Hiiii I know/knew someone who undergoes semi-regular ECT. I believe she suffered a head injury at some point which completely changed her brain chemistry. She suffers intense depression and S.I when her brain goes out of whack. But, as in NTN, the ECT was never meant to be a permanent solution...
JACK WOLFE!!! i knew him from netflix's shadow and bone, so i was THRILLED and... a bit confused when i found out he would be playing gabe. only really knowing aaron tveit in the role, he didn't seem like a gabe to me at first. and i'm so so so sad to live overseas because i didn't get to go see the show ;-; but everything i've heard has said that this difference really worked, and i couldn't be happier!!
I've seen it twice now and for me, Jamie Parker steals the show.. He is desperately battling to keep it together. His wife, his daughter, his sanity. After doing everything he thought was the right thing to do, regardless of his own mental health, Diana walking away breaks him. His breakdown in act 2, sat on the floor unravelling, was heartbreaking and you could see it happening right in front of you. That moment when it all starts to go wrong, he suddenly starts to hear and see Gabe and you know he's lost the battle. I ugly cried.
I LOVE THAT MAN. And you're correct, his breakdown is painful, but nothing beats the moment he says Gabe's name for the first time for me, I just can't keep it together even though I know it's coming
I got really into the cast recording of Next to Normal a few years ago and never thought I'd get to see it but then a production popped up a couple of hours away by train and I luckily have a couple of theater loving friends who wanted to come with me. We cried SO much. I knew ut was going to be emotional but my friend and I started crying a few songs in and never stopped. I hope to get to see it again someday
I love this show! My drama group went to a production of it in New Zealand (where I live). Another show I love that's about grief too is "the mad ones" it's brilliant.
My first time seeing next to normal live I sobbed uncontrollably for the entire show and the production I saw was a regional local performance by a company here in Miami, FL. It was in a small Studio Black Box theatre that fit maybe 100 people at most. Something about the intimacy of the space was so gut wrenching. They didn't have too many set pieces, but they had built what was the outside of a house except the entire house was upside down, which was so interesting. I ran into the actress playing Natalie as I was leaving and I was so emotional trying to talk to her because I was still like processing the show. Anyways, I say all that to say I feel like Next to Normal is like having 18 years of therapy in roughly 2 and half hours, and it ruined me.
I drove an hour to see a college production that was just okay, but i was ugly crying in the bathroom surrounded by family members of the cast who were just like… what are you doing here?
God, i would love to see Caissie in this. I saw the final Broadway per with Marin Mazzie and Jason Danielly plus Meghann Fahy from White Lotus as Natalie
I only recently discovered your channel, and N2N is one of my favourite musicals because of how it deals with such "real" and relatable issues, so I've rewatched your N2N reaction video a few times now lol. I appreciate how you have such keen insights and interesting things to say about musicals. Many TH-cam channels who focus on reaction video content often come across as shallow and clickbaity, so I love that you actually provide critical analysis of the stuff you're reacting to (for example, how the music composition in a song can reinforce a musical's themes). Keep up the great work! Anyway, I think listening to a cast recording before seeing a show live has both pros and cons. It obviously will "spoil" the musical's plot, but sometimes it can also make the live experience that much more impactful, because you know how the story will unfold, but don't know the exact way it will be staged - the scene with the sandwiches being a perfect example.
I saw my ex bf play the Drs. at University of Southern Mississippi (we were still friends) and so I had a real in person connection but the themes are hard to swallow. As someone with mental illness, that also made it hard. Such a wonderful show and I am so glad you guys got the UK Premiere and glad it will be on the West End starting in June! ❤❤❤ much love from across the pond!
A delightful review, Barbara. I am both thrilled and a little jelly that you were able to see this production of NEXT TO NORMAL twice. I love your attention to detail in performance, character choice and set design. Just hearing you discuss the production just helps me to see everything on stage. I look forward to following your future theatre adventures. 🤗
The original production also had the 2nd floor setup with the band visible. Actually, it had 3 levels, so more chance to space them out, but you know what I mean
This show is in my top 5 fav musicals. It's so good! There's a pretty good bootleg of the obc on here that I constantly watch. I'm not a fan of the look of their set design compared to the original, but then again I haven't seen it in person.
![ละลาย (LALALYE) - DAOU PITTAYA ต้าห์อู๋ พิทยา [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wo6r9TgausI/mqdefault.jpg)
Better late than never! xD My thoughts on seeing the show after only knowing the cast recording and why the emotional damage after was REAL
Hiiii
I know/knew someone who undergoes semi-regular ECT. I believe she suffered a head injury at some point which completely changed her brain chemistry. She suffers intense depression and S.I when her brain goes out of whack. But, as in NTN, the ECT was never meant to be a permanent solution...
That's tough. Hope she's doing ok
@@Barbara2.0 don't know. Family members ex
JACK WOLFE!!! i knew him from netflix's shadow and bone, so i was THRILLED and... a bit confused when i found out he would be playing gabe. only really knowing aaron tveit in the role, he didn't seem like a gabe to me at first. and i'm so so so sad to live overseas because i didn't get to go see the show ;-; but everything i've heard has said that this difference really worked, and i couldn't be happier!!
