Next to Normal - Donmar / Wyndham’s

[jaybird89]

Well I've just left the theatre and this must surely be one of the best things I have ever seen the acting the singing everything was incredible, I don't think I've ever cried this much (and I am a cryer)

I will definitely need to see this again I don't think anything I've seen has ever so openly and honestly shown this sort of emotion and the way it really grasps the pain each character feels now to try to not cry anymore as I head on my way to see show number two :-).

[longinthetooth]

How different we are. I agree with everybody about the singing and music, but ..... I was bored to tears with the storyline, I'm afraid. I disliked every character, and have never been so tempted to leave at the interval. I only stayed because of the quality of the voices. I've given it 3* purely on the merit of the performances. Oh well, we can't all like the same things.

[theatre2023]

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

We need a cast recording

[kyvai]

+1 for a cast recording. The vocals in this production are so much better than the OBC recording (sorry!). The cast is amazing.

[triana]

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.

[capybara]

There’s nothing I can say about this show that I didn’t already say after seeing the original Donmar run twice. I genuinely think this may be the strongest cast I’ve ever seen in anything.

They’re all incredible but Caissie Levy and Eleanor Worthington-Cox are absolutely spellbinding and every performance they give in this special show just further demonstrates how they were both robbed at the Oliviers earlier this year.

I can’t wait to see it again. Wonderful, wonderful musical theatre.

[gotalotofnerve]

Jun 29, 2024 0:37:44 GMT capybara said:

There’s nothing I can say about this show that I didn’t already say after seeing the original Donmar run twice. I genuinely think this may be the strongest cast I’ve ever seen in anything.

They’re all incredible but Caissie Levy and Eleanor Worthington-Cox are absolutely spellbinding and every performance they give in this special show just further demonstrates how they were both robbed at the Oliviers earlier this year.

I can’t wait to see it again. Wonderful, wonderful musical theatre.

Couldn’t agree more!

[asps2017]

Has anyone else seen both the OBC and this cast? Would be curious to share my views and hear others. 

[steven22]

Jun 29, 2024 17:34:27 GMT asps2017 said:

Has anyone else seen both the OBC and this cast? Would be curious to share my views and hear others. 

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.

[asps2017]

Jun 29, 2024 17:54:11 GMT steven22 said:

Jun 29, 2024 17:34:27 GMT asps2017 said:

Has anyone else seen both the OBC and this cast? Would be curious to share my views and hear others. 

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.

How do you find it compares? 

I personally prefer Diana slightly older and preferred Alice's interpretation. Caissie had outstanding vocals but don't think Diana needs to be vocally strong or perfect. 
Thought the London cast were generally better though (especially Jack and Eleanor). 

[steven22]

Jun 29, 2024 17:58:58 GMT asps2017 said:

Jun 29, 2024 17:54:11 GMT steven22 said:

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.

How do you find it compares? 

I personally prefer Diana slightly older and preferred Alice's interpretation. Caissie had outstanding vocals but don't think Diana needs to be vocally strong or perfect. 
Thought the London cast were generally better though (especially Jack and Eleanor). 

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.

[ceebee]

I saw the matinee this afternoon with my two daughters and we found it achingly beautiful and deeply personal. I had to do everything in my power to control my sobs in the second half with Dan's sections to Diana, which were all too relevant. Many ghosts in this show for our family and the music was some of the best I've ever heard. This show broke my heart. A must see.

[asps2017]

Jun 29, 2024 18:01:30 GMT steven22 said:

Jun 29, 2024 17:58:58 GMT asps2017 said:

How do you find it compares? 

I personally prefer Diana slightly older and preferred Alice's interpretation. Caissie had outstanding vocals but don't think Diana needs to be vocally strong or perfect. 
Thought the London cast were generally better though (especially Jack and Eleanor). 

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.


Do you have a preference?

[steven22]

Jun 29, 2024 18:06:06 GMT asps2017 said:

Jun 29, 2024 18:01:30 GMT steven22 said:

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.


Do you have a preference?

I don’t. I really loved both.

[Scswp]

Jun 29, 2024 17:34:27 GMT asps2017 said:

Has anyone else seen both the OBC and this cast? Would be curious to share my views and hear others. 

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!

[danb]

My son has been sending me raves from this all night (after spending his afternoon “2 metres away from Jon Snows knob” at the invited dress of ‘Slave Play’) so I guess I’m gonna have to give it a whirl. I’m historically not great with wrist stuff so approach with caution. I enjoy lots of the obc so theres that.

[colelarson]

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

[thedrowsychaperone]

I'm praying for some TodayTix luck for the Sat matinee this weekend - have all the cast been doing the matinees so far? The covers all look great but I'd love to see everyone in this

[westendfan1]

Jul 1, 2024 13:57:01 GMT thedrowsychaperone said:

I'm praying for some TodayTix luck for the Sat matinee this weekend - have all the cast been doing the matinees so far? The covers all look great but I'd love to see everyone in this

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

[capybara]

Any word on Lizzy Parker scheduled dates?

[darreno]

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.

[apubleed]

Has anyone noticed that sales are a little...slower...than ideal? The show is so strong I hope it can pick up but I wonder if we're headed for an 'Old Friends' situation.

[theatre2023]

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.

[theatre2023]

In fairness - even MJ the musical is struggling big time and that’s as commercial as it comes - Fri nights show is half empty

[showtoones]

Nothing is selling out at the moment except for Romeo and Juliet (for obv reasons).