Next to Normal - Donmar / Wyndham’s

Another gut wrenching performance this evening - with the audience on their feet in seconds of the shows ending.

We need a cast recording

I loved this when I saw it last weekend. I went in not knowing much about this musical other than that it deals with mental health, but that wasn't an issue at all fortunately. The twist really caught me by surprise, so it was probably a great thing that I didn't look up the plot beforehand.
The performances were great (especially Jack Wolfe, was really impressed with him), and the whole audience seemed very enthusiastic with their applause.

Couldn’t agree more!

Yes! I saw the original Broadway cast many times and saw this production twice at the Donmar. And I’m coming back to London in under two weeks to see it again.

They’re so different and both casts and productions were incredible. Caissie comes off as younger and more hip. Alice and Marin were more mature in their interpretation (in my opinion). And Gabe seemed to be more sexualized with Aaron and Kyle Dean.

And of course the set and direction is so different. This London production is modern and just works completely.

I saw both the OBC cast and the OLC, though the character of Dan (on Broadway) was played by the understudy that night.

Vocally, I thought Caissie Levy was far stronger than Alice Ripley, but they were both fairly well-matched in terms of the acting. Ripley’s was a ‘bigger’ acting performance if that makes sense - more facial ‘tics’, bigger gestures, lots of rapid eye movements - but it worked in the slightly bigger space of the Booth Theatre. In terms of the singing, Ripley’s voice was not always ‘attractive’, but it seemed to work for her take on the character.

Levy’s performance has more shades to it, but that seems to heighten the dramatic high points (e.g. You Don’t Know). She appears less ‘obviously crazy’ (for want of a better term) earlier on and you seem to ‘discover’ the character slightly more gradually. Vocally, she is much more powerful and she navigates the score through belt, mix and head voices much more commandingly than Ripley. Her belt is higher and much more solid than Ripley’s and her transition to ‘mix’ much smoother.


Both women gave strong performances and there is much to commend in each. On balance, I think Levy has the slight edge for me overall, but that may be because of how well the newer version worked in the up-close intimacy of the Donmar.

Worthington-Cox, I felt, was superior to Damiano, though I’m not quite sure why. I think her range of emotions was wider and her acting was slightly stronger. Vocally, she certainly conveyed a lot more emotion through song than Damiano did.

I enjoyed both performances that I saw, but (and this will be an unpopular opinion) I think it’s one where the ‘build’ is greater than the ‘finish’. It has very powerful and emotional moments throughout, but the ending felt a bit of a let-down for me and I felt somehow unsatisfied both times. I felt emotional during the piece, but not at the end. I think it slightly ‘fizzled out’.

Anyway, that’s my money’s worth!

Absolutely phenomenal,after seeing the show at The Donmar the transfer did not disappoint. A truly remarkable performance with such raw emotion.

The cast are on top form and we need a recording NOW!

I went with someone who had not seen the show before and they jumped up for a standing ovation with all of us in the audience at the end and they have fallen in love with the show too.

Merch is available: socks, mug, tee, magnet etc!

A wonderful production that I will definitely be going back to see again

The full cast were certainly on for the most recent Saturday matinee. And fabulous they were too!

Finally caught this over the weekend and pretty much everything said in here is true.

The voices!!! Just a perfect cast, the vocals are SO strong, can't be over stated.

I'm not in love with the story but with a cast that strong, it doesn't matter. It's not weak though, just not quite where I wanted things to go.

I will definitely catch this again, and will try to get as close to the front as I can to experience those performances up close.

Really enjoyed every minute of it.

So disappointing that the masses don’t appreciate this show. I would have hoped that word of mouth would have kicked in by now but sadly not :-( It is just soooo good.