads to disastrous results. When Diana switches to a different doctor, Doctor Madden, she goes into a journey that threatens to shake the very fabric of this family and forces them to face the demons they’ve been avoiding for years.

Under the direction of Toff De Venecia, the play sort of exists in some liminal space that is both the family’s home and also Diana’s mind and mental state. The stage is practically bare except for several chairs and a piano bench and one box that can be a sofa or a table that is constantly being arranged and re-arranged depending on the delicate balance of the relationships in the home. This is De Venecia’s best directorial effort, in my opinion, where the busy-ness of the stage movements find themselves in synch with Diana’s decline in her mental health. Constantly, characters are fixing the chairs and putting them down and standing them when making large declarations that the whole space is in a constant state of flux. The few moments when Diana has any semblance of lucidity and peace, is when the play gets to calm down and go quiet. The play’s direction and the choreography of Stephen Vinas and production design of Mark Dalacat, allows us to see this narrative through Diana’s point-of-view.

The cast does everything else. The cast that I got to see are all exceptional singers, acting through the performances, and really hitting the emotional notes in each of the songs. Shiela Valderrama shines as Diana (alternate Nikki Valdez), who is constantly just trying to keep it together. Her clarity as she is emoting through each of her songs is incredible; she’s breaking down, but each word is getting across to the audience even as her world is crumbling around her. OJ Mariano plays Dan (Floyd Tena alternates) with so much heart; a man that is trying his best to keep that family from breaking, but you can tell he is at his wit’s end. Vino Mabalot plays Gabe (alternate Benedix Ramos), who has some of those most emotional songs (second to Diana) and he can sing the hell out of these moments. But the ones that really stole the show in the performance I saw was Shiela Belarmino as Natalie (alternate Jam Binay) and Omar Uddin as Henry (alternate Davy Narciso). Belarmino and Uddin manages to create a space for their character’s romantic subplot to wonderfully contrast the heavy parts of Diana’s struggle. The counterpoint breathes some fresh air into the piece and Belarmino and Uddin’s comedic timing, charisma, and joyous approach to their scenes creates a wonderful layer that keeps the show from tilting completely into dread and doom. Belarmino manages to amplify Natalie’s narrative without taking away from Diana’s struggle, which is at the heart of the play. It would be very easy to direct everything towards Diana and have everyone’s individual arc be in service of Diana’s, but Belarmino suffuses Natalie with so much spirit that their story feels intertwined. Diana’s journey informs Natalie’s.

My only gripe is that the venue does not lend well to musicals and large productions. The sound system was off, with the microphones not giving the clarity that the show needed. The full band set-up, directed by Ejay Yatco, could sometimes drown the singers (except Valderrama) and I hope that they can fix the audio problems for future shows.

This is not an easy play to digest. While it can be funny and charming, it is also alarming and scary and honest and authentic. The way it shows the full extent of how difficult bi-polar disorder can be, how grief can be so destructive when left unchecked, and how the people who are caught in the crossfire can feel so defenseless. All of this is in full display in this musical and De Venecia’s direction brings it all out for us to come to grips with and even enjoy.

My Rating:

Next to Normal will run until February 23, 2025 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater. Get your tickets here.