More Theatre! "Next to Normal"

I'm not going to bury the lede here, this might be the most emotionally powerful play I have ever seen. It was the first musical to win the pulitzer since "Rent", and something like the 9th in 93 years. I was fairly certain this show would make me cry, given what I knew about the subject matter, but I didn't expect to end the show sobbing and to spend half the show trying not to disturb other audience members with my crying. It's pretty intense.

"Next to Normal" is the story of a suburban family with serious problems. It is about mental illness, how it can control the life of the person with the illness, and how it affects the people around them. It is painful, and poignant. I feel like I could see it three times and still be finding new ways to relate to the story, new ways to identify with the characters, new ways to relive my own experiences through the show. Mental illness has affected my life in so many different ways, and while this is just the story of a handful of people, centered around one person's illness, I feel echoes of so many people in this show. I'm afraid that even a week later, I can't speak very coherently about this show. It was so intensely emotional, I know I didn't catch everything.

I won't talk about the plot in detail, because this is a show that I very strongly recommend going into knowing as little as possible. Trust the story, and let it unfold before you. The music served the plot well enough, but I don't know how much I will listen to the soundtrack. I haven't tried listening to yet, perhaps some of the songs will jump out at me.

I'm told the original lead actress, who left the show last month, was truly amazing, but I was very happy with this cast. The married couple at the heart of the story is played by a real life married couple, (which i read about in the playbill for "A Little Night Music" earlier in the day.) I can hardly imagine what it is like to go through that relationship every day with your spouse, to say all those things and have all that conflict to the person you have a real relationship with. It reminds me how much I would like to play closely with my boyfriend Peter in a Live Action Role-Playing game some day. Recently he played the Judas-analogue to my Jesus-analogue in a game, and the game masters called us during casting to make sure we'd be comfortable in those roles. At the time I laughed and said that of course it would be no problem, but afterwards I did find I really wanted a hug from Peter and promises that he'd never sell me out to the feds. :-)

In conclusion, go see this show. I wasn't the only one crying, when we finally left the theatre one couple was still sitting in their seats, clutching each other and sobbing hysterically. I don't know what pain they've felt in their lives, but I hope the show gives them some catharsis. I really can't speak to what the show is like for people whose lives haven't been touched by mental illness, but I fairly certain the story will still be strong, the pain will be real, the characters will be sharp and touching, even if it doesn't cut into your own heart's pains the way it did mine.