Next to Normal Falls Next to Good

I went into Next to Normal with the highest of expectations-everyone I knew had seen, had loved it, and was listening to the soundtrack none-stop. "This is THE musical," I thought, "this is THE musical right now." How very exciting to fit THE musical into my schedule!

How disappointing to find it falling flat.

There are moments in Next to Normal that are stupendous. The idea of Next to Normal is ingenuous, and from the gut-wrenching birthday twist around Song 4 I knew this story--this concept--would go far. I do not think it did.

I'm going to go against popular opinion now and say that I didn't think anyone in the cast was exceptional. Alice Ripley is compelling. The son has a lovely voice. The boyfriend is charming. The father…well, moving on. They're good. They are broadway-caliber performers (though maybe not singers). They are not, however, extraordinary. 

Beyond all of that, though, is the most glaring problem in the show-the music. Everyone loves the music, but it doesn't seem to further the story. Why is Next to Normal a rock opera? I'm not even sure why it is a musical. The songs are getting in the way of the plot, of the story, of the show.

Next to Normal doesn't move. Despite weeks and weeks of time lapse for the characters, the show is stationary. It's a lot of sitting and singing--a lot of "this is what I think and this is how I feel!" numbers, but those numbers do not take us anywhere. There are few to no plot-driven songs. The show is bogged down in its own emo quagmire, adding unnecessary length to the performance and hindering what could have been a much better piece.

In the same way, the characters are not deeply explored, especially considering it's a psycho-analysis show. Every character has his or her one conflict, his or her one problem, his or her one identifier that drives him forward through the show. Usually it's enough to give them an arch, but it isn't enough to make them feel full or well-rounded. And aside from Alice Ripley's role, most of the character's struggle with trite, go-to dilemmas. To use seventh-grade lit terms, while the characters are generally dynamic, they are also flat.

To be clear, I do not think this piece is awful. If I saw this in a development setting, I would think, "wow, this is really going to go somewhere spectacular." At the root of Next to Normal is the germ of a stellar musical. The song I Miss the Mountains is a poignant and evocative metaphor. The central conflict for the mother (Alice Ripley) is perfect, fascinating, and unique. But as it stands, the show does not live up to its potential. It is disappointing.