If you want to see “Next to Normal,” better buy those tickets now.
The musical tale of a 30-something suburban mother’s mental breakdown may have received mixed reviews from New York theater critics, but the local opening-night audience gave the spiffed-up D.C. show a long, heartfelt standing ovation. The smart money says future shows will sell out fast.
Although it’s hard not to notice some hackneyed cliches that New York critics suggested seemed warmed over from the 1980 movie “Ordinary People,” the outstanding acting, singing and dancing of the six cast members made those moments minor annoyances. Kudos to Alice Ripley — who played Diana in the New York production — for not allowing her character to become a “Movie of the Week” caricature. Ripley’s subtle expressions and her richly textured voice breathed genuine warmth and depth into Diana.
Likewise, Jennifer Damiano soars as Diana’s teenage daughter who downs can after can of Red Bull in her quest to hold the overachiever crown and thus win her mother’s affection. Whether haranguing her father for agreeing to Diana’s electroshock therapy or holding her boyfriend Henry (Adam Chanler-Berat) at arm’s length because of emotional turbulence and fear, Damiano strikes just the right note as the loving, yet troubled and frustrated, teen.
We don’t want to be spoilers, but suffice to say the underlying theme of the show is that emotional extremes are sometimes crucial parts of living. Anyone who’s seen teenager after teenager turn to antidepressant medications as panaceas for any emotional upset can connect on some level with the show’s “overmedicated society” message.
But the play overreaches, at times hitting a Tom-Cruise-sized revulsion for psychiatry and pharmacological treatments. Certainly reasonable people may disagree, but the heavy-handed message seemed stifling at points — sort of the way David E. Kelley hammers his personal causes home via his TV shows, most recently “Boston Legal.”
That’s not to say that the play was a musical sermon. The story, as ably told by the six cast members, explored the pain and nuances of mental illness not just for the sufferer but family and friends.
A classic example is the electroshock therapy scene at the conclusion of Act 1. The scene was heartbreaking not just because of the treatment itself but the angst Diana and her husband felt as they struggled with the treatment options. The song “Wish I Were Here,” sung mainly by Diana and Natalie, was one of the most moving parts of the play.
The smart money says that as word-of-mouth spreads, a bevy of area theatergoers will modify that just a bit to say “Wish I were at ‘Next to Normal.’ ”
If you go
Next to Normal
Where: Arena Stage in Crystal City, 1800 S. Bell St., Arlington
When: various times, now through Jan. 18
Info: $47 to $69; 202-488-3300; www.arenastage.com
