Need something to listen to? Mean Girls alum Benjamin Cook recommends revisiting the Broadway cast recording for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal.
Next to Normal opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre April 15, 2009. The production, directed by Michael Greif with musical staging by Sergio Trujillo, played 20 previews and 734 performances before closing January 16, 2011. The musical earned 11 Tony Award nominations and won three, including Best Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley’s performance as Diana. The musical also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the eighth musical to do so.
With music by Tom Kitt and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, Next to Normal tells the story of a suburban household coping with crisis and the unpredictability of a mother's worsening bipolar disorder.
The cast album of Next to Normal is available on Amazon, iTunes, and Apple Music.
In addition to Ripley, the production starred J. Robert Spencer as Dan, Aaron Tveit as Gabe, Jennifer Damiano as Natalie, Adam Chanler-Berat as Henry, and Louis Hobson as Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine.
Next to Normal featured set design by Mark Wendland, costume design by Jeff Mahshie, lighting design by Kevin Adams, and sound design by Brian Ronan, with stage management by Martha Donaldson and Sally Sibson.
