‘Next to Normal’ still hurts

Marin Mazzie now portrays the manic mom in Pulitzer Prize-winner musical

BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

BROADWAY REVIEW

Have you seen "Next to Normal" yet? The Pulitzer-winning musical by composer Tom Kitt and writer Brian Yorkey has been running for 17 months now at the Booth Theatre so it's likely many of you already have experienced its heartbreaking saga of a bipolar suburban mom.

Bring a box of tissues, right? It's a sad show. And maybe earplugs — it's often a loud show, too.

Fresh actors have now assumed the leading roles and do a fine job both expressing the musical's seething mass of dark emotions and navigating the challenging beauties of Kitt's pulsating rock score.

Alice Ripley nabbed a Tony for her scary performance as the increasingly troubled Diana whose living nightmare also afflicts her husband and daughter. Ripley appeared so deeply into her character that you feared she'd really break down in the middle of the show. So that's a harrowing performance to match.

Rather than taking Ripley's fiery torch, Marin Mazzie goes more for the ice in her contrasting depiction of Diana as a deeply-felt yet seriously detached creature. Broadway devotees will want to check out the original, steadfast Mother of "Ragtime" as she now portrays a totally different kind of American mom.

Mazzie's cooler Diana seems all too aware at times of her deterioration into madness, which adds a new, mournful note to the character. Mazzie's creamy yet powerful voice securely hits all the notes in Diana's taxing music; something that the perhaps deliberately ragged Ripley did not always do.

As Diana's long-suffering husband Dan in the musical's Off Broadway premiere, Brian D'Arcy James was brooding and withdrawn. Broadway originator J. Robert Spencer's good-guy version appeared to be in cheerful denial. Married to Mazzie in real life, Jason Danieley here portrays Dan as a cajoling optimist with patient ways and a sweet voice whose devotion only makes Diana feel worse.

The new actors in the roles of Diana's teen children fit their performances close to the originals, with Kyle Dean Massey looking and sounding especially intense as the malignant son.

The painful story for "Next to Normal" makes the show anything but the happiest attraction in town. Nevertheless, the musical relentlessly drives towards its poignant conclusion with considerable artistry — and some striking tunes — and director Michael Greif's bold production remains in excellent shape.

"Next to Normal" continues an open-end run at the Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St., New York. Call (212) 239-6200 or visit www.nexttonormal.com.