Blurb3 – Next To Normal

[display_podcast]

The Broadway show “Next to Normal” was truly a great play that’s incomparable to anything else. Next to Normal is a show that is played in the Booth Theatre on Broadway. It is about a mother has a bipolar disorder and it shows the effect of her illness on her family. The musical addresses issues such as grieving a loss, suicide, drug abuse, ethics in modern psychiatry, and suburban life.

The opening scene of the show was very eye-catching. The mother was making sandwiches on the kitchen floor. To the audience, we saw four members in the family, Diana (the mom), Dan (the dad), Natalie (the daughter) and Gabe (the son). After a few minutes into Act I, Diana emerged with a cake singing “Happy Birthday” to her son, Dan and Natalie were devastated. Just when we, the audience, were questioning Dan and Natalie’s reactions, we found out that Gabe was actually dead. The Gabe we saw on the stage was actually the ghost that Diana saw as her son. Since Diana is always grieving over her dead son, she never pays any attention to her daughter Natalie, who is actually alive. This type of neglect by her mother resulted in a depressed Natalie.

Throughout the play, the family goes through many things to cope with the death of Gabe. From the play we saw how one person can have such a traumatizing effect on a whole family.

Another factor that made the play so great was the lightning. Throughout the play, different colored lights would switch on and off to show emotions and help create the environment and mood for the situation.

It is a Broadway show that everyone should watch!