★★★★ REVIEW: Next to Normal (London) | UK premiere musical theatre show at the Donmar Warehouse
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ค. 2024
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OHMYGOD HEY!
After many years of waiting, the Pulitzer Prize winning musical Next to Normal has finally arrived in London.
The UK premiere, which is currently performing at the Donmar Warehouse in the West End, stars Caissie Levy, Jamie Parker, Eleanor Worthington Cox, Jack Wolfe, and more.
Check out today's brand new review video for my detailed thoughts about this production...
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00:00 - introduction
02:21 - plot synopsis / material
07:10 - strengths
14:49 - shortcomings
21:46 - performances
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I'd argue that 'ghost rules' don't apply to Gabe because he isn't a ghost. He's a manifestation of Diane's (and Dan's) lingering grief and trauma over their lost child. Gabe is given a physical presence several times in the show, like when he tenderly hugs Diane or when he grabs hold of Dan and won't let go. No real physical interaction is taking place, it's more like the scene has shifted into a metaphysical realm depicting how each of the parents are internally wrestling with their loss. So Gabe blowing out the candles and taking the cake away...in reality that cake was probably thrown away uneaten by the family. But symbolically it felt fitting that the birthday cake was disappeared by Gabe in the same moment we learn that their son's not there and he'll never turn 18.
I went to Next To Normal on Friday and was absolutely blown away by it, I've never felt that emotionally impacted by a show before and the cast, especially Jack Wolfe and Caissie Levy were something else, just incredible. I really need a cast recording of this version now!
As someone with a mentally ill mother, this is one of my favorite musicals. I had never felt so seen by a piece of theater and "Superboy and the Invisible Girl" continues to destroy me every time I listen to it.
Agree with everything you said. 3 things. First, I was terrified when I saw how close Caissie Levy and Jack Wolfe's heads were to the bottom of the second floor when they stood on the kitchen island. The first aider in me had a mini panic attack. Second, intrigued by how they got the blood on the floor. Third, Jack Wolfe and Eleanor Worthington-Cox were absolutely perfect in this show and they better be nominated for an Olivier!
I think MickeyJo said the blood on the floor was a projection?
@@hanonondricek411I’m pretty sure it got mopped up with towels and it left smudges on the floor…
@@hanonondricek411It's definitely real. My guess would be a mechanism in the bottom of the plastic crate?
I went into this show blind (saw it at the Kennedy Center). I’m a trauma psychologist. I sobbed, ugly gloopy
wracking sobs when I saw it. It gutted me. The portrayals were so real and incredibly sung/performed. So glad you got to see it.
I saw the Pioneer Theater Company perform Next to Normal about ten years ago. It chilled when Gabe came out after the lullaby dressed in a white tux to dance with Diana. This juxtaposed with the therapist walking on wearing a white lab coat, receiving word of Diana's attempt to end things.
I saw the US tour in 2010 twice and I have already seen the London production twice in the last week. I think Jack Wolfe as Gabriel is outstanding - there’s something in the way that he looks at him mother and his body language that is profound. Eleanor Worthing Cox is pure talent - wow. I thoroughly enjoyed the London production. It does feel very 2023. I wish the show’s run was longer!
I saw it last night. I thought it was devastating, and as someone who has had to be a caretaker for someone with severe bipolar disorder, it felt uncomfortably familiar. This will be a production that stays with me for a long time.
I love that Mickey Jo has "ghost rules". In this case I think "theatre rules" also allow sometimes a prop must be cleared by someone even if it's not plot logical. Sometimes a dead body must get up and walk offstage so the tap dancers don't stomp them. There's a band playing in their guest bedroom!
Mickey Jo is _so good_ at constructive criticism.
I see your point, and Lord knows I've cleared props in the dark that would otherwise make no sense for my character.
[Also, while music directing, I once needed a cymbal roll into a closed triangle beat. Closed triangle is a two-handed job; so is cymbal rolling. My reed player (who was already juggling SEVEN instruments and three books), happened to be tacit for those two measures, so guess what? He played the cymbal roll. He needed his own pair of soft mallets just for that single moment in the entire score. But there was limited room and budget for the orchestra, so we had to find ways to compromise that prioritized the score's integrity above all else.]
The question is: did Ghostriel clear the cake _in scene_ (rather than during a transition)? If it was in scene, I'm with Mickey Jo. Particularly since they apparently went to the trouble of making sure he obeyed "ghost rules" during his ambiguous phase.
