[NEohioPAL] Berko review: NEXT TO NORMAL @ Beck Center/Baldwin Wallace

[Roy Berko]

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*Well done NEXT TO NORMAL at Beck*

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)

There is a recent trend for Cleveland area professional theatres to couple
with local university drama programs.  Cleveland Play House has married
itself to both Cleveland State University and Case Western Reserve’s MFA
programs.  Cleveland Public Theatre and Oberlin College have such an
agreement.  The connection between Beck Center and Baldwin Wallace’s
nationally ranked musical theatre program, has resulted in not only
allowing BW students to appear on a professional stage, and the expansion
of the acting pool for Beck, but the production several top notch shows.


Last year Beck-BW parlayed to produce the mesmerizing SPRING AWAKENING,
which received The Cleveland Critics Circle—2012 best musical production
award, and garnered Victoria Bussert recognition as the best director of a
musical.  This year, Bussert, again is staging a winner with NEXT TO
NORMAL, which stars former and present BW students and a university faculty
member.



NEXT TO NORMAL, with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt,
is a unique musical which addresses loss, death, suicide, drug usage, and
the ethics of modern psychiatry.



It won three 2009 Tony Awards and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The Pulitzer Board credited the show with “expanding the scope of subject
matter for musicals.”

The story concerns Diana Goodman, a suburban American housewife, who has
been diagnosed as having a form of bipolar disorder coupled with what might
be schizophrenia.  The question comes as to whether the condition is
hereditary or was induced by a trauma early in her marriage.  Together with
her husband, Dan, she fights to keep her mind and their family on some sort
of “normal” path.  Maybe not normal, but “next to normal.”  After extensive
therapy Diana decides to stop taking the pills, cuts off all mental health
help, including the electroconvulsive therapy that caused her short-term
amnesia.  This decision leads to an unsettling conclusion.



The play brings up many questions, questions usually presented in a
dramatic, rather than musical form.  Yorkey’s book is so well developed
that the singing enhances the actions, rather than being an interlude from
the development of the dramatic tension.  Questions include:  Is being
happy the same as happiness?  Is there a way to treat mental illnesses?  Is
losing one’s memory good or bad?  Can someone put mind over matter and
succeed in controlling psychotic instances?  Is mental illness in the brain
or in the soul?



NEXT TO NORMAL is the type of show that Bussert does best…quirky,
compelling, requiring creativity and strong talent.  The script and her
cast are up for the requirements.  The singing voices are marvelous, the
acting is generally of high quality, the pacing is excellent, the show’s
meaning shines clearly.



Highlight numbers include “*He’s Not Here*,” “*I Am the One*,” “*How Could
I Ever Forget*,” “*It’s Gonna Be Good*,” and “*I’m Alive*.”



Chris McCarrell, a BW senior, displays a strong singing voice and totally
inhabits the role of Gabe, the son.  With his boyish good looks and
performance abilities he is Broadway ready!  He is a physical and talent
flashback to Rex Nockingust, a BW grad who went to NY and took over the
lead in THE FANTASTICS.  (Too bad the role of PIPPIN in the Broadway
revival is already cast.)



Katherine DeBoer generally has a nice grasp on the role of the mentally ill
Diana, making her a real person with overwhelming psychological issues.  Her
singing voice is strong, her lyric interpretations excellent.



Suspending Diana from the set during the Electro Convulsive Therapy scene,
rather than placing her on an operating room table, created an interesting
conundrum.  Was she supposed to be a symbol of psychiatric crucifixion, a
victim of mental health S&M, or was this a necessity caused by the set
design?



Scott Plate is impressive as the emotionally stifled, yet well meaning Dan,
Diana’s husband.  He has a fine voice and sings meanings not just words,
thus creating dialogue out of lyrics.



Caroline Murrah creates in daughter Natalie a confused, obsessive teenager,
desperate for love and acceptance.  Though her voice is strident at times,
her overall song interpretation is good.



Phil Carroll is spot on as both Dr. Madden, Diane’s rock star psychiatrist
and Dr. Fine, a traditional mental health professional.  As with the others
in the cast, his singing voice is excellent.



Ellis Dawson, who sings well, stays on the surface as Henry, Natalie’s
boyfriend.  It’s hard to accept him as a real person.



Jeff Herrman has created a stage design of wooden scaffolding which, while
attractive and properly symbolic (hundreds of prescription bottles decorate
the set), makes for some awkward staging.  The actors are constantly
ducking under the second level, which distracts from the action.



Nancy Maier’s band is excellent, backing up rather than drowning out the
very important lyrics.



David Zody’s choreography generally worked, but was overly obvious and
repetitive in the convulsive therapy segment.



Though the sound system worked well, one must question why in this very
small theatre, where no patron is more than five rows away from the stage,
and the cast having trained voices, microphones were needed.  The
electronic sound distracted from the reality of the production.



*CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: NEXT TO NORMAL, a combined Beck Center and Baldwin
Wallace University production, is well done.  This is the type of show that
should result in sold out houses.*

*
*

NEXT TO NORMAL is scheduled to run through April 21 at Beck Center for the
Arts.  For tickets and information call 216-521-2540 or
http://www.beckcenter.org


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