No musical on Broadway has been more affecting for me over the last few years, than "Next to Normal". Regardless whether or not you believe the show is too "commercial" to deserve a Pulitzer Prize, there is no question in my mind that the show represents everything that right about Broadway, both from a storytelling aspect as well as a producing aspect. It's refreshing to see producers give a piece of art time to grow. In an age where shows like The Addams Family and the hot mess that is Women on The Verge of A Nervous Breakdown are rushed to Broadway with few rewrites, and in the case of "WOTV", no out of town tryout at all, Next to Normal went through numerous changes on it's seven year journey to the Booth Theater.
Alice Ripley was the anchor for just about all of that journey, winning a Tony and the admiration of the show's many fans in the process. However, she left the show in July, opening the door for a new cast to tell the story of the most dysfunctional family on Broadway (yet another awards the Addams Family didn't win).
I saw the show again last week and was fascinated by how different it feels with the new cast. Marin Mazzie gives us a somewhat "kinder, gentler" version of Diana, downplaying the raw and crazy qualities that Alice Ripley portrayed, and giving us a more sympathetic character. This version of Diana is very aware of her mental illness, but tired from the 16 year battle and almost resigned to her fate. I found that in the Ripley version of "Normal", I felt empathy for the rest of the family struggling to cope with the mental illness. In this version, I saw new layers to Diana, and couldn't help but feel empathy for a person who can't escape the clutches of her bipolar disorder.
It's also worth noting that Mazzie's performance has created an interesting effect on the performance of Meghann Fahy as Natalie. I saw Fahy last year as an understudy for Jennifer Damiano opposite Alice Ripley. In that show, Fahy conveyed the appropriate amount of anger, confusion, and bitterness that one would expect when their mother was as over the top, crazy as Alice played the part. However, Fahy is still playing the role that angry even though Mazzie's Diana is far more toned down. What it creates is a bitchy, more unlikeable Natalie.
Critics will say that Mazzie's performance is almost too "polished", and has lost the raw qualities that Ripley brought to the table. I can't argue against that statement. In fact, I wouldn't say one woman's performance is "better" than the other. They are different... and that's what makes Next to Normal worth another viewing. If anything, the new show is a further testament to the strength and depth of the script, that there are so many new layers that have been uncovered.
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