Next to Normal - Donmar / Wyndham’s

[vickyg]

It looks like they’re doing some kind of pro shot of this? Caissie Levy posted this person’s story on IG instagram.com/stories/trev_her/3191041641894931617?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== and they seem to be in the theatre with cameras.

Does anyone have any inside info on this? Not sure how much this is a normal practice of recording something for posterity as opposed to recording it for public consumption.

[anthony40]

They similarly filmed The Band's Visit at The Donmar for the V&A archives.

[curiouskc]

Sept 13, 2023 17:22:43 GMT vickyg said:

Does anyone have any inside info on this? Not sure how much this is a normal practice of recording something for posterity as opposed to recording it for public consumption.

The main Donmar productions I have seen as Digital Theatre have been Shakespeare plays. Not surprising really as there are no script fees to pay on them which I imagine makes it very cheap to put out on theatre streaming platforms. For something that's a musical you have to pay for both the book rights and music rights. 

I do remember the Donmar revival of Cabaret being televised way back in the 90s. So it's not impossible. I'd love if a filmed N2N was released. 

[danb]

Aren’t they only single set-up, static camera affairs though?

[Mark]

Maybe for an EPK, not for advertisement now obviously but will likely be needed come awards season and to advertise any potential future life.

[theoracle]

I felt so numb watching this - the piece is so sad. I loved connecting with these characters for the evening and hearing the music come alive in the intimate space of the Donmar. You could feel a strong feeling of engagement from the audience - everyone concentrating on the drama on stage. At a time when we're debating the seriousness of musicals, this really demonstrated the power of musical theatre. The cast as everyone says is brilliant - but Jack Wolfe was the standout for me. It's amazing to see his star getting more discovered over the last couple of years with Shadow and Bone and Magic Flute - I just hope he continues to do live theatre as I was quite shocked to see that this was his first show in the West End (Central London). I'd love to see this again but clearly the show's very popular with a lot of demand. I don't know how it will translate onto a larger space if the transfer is indeed true. I really love the intimacy - feeling like you're gathered around the Goodman's kitchen / sitting in the hospital etc. I'm going to be thinking about the show for a long time.

[capybara]

Out of interest, where is the best spot to stand at the Donmar? In the centre or on the sides?

[Being Alive]

I've found that on the side is best - far left side as you come in is better (especially for Act 2)

[james123]

Talking of standing places here. Do you think people respect the number order. Having bought an end place knowing it would be better. Or am I being petty.

[steven22]

Sept 14, 2023 12:46:51 GMT james123 said:

Talking of standing places here. Do you think people respect the number order. Having bought an end place knowing it would be better. Or am I being petty.

No. When I went it was whatever place is open. Which was disappointing.

[Being Alive]

The standing isn't numbered, it's just a general admission thing - it's just shown on the map that way so people can see where it is.

[showgirl]

Managed to see this yesterday at the matinee, after having checked dozens of times for returns, in vain, then (amazingly to me, given that they release so few and that I was on a train at the time & relying on train wifi) securing a seat via the daily release. So I could see what all the fuss was about and enjoyed it, insofar as you can say that about a show foucsing on mental illness, though it was obviously intense and I'd have preferred it to be slightly shorter.

Strangely, given how sought-after tickets are, there were quite a few gaps yet at no stage did FoH staff move any of the standing people into seats, which I thought was normally what they did; not even after the interval. As they scan tickets on entry they must know exactly which seats are vacant.

Not a great experience with those adjacent in my row as for the second time recently when there were no arm-rests to define individual spaces, I had a "large" person on one side and a positively obese one on the other, who encroached considerably on my space, but there was nothing I could say or do to alleviate the discomfort. There's also nothing more I can say about this without risking offence, other than that presumably those concerned know jolly well what they're doing and simply don't care. Nevertheless it was still a worthwhile visit.

[BurlyBeaR]

Ticket for 7th October for sale on the Noticeboard now.

[fullofangerandhope90]

I wanna write more later on, but I will say that being obsessed with the show when it opened on Broadway and seeing Alice Ripley as Diana with the tour cast as a teen prior to my bipolar diagnosis and now seeing Caissie as Diana on the West End felt so full circle. The entire cast is exceptional; Caissie brought out this sense of exhaustion/frustration that I found really refreshing. She absolutely broke my heart.

[theatrewelshie]

I adore this musical having known nothing about it before going in. It’s such a real depiction of grief and loss, as well as mental health and crucially how it affects others which isn’t something I’ve seen before. I ended up going again and taking my partner because he’s very much the Dan in our relationship and I wanted him to feel seen and heard.

[apubleed]

Understudy Henry was on last night, who was incredible and should be doing the role full time. The show is perfect right now - jaw dropping.

[asps2017]

Is this going to have life after the donmar?

[lolli]

I am hearing they are trying to land a transfer

[apubleed]

Also, the show stopped last night for a few minutes in act one as something seemed to break so they were inspecting/cleaning it up.

[thebittersweets]

Saw this on Friday night. Flew in from the states to check out some shows. I have seen 4 productions of Next to Normal and was even in one and am a huge Caissie Levy fan. It’s one of my favorite musicals and this production did not disappoint. The cast is uniformly excelled—not a weak link among them. The singing and acting and characterizations were all stellar. The production is slick and intimate. It wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel of this musical, but it doesn’t have to, but there are some creative staging decisions that felt very effective for me (Gabe in Aftershocks, the graphic cleaning of the blood). Jack Wolfe is the best Gabe you’ll ever see and the entire audience is crushing on him so hard. Caissie is incredible. It’s no surprise that her secret weapon is her voice—it’s so expressive and she has so much control and emotion in it. Stellar performance. So glad I caught this. Also, what a gorgeous space!

[harlow]

Sept 15, 2023 12:54:18 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

Ticket for 7th October for sale on the Noticeboard now.

Damn I keep missing these!

[BurlyBeaR]

Sept 17, 2023 14:01:45 GMT harlow said:

Sept 15, 2023 12:54:18 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

Ticket for 7th October for sale on the Noticeboard now.

Damn I keep missing these!

Got to keep checking in! 

[punxsutawney]

Sept 17, 2023 8:30:05 GMT apubleed said:

Understudy Henry was on last night, who was incredible and should be doing the role full time. The show is perfect right now - jaw dropping.

Absolutely agree with this - saw him outside after the show, it was his first time on and he hadn't even rehearsed with the rest of the cast before. An exceptional performance.

Have to agree with much of the praise this received - I struggle to understand a lot of the reviews from critics which marked this down. The performances were exceptional, especially both Caissie and Eleanor who I would class as the stand-outs, I'm not sure I agree with a lot of the praise for Jack Wolfe, but he was still largely good in spite of being the weakest performance in my eyes. The set is truly exceptional and works in tandem with the show the whole way, massive praise for all involved on the technical side.

[harry]

I saw it last week and enjoyed it, especially the first half. Had very little idea of it beforehand and the revelation 30min in completely floored me.

I do think the staging and performances are uniformly excellent and can see why people here are so enthusiastic about it, but I do also think the show itself has major flaws in the second half (particularly the second half of the second half) which made it feel slightly incomplete and so I can see why the professional reviewers didn’t go for it in quite the same way. I guess for me it feels like the narrative slightly runs out of steam and so it feels like it ends about 4 times and even then in a vaguely arbitrary place.

Like others here I also found the doctor’s singing voice very odd (perfectly in tune but a bizarre tone) and the miming to the rock notes incredibly distracting.

But overall I’d give it a strong 4 stars and certainly recommend it.

[geweena]