[NEohioPAL] "Feel-everything musical, " NEXT TO NORMAL opens March 1 at Beck Center

[Fran Storch]

NEWS RELEASE


CONTACT:                    Kathleen Caffrey, 216.521.2540 x22 or kcaffrey at beckcenter.org<mailto:kcaffrey at beckcenter.org>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:    February 12, 2013



Award-winning Musical Powerhouse Next to Normal Onstage at Beck Center

Presented in collaboration with Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre Program

Lakewood, OH-After last season's highly acclaimed Spring Awakening, Beck Center for the Arts partners once again with Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre program to present three-time Tony Award winner and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical, Next to Normal, March 1 through April 21, 2013 in the intimate Studio Theater. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. There are no performances on Sundays, March 31 or April 14. Tickets are now on sale.

Next to Normal is an emotional powerhouse of a musical featuring a compelling pop rock score that shatters through the façade of a suburban family dealing with the traumatic effects of mental illness. This intense, emotional, yet ultimately hopeful musical makes a direct grab for the heart with a story that takes us inside the lives of a typical American family that is anything but typical. The New York Times said Next to Normal is ""A brave, breathtaking musical...It is something much more than a feel-good musical. It is a feel-everything musical."


Directed by Victoria Bussert, director of the Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre program, Next to Normal stars BW alum Katie DeBoer as bipolar manic depressive Diana, BW faculty member Scott Plate as Dan, Diana's steadfast husband, and Phil Carroll as her rock star psychiatrist; as well as an ensemble of nine talented actors from BW's nationally recognized MT program. Carroll and Plate appear courtesy of the Actors' Equity Association. With musical direction by Nancy Maier and choreography by David Zody, Next to Normal features music by Tom Kitt and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey (2009 Tony Award for Best Score).



Complete cast and production staff lists below.

"Not only is Next to Normal a powerful, startling, ground-breaking work in the American musical theater repertoire," remarked Bussert "it is an experience that compels all of us to really look, listen and feel. At times it is astonishing, at other times agonizing -- but ultimately it honors the beauty and ferocity of the human spirit -- no matter the flaws." Next to Normal contains strong adult language and themes and may not be suitable for audiences 17 years and under.


Tickets are $28 for adults and $25 for seniors (65 and older) with an additional $3 service fee per ticket applied at time of purchase. Student tickets are $15 with valid I.D. (includes service fee). Preview Night on Thursday, February 28 is $10 with general admission seating. Group discounts are available for parties of 13 or more. Purchase tickets online at beckcenter.org<http://www.beckcenter.org> or call Customer Service at 216.521.2540, ext. 10. Beck Center for the Arts is located at 17801 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, just ten minutes west of downtown Cleveland. Free onsite parking is available.


Opening night patrons are invited to Marquee Friday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Cleveland Artists Foundation gallery. Guests may enjoy complimentary appetizers from Cozumel Restaurante Mexicano, free musical entertainment by Lounge Kitty and happy hour priced drinks; as well as a free gallery exhibits throughout Beck Center including The Left-Handed Line of Mike Guyot and works by artist and composer Jing Jing Luo.


This production of Next to Normal is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTIshows.com) and is sponsored by the residents of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and the Ohio Arts Council. Beck Center for the Arts is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization that offers professional theater productions, arts education programming in dance, music, theater, visual arts, early childhood, and creative arts therapies for special needs students, and free gallery exhibits featuring local, regional, and international artists.


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Cast of Characters



Psychiatrist........................................Phil Carroll*

Henry................................................Ellis Dawson

Diana................................................Katherine DeBoer

Gabe................................................Chris McCarrell

Natalie..............................................Caroline Murrah

Dan..................................................Scott Plate*

Psychiatrist U/S..................................David Zody



Understudies:

Natalie...............................................Dana Bowers

Diana................................................Sophie Brown

Dan...................................................Nick Pankuch

Gabe..................................................Mickey Ryan

Henry.................................................Andrew Way

Psychiatrist.........................................David Zody



*Actor appears courtesy of the Actors' Equity Association (AEA), the union of actors and stage managers.



Production Staff



Artistic Director....................................Scott Spence

Director..............................................Victoria Bussert**

Music Director.....................................Nancy Maier

Associate Music Director.......................Andrew Cooper

Choreographer.....................................David Zody

Stage Manager.....................................Libby Burchmore

Assistant Stage Manager........................Rachel Brawley

Scenic & Lighting Designer.....................Jeff Herrmann

Sound Designer....................................Richard B. Ingraham

Technical Director..................................Joseph Carmola

Technical Assistant................................Clint Felker



** Member of the Society of Director and Stage Choreographers (SDDC).



Orchestra



Piano/Conductor...................................Nancy Maier
Drums/Percussion.................................Dylan Hayden
Guitar..................................................Kevin Johnson, David Maxson
Bass...................................................Kevin Aylward
Violin/Synthesizer..................................Amanda Stenroos, Allison Lint
Cello...................................................Dan Hild


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