By Tyler Prah
The National Institute of Health reports that 1 in 5 adults within the United States (over 40 million) is facing mental illness. This fails to account for the worsening trend in child and adolescent mental health as well as those who remain undiagnosed for a myriad of reasons. Even worse, this statistic alone in no way can capture the effects of mental illness that perpetuate inside of families, communities, and society at large.
Next to Normal presents the story of Diana, a woman facing treatment-resistant bipolar disorder and psychotic hallucinations, as well as the afflictions and consequences of her struggles on her husband and daughter. As more and more options fall through, Diana and her family grow continuously more desperate over time, causing each member to face their seemingly insurmountable demons in their own individual ways. While it may be slightly inequitable to compare the impact of Next to Normal to the pillars of the rock musical genre such as Rent or Spring Awakening, it surely would be a disservice to discredit the sublime music encapsulated and the topics that the show manages to touch. All too real yet often swept aside issues of mental illness, suicide, substance abuse, and familial dysfunction are at the heart of Next to Normal, with the characters continually searching to not only heal their minds, but souls.
For all that Next to Normal accomplishes, it would be remiss to ignore the fact that the musical is a work of fiction, one of which I would argue is skewed from the viewpoint of Diana. While the field of psychiatry and the treatment of mental illness is still a new and imprecise science, long has its journey been since the days of Freud and lobotomies. Diana’s condition and hallucinations are certainly atypical of a patient with bipolar I disorder (the condition she is described as possessing), and the prognosis and portrayal of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is quite exaggerated for the worse. With this said however, Next to Normal truly capitalizes upon the notions of misinformation that are present when the topic of mental illness arises, something that is thankfully changing (albeit slowly).
Jack of all trades Chris Strangfeld showcases both his artistic and technical skills by serving as director and scenic, lighting, and sound designer for Comtra Theatre’s production. The scenic design (consisting of a small assortment of interchangeable furniture upon a rotating platform) provided a fantastic framing of the environment within the limited space of the theatre. Furthermore, the spinning of the aforementioned platform was a powerful tool in solving the precarious problems often associated with staging a show in the round and also offered some striking visual moments (particularly within the prelude). Unfortunately, I believe this act of “spinning” the house and world around the various characters saw diminishing returns in its impact until revitalizing itself during the show’s finale “Light.”
For the multitude of allusions and references to light, Strangfeld offers a bleak and dim design when it comes to lighting. With a strong emphasis on top light, this perfectly accentuated solemn moments such as in the heart-wrenching “I Dreamed a Dance” and “There’s a World,” where the shadows upon the actors’ faces seemed to be not simply a mere mask but rather an extension of their very being. For all of these brief moments though, numerous exist where the all-white lighting, in my opinion, severely failed to capture and contribute any resemblance of atmosphere within the “wild, colorful, but dark” dimension that Strangfeld remarks upon in his director’s note. The nearly complete lack of color does make for a nice moment in the finale with the help of Jessica Kavanagh’s costume design, although the potential symbolic representation of this climactic sequence through these vibrant costumes in my mind does not recontextualize the predominantly ineffective lighting.
Often an overlooked technical element, I must commend Strangfeld and Deborah Heyl for their sound design and mixing respectively. This, on top of the wonderfully skillful collection of musicians really grounded the performance with what I personally find best about Next to Normal: the music. Diving deeper into this music, the vocal performance delivered by Cynthia Dougherty exponentially added to her honest portrayal of Diana. Returning once again to this role, Dougherty is a powerhouse in both her vocal and acting chops, gracefully navigating through the manic and depressive states of the character. Of similar note, Naomi Costanza (Natalie) gives a believable view into the very real struggles of young adulthood and living with someone effected by mental illness.
Rounding out our family unit, Erich Lascek and Michael Tarasovich tackled the roles of Dan and Gabe respectively. Lascek benefits from a hearty upper register, capturing attention through his mixture of saddening and uplifting songs. Tarasovich’s Gabe offered a youthful and ethereal performance. In terms of his vocals, Tarasovich excels when displaying his robust mix voice but suffers in specific portions of the show due to his falsetto. The manner in which some of the songs are written places the notes in Tarsovich’s passaggio, creating a noticeable contrast against his chest and mix voice. Beyond this, Tarasovich showcases an issue that is present within the younger members of this cast. He, along with Jeremy McCawley (Henry) regularly disconnected their vocal performance from their physical embodiments of the characters. Often times when singing, Tarasovich and McCawley (and at moments Costanza) would divert their attention towards singing the rather difficult score at the expense of their acting and facial expressions, pulling me out of the world of the show. No longer was I watching Gabe or Henry singing, but rather Tarasovich and McCawley, only returning to their characters following the conclusion of a song. Finally, Alexander McDaniel gives a solid supporting performance as the Doctor. The contrast and choices he made clearly indicates a meticulous amount of thought and work behind his characters.
With all that has been said, Comtra Theatre’s production of Next to Normal embarks to represent troubling challenges that are all too present for families and individuals in this country, something they achieve through a tremendous energy and work ethic from everyone involved. Including aspects to build off of and compliment the show (such as a talk-back with psychiatrists from Allegheny Health Network), it truly displays the care the production has for the subject material and in creating a dialogue. Next to Normal is a challenge, even for professionals, and I applaud the actors and designers at Comtra for diving into these complex characters with a sense of genuineness, something that can’t be missed.
Next to Normal is at Comtra Theatre through February 16th. Ticket info here.
A native to the Pittsburgh area, Tyler Prah is a singer, actor, lighting designer, and lover of science. He is a graduate from the University of Pittsburgh where he triple majored in psychology, neuroscience, and theatre arts. Currently, he works as a high school science teacher and is hoping to go for a doctorate in either medicine or clinical psychology after some time spent pursuing acting.
Categories: Archived Reviews