Hit musical 'Next to Normal' about mental illness and grief returns to Atlanta Lyric by popular demand

February 16th, 2023

Broadway hit play "Next to Normal" about a family struggling with mental illness and grief, will be presented at the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre in Marietta, Feb. 16-26. (Courtesy of Jono Davis)

A family struggling with schizophrenia, depression, and grief may not sound like material for a rock musical, but the Broadway hit “Next to Normal” broke the mold and earned 11 Tony Award nominations with the show that reviewers described as “brave and breathtaking.”

Atlanta Lyric Theatre produced the show last year with such success that audiences demanded an encore. Now, “Next to Normal” returns to the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre in Marietta, Feb. 16-26.

Director Amanda Wansa Morgan joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes via Zoom along with Lyric Theatre Artistic Director Mary Nye Bennett, who also stars in the role of Diana.

Interview highlights:

A stage musical dealing unflinchingly with mental illness:

“The beauty of this show is that this family has characters that are as layered as the people in our lives, and they have to navigate having a family member who deals with mental illness, which is different than general discussions of mental health,” said Morgan. “We’ve talked about this in various forms in the preparation process, and those family members have to navigate how they handle their loved one, who’s dealing with mental illness, how they continue to love them, how they navigate their own reactions to their family member having a struggle.”

Morgan added, “As I always say to my students, theater is not about the everyday experiences, but the day a UFO lands in your living room. And so we are meeting this family… at a moment in their life, at one of their crisis points, and one of these episodes. So they’re navigating that together.”

Good days and bad, from each family member’s perspective:

“She really is just trying to get by. I do think she’s trying to do her best, and I do think she’s trying to participate as best she can in her family. You can see her trying, and even in the opening number, it’s all about getting through today. It’s just another day. We’re going to survive this day,” said Bennett. “Some days that happens easily for her, and some days it barely happens at all, and that’s really a rollercoaster to live through.”

“The thing that I love about the way this musical is laid out is it demonstrates the layers of relationships, especially marital relationships, in which if someone is struggling with an illness, whether mental or physical, that does not solely define who they are,” said Morgan. “It also doesn’t solely define the center of a relationship, and the complexity of a married relationship… I love that we get to hear [Dan’s] side of the story. He has some solo songs in which he unpacks how he’s feeling as he navigates this. And so I think that Dan really struggles with the layer of, ‘I wish my wife weren’t this way,’ but also the layer of ‘That’s because I love her, and I don’t want to leave.’ And that is part of the big question mark of the show – why stay? There’s a whole song called ‘Why Stay?'”

What the Goodman family reflects about the reality of love:

“The Goodman family… absolutely demonstrate again that it isn’t just about loving someone in theory, right? It isn’t just about honoring vows or being there for someone just because you kind of have to, for your parent or your child, but truly that love is not all hearts and puppies,” said Morgan. “I think falling in love is a thing that happens to you, but choosing to love is an action that you continue to choose every day.”

“Next to Normal” is on stage at the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre at the Atlanta Lyric Feb. 16-26. Tickets and more information are available at https://atlantalyrictheatre.com/shows/next-to-normal/.