Next to Normal - Donmar / Wyndham’s

Divisive nonsense.

I think the fact that you seem to hate next to normal, fun home and Caroline, or change - whereas I consider these productions in London (Donmar, Young Vic, Hampstead/Broadway) to be among my greatest theatre experiences ever - probably does reflect differences in taste haha. Genuinely sorry you can't seem to find much value in this material because I cannot even begin to describe the emotional roller coaster each three of these shows takes me on.

Also, I caught the show again last night (after the first preview). I think it's in even better shape. Jamie's vocals have definitely improved - and even though he might still be the weakest vocally - I think his Dan IS devastating and standing out a little more for me than other Dans have now, which is hard to do if you're Herbie, if you're Buddy and not Sally/Phyllis etc. I would hope he remains with the show and any future mountings for fear they might throw out the balance of the whole show because it's working so well now. The sound has improved but they were having some mic issues still, which was a bit annoying especially when they were happening in emotional moments. Cassie Levy - well, having seen both Alice Ripley and Marin Mazzie I think she might be doing the best "I Miss the Mountains" and "How Could I Ever Forget" out of the three. Cassie's acting feels next level in terms of complexity (as does the Gabe and Natalie) in a way that I don't think has really been seen in this show before. I couldn't rave about this show and production more highly. I can't wait to see it again. It's experiences like this that remind me why I dedicate too much of my time and money on this hobby.

Technical problem, they are delaying the start of todays matinee performance.

Currently at Today's Matinee but we are delayed due to a "technical hitch". No news yet when we will start!

Here too..had a ticket for the 1st night that was cancelled...!

Oh no! I’m so sorry for the audience, especially on this particularly difficult day with limited/no train services to some areas. It must be difficult for the cast too.

I wonder what the technical difficulty is?

I called the box office as wanted to know when they’d make a decision about tonight, before travelling in. They said it was an issue with sound that couldn’t be fixed in time, but that the evening is due to go ahead as planned.

I think maybe if I hadn't seen Strange Loop or Preludes I may have had a different experience with this one.

Both of those shows are very in-depth character studies of people going through different forms of mental illness (Usher/ C-PTSD and Sergi/depression) whereas this was totally surface level and required the audience to simply react with an 'ahhh ok...THAT happened', 'ahhh ok THAT explains it'. It doesn't really go any further than said moments triggering our own emotional reaction to 'the action' or 'the word', instead of giving any sort of understanding to how it has affected the character beyond manipulative 'kitchen sink drama' cliches. 

By the end of the first song in ASL, we know how Usher is feeling because of the style of the music and lyrics and the chaotic manner in which it is delivered. We know his situation while played out rather humorously, is complex and unpleasant. It is a sensory overload and therefore we know what is going on in his mind. It is twee, but informative.

By the end of the first song in Preludes we know exactly how the lead character is feeling, what his minutely, hourly, daily existence is. That he is dead inside and feels absolutely nothing. It literally lulls the audience into his headspace.

By the end of first song in NTN, we know the lead character likes to make sandwiches? 

At the end of a SL/P, like them or not, we know everything there is to know about Usher/Sergei. We know them inside and out...(in Ushers case literally (sorry)) and therefore our empathy has or hasn't been triggered for their plight. Beyond a few choice 'words' meant to trigger my emotions, I had absolutely no idea what what was wrong with this pretty blonde white lady beyond what those around her are telling me through their reactions to her.

I'm sure if you've been stewing on the songs etc of this show for 15 years, your brain has done a lot of legwork in filling in the gaps in...well...everything and YOU are in fact making yourself feel a certain way because of your attachment to it, rather than the material doing it to you. But as someone going in totally blind, I was totally clueless to her plight beyond the buzzwords that ailed her.

A little less time spent on the 'zippy' therapy method songs and a little more time telling me what she was actually feeling beyond missing mountains, would've helped immensely. While I know what depression feels like, I have no idea what 'bipolar' feels like and I still don't other than that maybe people suffering from it may find some relief in full-time employment at Pret-a-Manger?

The sound was also pretty terrible. There was far too much bass and the drums and guitars were way too loud in the mix, which tended to drown out some of the lyrics. It just sounded so muddy and unpleasant and that was even before the We Will Rock You rejects kicked in.

I also found the fact you could see the band in the most dramatic points of the show rather annoying. I found myself taken out of the show constantly watching the drummer move rather precariously between the drums and whatever else he was playing in such a tiny space. Every time he squished himself behind that drumset, I was waiting for him to knock them over the edge into the middle of the stage.

Good this evening is going ahead. Those that attended today should be contacted next week I was told as I left.

I'm off to see Spongebob instead...I'm sure it will be just as good as I expected for Next to Normal!