Theater Review: Next to Normal
By Melody Udell in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 8, 2013 6:00PM
Next to Normal at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook.
Meet the Goodmans. There’s the father, Dan (Rod Thomas), a hard-working architect with too few hours in his day; daughter Natalie (Callie Johnson), a perfectionist teenager who prefers studying over socializing and early-morning piano practice over prom; and Gabe (Josh Tolle) is the all-American son, an 18-year-old jock who keeps his parents awake with worry when he misses curfew.
Then there’s Diana (Broadway vet Susie McMonagle), the mom just trying to hold everything together. It’s your typical family set-up — a foursome just living the dream in American suburbia. Except it’s not.
Over the past 16 years, Diana’s daily struggles with mental illness have created a family dynamic that’s more than just dysfunctional.
With Brian Yorkey and Tim Kitt’s power ballad rock songs, the characters belt through their frustrations, hallucinations, pill-popping, suicidal thoughts and disappointing therapy sessions. Like the subject matter, Next to Normal is an intense emotional roller coaster — not your standard Drury Lane fare. And that’s a good thing.
In a cast of extremely talented singers and actors, McMonagle is a stand-out. Her clear, rich voice sets her apart from Alice Ripley, who won a Tony for originating the role on Broadway.
Diana is the true anchor of the show — the audience is with her on each high and on each debilitating low. Playing her husband, Rod Thomas performs with equal strength and intensity; he digs deep to show us his long-time suffering at the hands of his mentally unstable wife.
But the true heartbreak of the show is Diana’s broken relationship with the neglected Natalie, who's spent her childhood living in the shadows of her mother’s illness. Their emotional conversation about their deteriorated relationship is one of my favorite moments in the show. “Maybe we can’t be okay. Maybe we’re tough and we try anyway.”
Next to Normal is a significant leap for Drury Lane — and a show full of honesty and volatile emotions is a refreshing change of pace for musical theater.
The show runs through Sunday, Oct. 6 at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, 630-530-0111 or online.