If it was during a scene change, I'm more ambivalent.
And I live in the States, so I can't possibly confirm.
@@benjaminsagan5861 I completely agree with everything you said, and kudos to your over-burdened reed player! I'm not arguing against you, but I love discussing this kind of thing. And it does qualify as a directorial issue since someone as perceptive as MickeyJo picked up on it and was confused by the implications.
I haven't seen the West End production, but I know the show on Broadway flowed very cinematically with continuous music and scenes bleeding into each other. There weren't formal blackouts and scene changes - Diana might sing to her family and then turn immediately and talk to her therapist without missing a beat. Props and costume pieces were very deftly moved and handed off to others when necessary. Never in reality would your therapist end an appointment by picking up his chair and carrying it out of the room (I don't remember if this is something that actually happened, but it's that kind of staging.)
My impression is it's theatrical storytelling - on Broadway the set was more rock-concert impression of a house and not as Ikea-real as the West End design. Without seeing that scene, I can understand a situation where Gabe is done singing and exiting but everyone else is continuing the scene, so he's the only one who can clear the prop. I fully agree that it depends on _how_ the actor does this - did he just grab it and turn off quickly, or did he brandish the cake and make it ghost-float in front of the living family members? It might be argued that everything seen completely takes place in Diana's head so it *could* be hand waved as "theatrical convention" but if there was an amazing moment that could develop out of Gabe moving the cake, it is definitely worth exploring in a re-stage or notes.
Everyone should get the opportunity to see Next To Normal live. The visceral experience of that is just so uniquely special. I saw the original Aus production, and a couple of small scale profit share ones since. Each spectacular and deeply moving.
I managed to get a return ticket to this masterpiece for tonight… I’m currently having a little break from ugly crying in the interval..! But I thought you’d be interested to know they heeded your comments about the blind spot at the bottom of the stairs and the ghost’s ability to carry his own cake! 😄
… I’m broken!!! 😭
Jack wolfe was the only selling point that mattered to me. I love his voice
Mickey don’t think that Frozen t-shirt has gone unnoticed! We see what you did there 😉
Fantastic, detailed review. If only every theatre critic had this level of knowledge and interest in musicals. ❤
As a former Gabe, I look forward to seeing clips of this.
I had never heard of Next to Normal before your review. I was fascinated. I heard Jack Wolfe sing Im Alive and saw the lyrics, Now Im obsessed. Thanks a lot. I looked up the Broadway version and watched every video Including the reprise of Im the One that kills me every time. Jack has giant Aaron Tveit shoes to fill.
Thank you for the great detailed review! I was obsessed with the OBC cast, and was lucky enough to see N2N in the Booth on Broadway 15 times. Yes, 15. I also saw the recent short term revival at Kennedy Center in DC. At the Booth--I was able to thank Michael Greif in person during intermission once, I met Meghann Fahy's Mom because I was there the first night she went on as Natalie and spoke with her Mom during intermission, and I was lucky enough to be there the night they announced after curtain that they had won the Pulitzer Prize. I won't be able to make it to London, but am thankful to hear in what ways the production was changed. I recall that Alice Ripley really captured that frenetic energy that you mention--from the minute she was making sandwiches on the floor to "Didn't I See This Movie?" to "I Dreamed A Dance", so was so so effective as Diana. Hence, the Tony! I remember seeing her tears hit the stage several times during "I Dreamed a Dance". Even when the rest of the cast seemed low energy, AR was there, giving you 150%. And it was great to see Aaron Tveit in his breakout role. He used to get screams from the balcony from the young teen fans in the middle of "I'm Alive". Such a special show. I heard there might be a good recording of the OBC, I hope they release it some day...
So just come back from the matinee performance and watched the review after as advised. OMG Jack Wolfe singing I'm still alive. And Jamie Parker. I just wanted to crawl onto the stage and give him a hug 😭😭😭
saw the first preview of this, I liked how it was very naturalistic in comparison to the OG production, it felt very Kimberly Akimbo in the hyper realism of the staging, so when we jumped to Diana's psychotic, it was more of a major shift. I do wish that post twist Gabe kept the handheld and not just used it for rock vocals, it would be more of a contract, maybe even a wired mic to show that despite being free to do as he pleases, he's still stuck in Dianas mind
I saw the original Broadway production three times with each cast. Then I saw the Kennedy Center revival that largely used the original staging. It’s still one of my favorite shows I’ve seen on Broadway. The staging is so iconic to me I’m not sure how I’d feel about a new version but I’m intrigued!
