By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
photo by Kathleen Dreier
The psychiatrist (Dennis Tamblyn) listens closely to troubled Diana (Liz Cracchiolo) in "Next to Normal."
The Southern Arizona Performing Arts Company kicks off what everyone anticipates will be a robust theater season with a heart-squeezing production of the daunting and multiple-Tony award winning pop-rock musical “Next to Normal.”
Winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well, “Next to Normal” shines an unrelenting spotlight on depression as it affects an apparently successful middle class family, exploring through pulsing rhythms that use brilliant imagery in its lyrics to define the courage that must be mustered if one is to fight against the insidious tortures of feeling completely helpless.
The show will run through Aug. 29 in the Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre at the History Y, 738 N. Fifth Ave.
Structured more as a pop-rock opera, there are 38 musical numbers and reprises in the two-hours-plus production, with very little dialogue. Most of each character's emotions are expressed in the songs, so focus on the words.
Brian Yorkey wrote both the lyrics and the book, Tom Kitt composed the music. The two always find telling examples of bravery and desperation in the everyday lives within those look-alike McMansions filling the upscale suburbs of America coast to coast.
Liz Cracchiolo is stunning as Diana, the long suffering mom of two teens, both fragile and rebellious, as well as her architect husband, Dan.
Matthew Holter is brilliant as the well-meaning Dan. All he wants to do is take care of his delicate wife going through a rough patch in her life. But what Dan really has to do is stay successful at his job, that's what pays for the insurance his wife needs to cover her medical bills.
Meanwhile their children Natalie (Allie Devaney) and Gabe (Xander Mason) have their own futures to worry about.
Devaney breaks our hearts with her energetic performance depicting both hope and frustration. She worries about her mom but also must put huge amounts of her life into keeping her piano scholarship.
Mozart is making his own demands on her daily life, too. And why does classical music have to be so hard?
Mason in a quieter role becomes a more spectral presence, moving about the stage with an astonishingly catlike grace, climbing onto various parts of the symbolic stage set designed by Tom Benson.
Annette Hillman directs with meticulous care while Elizabeth Spencer as music director maintains a forceful pace. Each member of the family gets featured numbers to elaborate on their feelings, always twisted around the struggles of their mom.
In to add his own outside reality is Daniel Altamirano as Henry, the wannabe boyfriend of Natalie. He likes her a lot, but she seems so – distracted.
To be sure, “Next to Normal” is not a feel-good musical. But neither is “Phantom of the Opera.”
SAPAC has screwed its courage to the sticking post, taken a deep breath and plunged in head first to give us an effort that gleefully prys hope from the jaws of obliteration and throws that hope back into the audience. Catch it if you can.
SAPAC regulations require masks be worn in the theater at all times. Theater personnel also wear masks, but the actors onstage do not.
For this production, SAPAC is partnering with the Tucson chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, with brochure information on NAMI's services available in the theater lobby. NAMI experts will join the actors for talk-backs with the audience after each performance.
SAPAC also suggests that “Due to sexual situations and adult language, this show is not recommended for children under 16.”
Performances continue at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug.22; 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28; 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29, at the Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre in the Historic Y, 738 N. Fifth Ave.
Tickets are $29.50 ($22.50 for students, teachers and military). For further details and reservations, 401-594-4895, or visit sapactucson.com
No comments:
Post a Comment