When the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s new artistic director announced that musicals would be a part of upcoming seasons, some longtime patrons winced. First off, the Rep’s main stage wasn’t designed for musicals. Others cautioned Clements about their expectations. “You don’t understand,” they told him. “We are used to serious theater at the Rep.”
Well, audiences now realize that Clements wasn’t thinking of restaging Oklahoma! or My Fair Lady.”His first entry, presented last season, was a dark, moody production of Cabaret.
Now Clements has launched next to normal, the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning show by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt. Theatergoers who saw the Broadway version when it was running at the Booth Theater know it’s about as far from Oklahoma! as you can get.
This contemporary rock musical shines in all aspects, from its heartfelt characters to its dazzling songs and impressive stagecraft. Since the Milwaukee Rep’s stage truly isn’t designed for musicals, the set designer constructed an industrial framework of a two-story house. At certain times, laser-like beams bounce off of small, tilted metal tiles located within the set’s framework. The band is hidden behind the set.
Unlike the Broadway version, however, Milwaukee has no spinning sets or multi-media projections. In this reviewer’s opinion, toning down the scenery actually helps draw the audience into the characters who live within. The show’s small cast is also a plus for the Rep’s thrust-styled set. The cast consists of four family members, a teenage girl’s boyfriend, and various psychotherapists (all played by the same versatile actor).
The show is just as fresh, exciting and visceral in Milwaukee as this reviewer recalls seeing two years ago on Broadway. One of the Broadway cast members, Tim Young, recreates the same character this reviewer saw on Broadway. This fact alone is a coup for Milwaukee, which formerly relied mainly on members of its repertory company to fill major roles. Young, who plays the teenage son, didn’t disappoint on Broadway and certainly doesn’t in Milwaukee. His big number, the joyous, athletic “I’m Alive,” vibrates with energy. It should be noted that all members of the cast are spectacular singers.
But the main character here is the mother. She is coping with bi-polar disorder and issues of loss that time can’t seem to erase. Unlike many families that depend on a steady, productive wife and mother, this family can’t be sure of anything. The brunt of the mother’s mental illness is borne by the husband, Dan. He remembers the Diana of their courtship days. She was a carefree, charming and high-spirited young woman, completely in charge of her own future (well, almost). They marry and produce two children, a boy (Gabe) and a girl (Natalie).
The almost-grown Natalie perhaps most suffers from her mother’s emotional distance. Natalie needs to lean on her mother while going through the pangs of near-adulthood. But her mother is preoccupied with the hallucinations and other “demons” that haunt her days. Furthermore, Diana also admits to being “distant” from her daughter ever since she was born.
Director Mark Clements brings out spectacular performances from everyone in the cast. Actor Sarah Litzsinger completely inhabits the character of Diana. Perhaps to physically emphasize Diana’s frail emotional state, Litzsinger is as petite as a dancer. (In fact, Diana sings about dancing quite a bit in the show.) As Dan, the husband, Kevin Vortmann is tall and sturdy enough to weather any emotional storm. But in order to maintain his own sanity, he has to “tune out” from Diana. This leaves Diana terribly frustrated and so it is no surprise that she has a close relationship with her teenage son, Gabe. He seems to understand so many things about Diana that Dan just doesn’t “get.”
Soon after the play opens, Diana slides into one of her manic states. Dan cancels his agenda at the office and offers to take Diana to the doctor. This is a doctor Diana knows well. Over the years, he has prescribed for Diana almost every known anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication on the market. In a very clever number reminiscent of Rent, the pill-prescribing doctor discusses possible side effects with Diana as the family – in another room of the “house” – dances whiles singing out the names of all the various remedies. It gets the point across.
Meanwhile, Natalie spends as much time at school as possible. Henry, a sweet stoner, is irresistibly played by Danny Henning. Like Dan, Diana’s husband, Henry refuses to let go of someone he cares deeply about. Henry and Natalie become girlfriend and boyfriend almost by default, as Natalie can’t seem to shoo him away.
Jarrod Emick, another talented actor, appears first as one of Diana’s doctors, and later, another. The second doctor prescribes electro-shock therapy for Diana. There is much discussion about risks and possible outcomes.
All this heightened emotion – much of it shadowed by loss and sadness – doesn’t seem particularly well-timed for holiday audiences. And yet, even as other audiences feel their spirits rise to the well-known but fantastical realities of A Christmas Carol or The Nutcracker, the audience for next to normal can appreciate the fact that their own holiday celebrations may touch on one – or all – of the real-life problems encountered by other real-life families.
In addition to the spot-on set, the lighting goes a long way toward transmitting the character’s emotional states.
One must mention the talented band members, too, led by conductor Timothy Splain. They play more than 30 songs. Finally, Alex Tecoma’s costumes mirror the show’s contemporary nature.