Having seen this beloved show on Broadway, the US tour, and two excellent regional productions, I promise you there are many ways it can be creatively and effectively staged .
I'd love to see this productive and how it employs a turntable! Next to Normal is simply a jewel of a modern musical.
It’s an absolutely gorgeous production, you should definitely try and see it, a friend of mine who was also there said she liked it better than the broadway production!
I was there at Kennedy Center too;! Brandon Victor Dixon was GLORIOUS! And Rachel Bay Jones was pure magic. I wore my Phantom of the Opera cape & Rachel asked me if she could have it, twice 🤣 I told her I'd give it to her if she got the run extended past 6 days.
I watched this production on Thursday and left it saying that if it was the last piece of theatre I saw in my life I would be content and I have never meant something as much as I meant that. That is how a show is done and what a show… act one ended and me and my best friend just sat next to each other in silence for a good two minutes just processing and feeling it all - I have never felt that many emotions at once before or cried that much at a piece of art ever and probably won’t ever again. It was a difficult watch but SUCH a worthwhile one and what I would give to go back and see it again. I genuinely don’t think there is another show and ever will be another show that is that consistent for me - with the music, the book, the message… everything about it. A feel everything musical and one that felt incredibly real and poignant - I left the theatre with so much more love to give and if I had to recommend one piece of theatre it would be that. I agree with absolutely everything you have said and am so glad to have relived it through this review. Still not over it and don’t think I will be for a longgg time to come.
It’s incredible
Next to Normal is my favorite show of all time. I had ECT a few years ago, and my experience was similar to Diana’s. It means so much to me to see it depicted so well.
Omg I have a free day tomorrow and have been idly going back and forth to the donmar website this morning and suddenly a ticket appeared for tomorrow afternoon. Am thrilled to bits!!
I saw the West End previews! Great night at the theatre, and no, I did not research the plot beforehand (let's say I cried). Hopefully you see it at Wyndham's
So looking forward to seeing this next month. As a sufferer and advocate for mental health (and unable to buy into the juvenile message from DEH) I have been waiting for this show for years
Has Dan always seen Gabe? The way i see it is that Diana see's Gabe because of her mental state, she's not in a good place and Gabe is there with her. So at the end, when Dan see's him, it's because HE is now broken. Dan has so much he's dealing with throughout the show. By the end Diana has got her shit together and Dan is now the broken one. Unless it's made more obvious in the London production? I shall be seeing it this week
Next To Normal was the first show I saw at the Arkansas Rep in 2012 and it made me decide I needed to keep coming back to this theatre. It starred Deb Lyons as Diana. I didn't know much about it and got my tickets late, so ended up with a single seat in the front row. When Diana started making baloney sandwiches on the floor, I figured out I was going to be seeing a very different stage musical. It didn't have a band on stage. Also, wow! You got to see Jack Wolfe. That's awesome.
I have seen this show 3 times. Once on Broadway years ago, Toronto production and now the London production. Every time it is so powerful. Love it.
My local community theatre performed Next to Normal these past two weekends, and I was Henry in the show. It is a seriously heavy show, but I absolutely love it, and am so glad to have been able to help tell the story. It's been one of my favorites since I found it in 2013. It feels extremely relatable, as someone who personally has bipolar, with a bipolar mother as well. I have never found another show that hit me anywhere near as hard as this show has.
What a thoughtful, insightful review. Brian and Tom are friends and I have been following the progress of this amazing show since it was being given readings under its original title, FEELING ELECTRIC. I would think the creators would be very pleased to hear the lovely things you had to say about the London production. I wish I could see it. I saw both the Second Stage production (with Brian D'Arcy James as Dan) and the Broadway version and was wreck at the end of each. Maybe it will lead to someone there doing IF/THEN which I am a huge fan of.
Saw this today, that moment with the blood was so incredibly visceral as you said, I was absolutely overwhelmed by it. Looks like where you sat was basically the opposite of where I was in the lower stalls at the other end. I do feel like sometimes it was quite hard to see some of what was going on from the side view so different moments would have popped out. Glad you found the blood powerful as well though as part of me wondered if from the other side it wouldn't have worked as well, though to me it didn't seem like a gradual seeping out or anything it was just suddenly all there in view but that was huge. Really glad I finally got to see this show!
