A New Normal

I have never had such an about-face with a show as I have had with Next to Normal.

When I saw last year's Off-Broadway production (at Second Stage), I walked away from the theater feeling not only disappointed, but downright angry. And the people who know me well would tell you that I don't typically get all riled up about theater; even when I'm writing a less-than-glowing review, I'm the optimist looking for the silver, quasi-artistic lining peeking through the murky clouds.

But the Next to Normal that sprang up in New York last year--with its cloying, flip depictions of grief and mental illness--made me furious. Especially in the new voices of contemporary musical theater, we need stories that address tough issues and parse tricky human behavior. But not with jazz hands.

So even though I had heard that the recent out-of-town revision (at Arena Stage, in Washington, D.C.) had snagged some excellent reviews, I literally groaned when I heard that the show was planning to transfer back to New York (and on Broadway!?!?). But I have friends who have been disciples of this show from the beginning (and have seen it 6 or more times), so I decided to give it another chance.

And BAM! POW! KAZAM! am I ever glad I did. (Although that music will likely NEVER get out of my head ...)

Show Business Weekly Review: Next to Normal

Lonesome as a moon at dawn ...

Yet another ambitious production from the Prospect Theater Company, this time with a snappy bluegrass soundtrack:

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Durang-Durang ...

If you loved The Marriage of Bette and Boo but wondered how (and why) anyone sat through The Coast of Utopia, you'll love Christopher Durang's latest invention, a surprisingly moving new play that uses the surreal, absurd machinations of theater to explore the very real, absurd musings of our minds. As conceived on David Korins's fantastic turntable set, the play is (literally) a wild ride from start to finish, but somehow, startlingly, ends up at a very familiar place with some very familiar questions. How do we construct and conceive our own (theatrical) worlds? And if Christopher Durang could pilot my life for a while, would it all start to make more (surreal) sense?

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Something toxic this way comes ...

How many Toxic Avenger musicals does the world need? Apparently, at least three ... The Toxic Avenger Musical, which recently opened Off Broadway at New World Stages, marks the third effort at turning the campy '80s flick into a singing-and-dancing stage fest.

CurtainUp Review: The Toxic Avenger Musical

This was my first Toxic musical outing, but I brought along my friend Nora to get a veteran's take on the material. (She played the blind girlfriend, Sarah, in a production that debuted at Omaha's Blue Barn Theatre several years ago.) She seemed to enjoy the new take on "Toxie", but declared that the productions were like "apples and oranges" -- all too different to truly be compared.

So why The Toxic Avenger? It seems that audiences have had a fondness for the green-tinged sci-fi genre in recent years. Throughout the show, I kept a running list of other shows that are similar in theme/music/atmosphere: Urinetown, Reefer Madness, Little Shop of Horrors, Bat-Boy, etc. ... and green creatures are already well-represented on New York stages with Shrek, Wicked, and the now-closed Young Frankenstein.

Geek + Green = Superhero? Sounds like wishful thinking on the part of computer nerds everywhere. (Or, if green = $$, we've unearthed the dreams of many a producer on this small island.)

Green goo aside, I highly recommend the show based on the phenomenal fortitude of three fabulous performers: wise-cracking chameleons Matthew Saldivar and Demond Green, and, especially, the formidable force of nature that is Nancy Opel. It appears that one of her secrets is her shoes, but if the right pair of shoes could make everyone sing like that, Broadway would be a happier place indeed (and Carrie Bradshaw would be crooning ballads in her Blahniks).

Lottery Winners!

Props to my inadvertently artsy brother Jeff for my new favorite New York photo! This is his girlfriend Mara and I moments after winning the lottery to see In the Heights. We didn't win $96,000, but getting to experience the show's euphoric energy from the front row was well worth the $26.50. Sometimes in New York, dreams do come true ...