Next to Normal Tickets

Next to Normal is a musical drama that deals with mental illness, bipolar disorder, and the aftershocks it creates in a family. Next to Normal was created by Brian Yorkey, who wrote the play book and the lyrics, and Tom Kitt, who wrote the music.

Next to Normal has broken new ground by serializing the play on Twitter, and Next to Normal has won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, one of eight musicals that have won the honor (the last musical to win a Pulitzer was Rent).

Leaving Normal

Next to Normal was created by Tom Kitt, who composed and orchestrated the music, and Brian Yorkey, who wrote the lyrics. Tom Kitt is also the composer for the plays High Fidelity, Everyday Rapture, Hair, and Urban Cowboy, and he also fronts his own group, The Tom Kitt Band.

Lyricist Brian Yorkey’s theatrical credits also include The Wedding Banquet, and Play It By Heart. He’s also worked on a number of films including Universal’s Time After Time, Love Undercover, Fashion Show, and Chase.

An Important and Groundbreaking Musical

Next to Normal was in development for several years in workshops and readings before it hit off Broadway. Next to Normal first appeared off Broadway in 2009, and it went to Broadway the following year.

Next to Normal proved to be a big hit on Broadway, and reportedly 25 to 30% of the shows on Broadway are commercial successes. The creators of Next to Normal were aware the play deals with a difficult subject.

As one prominent Broadway producer told the New York Times, “When financial triumph arrives for a musical like Next to Normal that is so different than the usual Broadway fare, I think it becomes inspiring for a lot of us to take more risks in our shows’ storytelling and music.”

The New York Times called Next to Normal a “brave, breathtaking musical,” and that “no show on Broadway right now makes as direct a grab for the heart – or wrings it as thoroughly – as Next to Normal does.” An online fan review stated, “I had heard it was good but I was not prepared for the brilliance this show is…One of the most profound and moving pieces of theater I have ever seen.”

Next to Normal Honors

In addition to its Pulitzer honor, Next to Normal was nominated for eleven Tony Awards, and won for Best Original Score, Best Orchestration, and Best Performance by a Leading Actress. Next to Normal also won an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Score, and two Drama Desk nominations for Outstanding Actress and Outstanding Score.

Next to Normal creator Tom Kitt was working on the show American Idiot, the stage adaptation of the Green Day album, when he got the news. Once the cast and crew found out, everyone went wild with excitement. “There was a mortal fear that went into my head,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “I thought I may have dreamed it just happened and I have to tell all these people jumping up and down that it wasn’t true.”

Kitt has also won the 2009 Frederick Loewe Award for dramatic composition (Frederick Loewe was the legendary composer of such shows as My Fair Lady, Brigadoon, Camelot, and Gigi, to name a few).