Loved this and agree with most of what you say. Apart from up in the cheap(ish) seats - it was great to see the musicians and when the performers came upstairs… ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me
I need this run to get extended into oblivion, or at least until I'm done with my thesis, because despite the shortcomings, it sounds like something I'd die to see
I was fortunate to see the Broadway production once a month during its entire run (at one point joking with Alice Ripley that I’d developed obsessive/compulsive tendencies over a show about manic depression). It’s not a perfect show (what is?),, but it’s a damned good show! Having seen so many variations in the cast, I was struck by 1) how severely the “tone” of individual moments in the show are affected by the casting and 2) that every variation in casting worked! And yes, it’s an exceptional score! Thanks for this video and for your channel - greatly appreciated!
I saw the original production with Alice Ripley and the OBC. Did they cut the sandwich scene? Because that was when we realized there was something wrong with Diana (an obvious manic episode) and that happened before the birthday cake. My sister has bipolar disorder, has attempted suicide, and “I Miss the Mountain” always makes me cry. She’s better now, but this show, albeit genuinely brilliant, was one I would never revisit. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house the moment Dan said Gabe’s name for the first time at the end of the show. I remember Alice saying that an advice she’d give to anyone playing Diana was to always have a good supporting system as a cushion around you at all times because you’d have to go to an extremely dark, terrifying place every performance.
Sandwich scene is still there :)
I was lucky enough that in one year both the local community theatre group I attend staged this, as well as Mirvish, the main theatre company in Toronto. Perhaps surprisingly, I much more enjoyed the community production and a lot of it relates to some of the issues you have had with the Donmar production. The staging was more manic (in a good way) and they really played for the laughs in the first half, which did indeed make the hard things more striking as we got into the darker scenes. The band was at the back of the lower level, semi-visible through a mesh wall. This is one of my favorite contemporary scores, and it definitely benefited from the sunken/thrust stage of the community theatre, where in the larger Mirvish theatre it felt literally and figuratively further away.
I knew nothing about the show until this summer when my friend played Diana in a community theatre production. It was so phenomenal. I am obsessed with the soundtrack now.
Such an intelligent, thoughtful review. Thank you.
Your reviews are so thoughtful, detailed and passionate that I got to relive my memories of this amazing show that I haven't seen for over 15 years. And it makes me wish I could see this production, is there any chance it will extend or transfer? There was no revolve on Broadway, as you mentioned it was kind of a scaffold, 2 dimensional outline of the house that was as far forward on the stage as possible. I don't think the back half of the stage was used at all. I think that created a feeling that the cast was right in your face, adding to the chaotic and maybe even claustrophobic atmosphere.
saw it with A. RIPLEY on Broadway.......it was wonderful....deserved all the awards......
I saw the original broadway cast in NYC back in 2009. It is one of my favorite shows! I would say the set and staging was better in the broadway version. BTW you have flawless amazing skin MickeyJo, what is your secret?!?!?!?
I, too, have been waiting fifteen years for a UK production and am so gutted that it finally arrived just a couple of months after I moved to Ireland. It was great to hear your review and fingers crossed for maybe a transfer or an NT Live type broadcast so I can see it at some point!
oh I wanna see this so bad, I have loved the OG cast recording for YEARS! Hoping this will still run next time I get a chance to go to the UK.
Commenting prior to watching but I went to a local production of N2N in Miami and I don’t think I’ve ever been so moved by a piece of theatre. I was literally sobbing the entire show and I went in knowing the plot and songs. I kept saying that I get like I had had 18 years of therapy in 2 hours.
I love Caissie Levy. I have done since before Hair came to London in 2010. I will watch her in anything. She, and the show, BLEW ME AWAY. I'm so pleased I have another ticket booked in the final week of the run. I purposefully didn't read much about the show before going in and I'm glad I didn't, but it will be interesting to watch it again knowing all the twists and turns it takes.
I'm so jealous that you got to see this!! I was desperate to see it, and I'm going to be in London for a week during the run, but it sold out so fast :(
A local theater is doing it here in Orlando this October. I am so excited
please everyone. you. must. see. this. show. -- even this review gave me chills and tears
I managed to get a ticket for 30th August this morning, ive been waiting to see this show for years and years I can't wait I will take tones of tissues
As always you articulate so clearly my imprecise feelings on a show. I've always wondered if the jumping & swinging around on the scaffolding on Broadway was done to deliberately induce a slight anxiety in the audience, they certainly replicated it here with the 2nd floor/shared band space. Caissie Levy's vocals in 'Didn't I see this Movie' have stuck with me, and Eleanor Worthington Cox was perfectly cast as a troubled teenager girl. The 'Maybe' duet was phenomenal.