I've seen it twice now and for me, Jamie Parker steals the show.. He is desperately battling to keep it together. His wife, his daughter, his sanity. After doing everything he thought was the right thing to do, regardless of his own mental health, Diana walking away breaks him. His breakdown in act 2, sat on the floor unravelling, was heartbreaking and you could see it happening right in front of you. That moment when it all starts to go wrong, he suddenly starts to hear and see Gabe and you know he's lost the battle. I ugly cried.
I LOVE THAT MAN. And you're correct, his breakdown is painful, but nothing beats the moment he says Gabe's name for the first time for me, I just can't keep it together even though I know it's coming
caissie levy has one of my favorite voices in musical theater, i wish i could see this production!
I got really into the cast recording of Next to Normal a few years ago and never thought I'd get to see it but then a production popped up a couple of hours away by train and I luckily have a couple of theater loving friends who wanted to come with me. We cried SO much. I knew ut was going to be emotional but my friend and I started crying a few songs in and never stopped. I hope to get to see it again someday
People who are not emotionally okay in Next to normal:
Diana
Dan
Natalie
Henry
The doctor
Barbara, during and after.
ACCURATE
HOORAY, i'm so glad you were able to see it after discovering the cast album ❤
I love this show! My drama group went to a production of it in New Zealand (where I live). Another show I love that's about grief too is "the mad ones" it's brilliant.
My first time seeing next to normal live I sobbed uncontrollably for the entire show and the production I saw was a regional local performance by a company here in Miami, FL. It was in a small Studio Black Box theatre that fit maybe 100 people at most. Something about the intimacy of the space was so gut wrenching. They didn't have too many set pieces, but they had built what was the outside of a house except the entire house was upside down, which was so interesting. I ran into the actress playing Natalie as I was leaving and I was so emotional trying to talk to her because I was still like processing the show. Anyways, I say all that to say I feel like Next to Normal is like having 18 years of therapy in roughly 2 and half hours, and it ruined me.
I drove an hour to see a college production that was just okay, but i was ugly crying in the bathroom surrounded by family members of the cast who were just like… what are you doing here?
@@megwestfox2481 regardless of how good the production is, the strength of the material alone is enough to just break me.
God, i would love to see Caissie in this. I saw the final Broadway per with Marin Mazzie and Jason Danielly plus Meghann Fahy from White Lotus as Natalie
I only recently discovered your channel, and N2N is one of my favourite musicals because of how it deals with such "real" and relatable issues, so I've rewatched your N2N reaction video a few times now lol. I appreciate how you have such keen insights and interesting things to say about musicals. Many TH-cam channels who focus on reaction video content often come across as shallow and clickbaity, so I love that you actually provide critical analysis of the stuff you're reacting to (for example, how the music composition in a song can reinforce a musical's themes). Keep up the great work!
Anyway, I think listening to a cast recording before seeing a show live has both pros and cons. It obviously will "spoil" the musical's plot, but sometimes it can also make the live experience that much more impactful, because you know how the story will unfold, but don't know the exact way it will be staged - the scene with the sandwiches being a perfect example.
Couldn't agree more about the second part, and thank you so much for the kind words ❤
I just became a fan of Jack Wolfe (Shadow and Bone) and N2N is one of my favorite musicals; I'm thrilled to hear how devastating this staging is 😅
I saw my ex bf play the Drs. at University of Southern Mississippi (we were still friends) and so I had a real in person connection but the themes are hard to swallow. As someone with mental illness, that also made it hard. Such a wonderful show and I am so glad you guys got the UK Premiere and glad it will be on the West End starting in June! ❤❤❤ much love from across the pond!
I managed to get a ticket to see this show when I was in London a couple of weeks ago. It broke me!!! I sat in Row B and ugly cried throughout!
Just got back from seeing Next to Normal on its opening night on the West End. Such a brilliant show!
A delightful review, Barbara. I am both thrilled and a little jelly that you were able to see this production of NEXT TO NORMAL twice. I love your attention to detail in performance, character choice and set design. Just hearing you discuss the production just helps me to see everything on stage. I look forward to following your future theatre adventures. 🤗
That makes me so happy, thank you!! ❤
The original production also had the 2nd floor setup with the band visible. Actually, it had 3 levels, so more chance to space them out, but you know what I mean
This show is in my top 5 fav musicals. It's so good! There's a pretty good bootleg of the obc on here that I constantly watch. I'm not a fan of the look of their set design compared to the original, but then again I haven't seen it in person.
It's a MUCH smaller theatre so I'm giving them some credit for the resourcefulness in translating the stage design
Hey! I suggestion for a musical is 'Evelyn Evelyn' it's a little less known but it has some lovely songs!
Me again lol. Love this show, still want Addams Family too pleeeease