I've loved this show since 2006 when it was still 'Feeling Electric but saw it from row B of the circle last week and the seating was so squashed and uncomfortable, I couldn't get caught up in the show. Desperate for a long west end transfer in a larger (& more comfortable) theatre.
I worked on a regional production of Next to Normal several years ago and we had a turn table. It was a very small theater and while it was mostly used for scene changes, what I really liked was that the two characters who seemed to be "aware" of our turn table and who would "use" the turn table were Gabe and Diana. Gabe would walk backwards on it during I'm Alive, Diana would playfully hop on and off of it during Wish I Were Here and other little things, while all the other characters would be on it and would just simply ride it standing still, or disregard it. I think it helped the narrative that Gabe wasn't actually there and that Diana was experiencing this story through the lens of her mental illness
Okay, but here is what I need you to know: you are really bright. You have an extremely intelligent way of, first of bridging (bridge-ing? bridgeting? BRIDGERTON???) these different topics together and forming it into one coherent thing that is very enjoyable to watch, secondly, you have some really special emotional intelligence going on there, the way you are capable of wording this extremely difficult content really impresses me (and nothing impresses me, cause I am really smart myself). And lastly, your spirit and the air you bring into your videos makes me trust you. I have been following you for a while, I can always trust that you draw an honest, albeit emotional, AND personal yet somehow really just image of these shows, and while my comment might not be interesting to anyone, it is something that I noticed, something that I personally cherish - I am a performer myself and should I ever have someone critique my work ( and I passionately hate critics), it would be you.
I saw a community theatre production of Next to Normal twice earlier this year and oh my gosh I cried the first time and i was glad I was going to see it again, It was slightly more heartwarming the second time and i was feeling better because i was sick the first time i saw it so i was in a more fragile state. I would love to see the UK Production but i don't have a passport so i'm glad i was able to see the show and experience it
I came over specifically to see this My ticket is for Thursday. I am so excited
Sounds like a near perfect production with maybe a few slight weird directional choices. (I agree with your views of ghost rules he should not be picking up the cake) I'm so thrilled the UK got this production & the time really is NOW for great resurgences with this & the Death Note concert production getting such strong reactions. I think it's safe to say this will transfer & *Fingers crossed* we get a new cast recording because it feels well earned.
I hadn't heard that Alice Ripley line before about the tone of the show, but it reminded me of an absolutely *wild* fact about the play _Death And the Maiden_ ... Despite its subject matter (former victim of torture trying to extract a confession from the man she believes to have perpetrated it, amidst a national reckoning with the fallout from an ousted military junta), Mike Nichols staged the Broadway production *for laughs* . Bleak ones, I'm sure, but still.
It hadn't originated on Broadway, so it was already a known quantity that everyone considered a harrowing drama. Yet, he appreciated and emphasized a gallows humor aspect to it.
The film version (directed by Roman Polanski, since of course it was) returns it back to drama, but does retain something of that deep, dark sarcasm -- only evident on repeat viewings though.
Caissie Levy is 42 so.. yeah, looks like a woman in her 40s of out time 🤷🏻♀️ I think because of her playing Elsa some years ago, people tend to think she's younger
This is one show that I always end up missing. I missed this UK production by like 3 weeks! That being said, I absolutely love the score and hope that one day will see this LIVE.
It’s still playing
@@declanalexander2100 I know, but I live in the US. I was in London from Mid-June to Late-July this year.
I saw this a few years ago and loved it. There were a few moments, direction wise, that didnt quite make sense to me but overall I really enjoyed it. I managed to hold myself together till the intermission and the end of the show so I wouldnt miss anything. It sparked a lot of conversations in the audience after the show - probably more then I've ever seen before, save maybe Fun Home (I did not hold myself together very well during the end of that show).
While I understand why it was staged at a smaller theatre, it deserved more people seeing it. I'd be interested to hear how people dealing with similar mental health issues (that doesnt sound like the right word...that's going to bug me now) interpret the show and if they feel like it's a decent representation of a similar experience.
I hope it comes around again at some point as I'd love to see it again.
Also, I was loving Eeyore in the background.
i don’t usually comment but i was there the same night you were!! and i felt compelled to comment about (spoilers below)
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the moment where the blood pools from the box of gabe’s baby things.
my friends and i were sitting on the opposite side of the auditorium (based on the bows video) and this meant the baby crate wasn’t in our view.
i can’t even begin to put into words the reaction we had because when it came into view it went from normal storage bin to the revolve bringing it back round with the huge amounts of blood. even writing about it is making me have a lump in my throat 🥲
Terrific review!
A great review. Thanks.
Yes -- the cake being taken off. Hmmm ! What were the rest of the family meant to see -- a floating cake?
You made such a good point that the more you lean into humor of the show the more poignant it is when the heavier beats happen. From you described this production was a lot more reduced than it could have been for whatever reason
Well, I saw the original production on Broadway, and LOVED it. Alice Ripley, J Robert Spencer, Aaron Tveit, Adam Chanler-Berat, Jennifer Damiano and Louis Hobson were BRILLIANT, so it's very hard for me to think any other cast would measure up, but you've made me very curious. Unfortunately, I am in the US, not London, so the likelihood of my seeing this live is slim to none, however, if anyone has a bootleg, PLEASE let me know.
This was my absolute favorite show for like, 5 years. I got to see an incredible staging at Penn State where it was in the round and the director had never seen a production of it before, so it was a really different take. One of the best theatrical experiences I have ever had.
I saw it with Rachel Bay Jones at the Kennedy Center, but unfortunately, I don't remember any of it, since it was shortly after I had ECT done and I can't remember anything from around then.😓
I listened to the cast album again a few weeks back and laughed out loud when in "You Don't Know (Reprise)" Diana is complaining that her brain is still messed up 4 weeks after ECT. Like, yeah, girl, that brain is gonna be messed up for a lot longer than 4 weeks. 😅
I think having gone through ECT myself really changed how I feel about Next to Normal. It was also kinda weird having my knowledge of ECT being mostly from this show before I had it done.
Just booked my tickets to see it next August!!
If Gabe was a ghost then it would be weird that he carried a cake but Gabe is just someone who his mom made up. If Gabe was a ghost he wouldn't be 18, he would have stayed a baby that died in his crib. I so wished I could go to the west end to see this one. It's my favorite musical
I have fond memories of the Broadway production, but not much of the details. I used to play the album a lot after seeing the show. The music is that good and really drives the emotions of the show forward. At some point, the album kept the show so fresh and intense as I listened to it that it became too intense and I stopped playing it. Reading your review has me wanting to play it again as soon as I can. Hard to imagine anyone but Alice Ridley (nice opportunity for her after “Sideshow”) in her part, but you have me curious.
Hey, MickeyJo! First of all, I really want you to do a Glee video. It may not be musical theater, but I want your review or recap on all 6 seasons. Second, sending you and Aeron all my love as a NJ, NY, and VA native, third, Elphaba in Wicked, Jenna in Waitress, Rizzo in Grease, Nick in Something Rotten, Young Simba in The Lion King, Ariel in The Little Mermaid, Anna in Frozen, Wednesday in The Addams Family, Annie in Annie, Annie and Peaches in Annie Warbucks, Elphaba in Wicked, Zoe in Dear Evan Hansen, Eliza in Hamilton, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Violet in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Lily Potter Jr. in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Wendy in Peter Pan, Matilda in Matilda, Pippin in Pippin, Patti in Kimberly Akimbo, Maizy in Shucked, Amber in Hairspray, Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar, Spongebob in Spongebob Squarepants, Cady and Regina in Mean Girls, The Baker's Wife in Into The Woods, Katherine Howard in SIX, Sophie in Mamma Mia, Race in Newsies, JoJo in Seussical, and Lydia in Beetlejuice are my dream roles!
I contend that "Light" is the best closing number in musical theatre.
In regards to you saying the band and vocals weren’t loud enough. Maybe it depends on where you’re sat because I felt the opposite. I was super impressed with the Donmar sound design. The vocals were powerful as was the band. On some of the notes I could feel my ear drums starting to vibrate. But we were sat directly in front of the band in the circle, so that might have made a difference. Or they’ve improved the sound as we saw it towards the end of the run.
I LOVE this show and long for the day someone will perform it near me. I just heard a bootleg of "I'm Alive" from this production and have to agree... It's so "soft rock" compared to what I expected. Even the dialog from the other cast members that intertwined with it lacked intensity. Despite that I wish I could jet off to see it.
I missed the original because I was taking care of Mom who had cancer. Sad that I did because my sister's college classmate was an investor. Going to London for a significant birthday. Will it still be there in June???
At the show tonight (22/09/23) and Jamie Parker takes the birthday cake off the stage 😂
Can we please get merch stating "Ghost Hands Can't Pick Up Birthday Cake"? 😂
I was apprehensive going in that the show would be melodramatic and over-acted (which in this case could result in being an uncomfortable caricature of mental health), because some of the plot points are quite 'extreme'. However I was pleasantly surprised by the more subtle and understated performance Caissie Levy gave. It felt more of a believable portrayal to me (though I know presentations of mental health can vary greatly) and gave Diane more dignity as a character who we could be led to pity or even mock, otherwise.
I think it probably works better for a British audience to be more restrained. We are a more reserved bunch and it could feel hammy to a lot of Brits if the emotional level was always so high. I've not seen the original US version but I wonder if this was a consideration by the creative team or a natural result of them being British!
I felt the exact same about Caissie portrayal. There was something for me in the subtlety of her performance that made it even more real. I feel, often, mental health is depicted in it's most extreme forms. Caissie's performance, to me at-least, felt even more devastating because she could have been so many people I know and love. Very harrowing to watch.
Aren’t ghosts supposed to be able to move things sometimes? And if you are so particular about ghost rules, then why would blowing out the candles then be acceptable to you? Seems silly. Anyway. Great review, love this show!
i didn’t think anything of it when i saw the production. if we’re still seeing this through diana’s eyes it makes total sense. of everything in that moment for the family the last thing they’ll be worried about is where the birthday cake is 😅
Have to say I disagree with you re: the appropriateness of the venue, I feel like it is quite an intimate show, and the fact that every single seat feels close to the action makes it feel much more like a shared, semi-immersive experience. More than anything with regards to the music, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that it wasn't hugely loud, so many shows these days are getting stick for not being able to mix their sound levels properly, as when the vocals are cranked up too high you lose some of the diction, and if the band are too loud it's more difficult to work out what is being sung, I had massive problems with that when I saw Prince of Egypt in 2021 where everything was just too loud, and for the most part I didn't know what they were singing, especially during ensemble numbers. And earlier this year during Heathers it was particularly bad, first the band were too loud, then after adjusting the levels at the interval everything was far too loud and didn't blend. So I do think you sometimes have to take the mixing and blend into consideration, because I think if the sound levels had been cranked up higher, it could have overwhelmed the acoustics of the space, and may well have been at the expense of the clarity of the ensemble.
Oh my God saw the original. Melted
I finally saw a regional production this spring. The live version is better than listening to the obc. I'm jealous that you got to see Cassie play Diana.
Saw the show last Saturday after years waiting for it to come to the UK. Great cast, great singing the staging could be tweaked a bit but overall it did not connect emotionally with me. Maybe it because you don’t have time to take a breath after one song ends and more or less goes into another one. It could be because of seeing La Cage in the afternoon and watching a young man take down a bully in the second act that had me in tears. Next to Normal is not subtle in its sorry telling and the characters that connects more with the audience more than any other are the son and daughter, you can see them developing between songs. The mum and dad are so isolated from the audience that I didn’t connect with them, if that is intention of the show it just didn’t work for me.
I'd like you to watch a slime tutorial of N2N, do a review on that, then come back and do a comparison video of both performances.
IMO this show ruined the OBC for me because it was THAT good. Caissie Levy and Eleanor Worthing Cox and Jack Wolfe are truly truly incredible.
Do you think we’ll get a West End cast album?
Paranormal means next to normal. I never understood if that is a coincidence or if it's a hint about the son.
No the broadway had no revolving stage, had 3 different levels. Also, no handheld mics because he drops the & places it on the level of the stage. Stage had different color palate of purple.much better in a small intimate theater.
I saw it with alice ripley, j robert spencer, kyle massey, jennifer damino & adam chandler-berat
This show broke me
Unfortunately literally impossible to get tickets to this show.
Ghost hands the musical
Gabe is not a ghost. He is a hallucination. Different rules.
For sure, but the cake is still real because they all see that, so what difference does it make?
Mickey Jo! I assume you already know about this, but just in case... The podcast "Giants In the Sky" has a lot of really interesting interviews about your favorite musical. 😀
As always a thoughtful review. But I am in the tiny minority of people who loathe this show. I saw the original Broadway production. All the performers were excellent but two things really annoyed me so much that they made the show seem very dishonest. Strangely, they are at the beginning and end of the show. In the first scene, the “son,” who is not a ghost but a delusion walks on in only a towel around his hips. He’s hope from having spent a night with a girlfriend. He is presented as a stud. Why is his mother, even with her psychological/chemical issues, creating her son this way? At the end of the show SPOILER the father sees and engages the son. Has he “caught” his wife’s delusions in the first case on record of contagious schizophrenia? Is it that the son is some sort of a ghost instead of a delusion in which case the mother has been totally misdiagnosed?
Hmm... I always interpreted that Dan has always been able to see Gabriel (Gabe sings: "You've always known who I am."). Dan hid this fact from his family because he wanted to be a pillar of strength for them. The reason, I think, Diana never heals as an individual is because her family is just as broken as she is but are not seeking help for themselves.
@@RobotShowtunes , so is he a shared schizophrenic delusion or a ghost? Because those are two very different stories.
I don't believe Gabe is a "contagious" delusion. Instead, mother, father, and even sister picture him in their minds to various degrees. The mother refuses to let go and stop engaging with her delusion, the father refuses to face his grief and so pushes thoughts of Gabe away, and the daughter confronts him in frustration when her mother ignores her and idolizes him. "Gabe" is always played by the same actor and symbolizes the same person, but on a literal level they're three different sets of memories/delusions/"imaginary friends".
For example, "Gabe" focuses exclusively on each family member when they picture him. As far as I recall, he doesn't mention Diana to Dan or Dan to Diana. And when he speaks/sings with Natalie, he doesn't defend Diana (as you might expect if he were a ghost).
I was confused by the dad being able to see his son at the end as well. The production I saw did a great job, up till then, of no one else being aware of/interacting with him. In the end I had to view it as him finally having to confront the grief he'd been suppressing while trying to hold his family together.
I saw the NY version and it's very gripping. There is a lot of similarity in sound/look to "Dear Evan Hansen" because Michael Greif directed both. Alice Ripley and Rachel Bay Jones are also very similar vocally. Here is bootleg of NYC original. th-cam.com/video/oMuK9FDnLaE/w-d-xo.html. (I am a terrible, shallow person, but Aaron Tveit is very hot at 3:30.)
I’m curious if you plan to review Death Note, if you didn’t get to the Palladium run they’re at the Lyric in September!
I didn't like Alice Ripley in the Original. Her singing was really weird at times. Lots of weird vowels.
I saw a local production of N2N in Concert earlier this year and still bawled my eyes out. I went in knowing the show/music well, but it’s so well-written that all the emotions still came through easily 🥹
I saw the US tour in 2010 twice and I have already seen the London production twice in the last week. I think Jack Wolfe as Gabriel is outstanding - there’s something in the way that he looks at him mother and his body language that is profound. Eleanor Worthing Cox is pure talent - wow. I thoroughly enjoyed the London production. It does feel very 2023. I wish the show’s run was longer!
I saw the US tour in 2010 twice and I have already seen the London production twice in the last week. I think Jack Wolfe as Gabriel is outstanding - there’s something in the way that he looks at him mother and his body language that is profound. Eleanor Worthing Cox is pure talent - wow. I thoroughly enjoyed the London production. It does feel very 2023. I wish the show’s run was longer!
I saw the US tour in 2010 twice and I have already seen the London production twice in the last week. I think Jack Wolfe as Gabriel is outstanding - there’s something in the way that he looks at him mother and his body language that is profound. Eleanor Worthing Cox is pure talent - wow. I thoroughly enjoyed the London production. It does feel very 2023. I wish the show’s run was longer!
How does he compare to Aaron Tveit? It was a star-making role for him. He was electric.
@@jlasfI’ve seen bits of Aaron and for soundtrack. Jack plays the role quite differently. Still menacing but not in same way there’s a childlike quality to him too and his movement and facial expressions are so nuanced. He’s not scary or threatening in the way I saw Aaron’s Gabe at times. You feel for his character more as a result. Or at least I did!
@@maryp5243 He looks younger than Aaron. It’s like when Andrew Barth Feldman replaced Ben Platf. Andrew was really a teenager.
@@jlasf Jack does look younger but he’s actually 27, which makes him older than Aaron when he had the role I think? Definitely got the boyish look still
@@maryp5243 Jacks voice is very surprising. Nothing on the internet shows off his power and range.
I saw the US tour in 2010 twice and I have already seen the London production twice in the last week. I think Jack Wolfe as Gabriel is outstanding - there’s something in the way that he looks at him mother and his body language that is profound. Eleanor Worthing Cox is pure talent - wow. I thoroughly enjoyed the London production. It does feel very 2023. I wish the show’s run was longer!