Next to Normal

In this remarkable rock musical, a suburban household copes with crisis and the unpredictability of a mother’s worsening bipolar disorder. While the show explores serious subjects, the stunning score is filled with humor, joy, redemption and hope.  *Next to Normal* was chosen as “one of the year’s ten best shows” by critics around the country, including The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone and The New York Times.

Dad’s an architect; Mom rushes to pack lunches and pour cereal; their daughter and son are bright, wise-cracking teens – all appearing to be a typical American family. And yet their lives are anything but normal because the mother has been battling mental illness for 16 years.

## **Cast**

* Michelle Drenth as Diana Goodman
* Kevin Ideker as Dan Goodman
* Greta Jacobson as Natalie Goodman
* Elijah Leer as Henry
* Bryan Reed as Doctor Madden
* Kyle Yetzer as Gabe Goodman

## **Orchestra**

Conducted by

* Peter Webb (Conductor)

Keyboard by

* Peter Webb

Guitars by

* John Potts

Bass by

* Bill Szydlo

Drums by

* Emmett Forster

Violin by

* Gail Nelson

Cello by

* Joel Rinckwald

Rehearsal Piano by

* Mary Kay Bougie

## **Crew**

Directed by

* Eric E. Parrish (Director)

Stage Management by

* Janice Lehmkuhl (Stage Manager)

Produced by

* Rolf Kragseth (Producer)

Set by

* Matt Drenth (Set Designer & Constructor)
* Bridget Novak (Master Painter)

Costumes by

* Helen Dillon (Costume Designer)

Props by

* Janice Lehmkuhl (Props Designer)

Lights & Sound by

* Drew Whitehead (Lighting Designer)
* Alex Pagel (Board Operator)

Posters by

* Brent Kivell (Poster Designer)

Photography by

* Elin Odegaard (Photographer)

Special Thanks to

* Minnesota West Community & Technical College
* Northfield News
* Todd Edwards & St. Olaf Department of Theatre
* Antiques of Northfield
* Deb Clark
* Lyle Davies
* John Cromer
* Michael Lehmkuhl
* Kevin Ward
* Dave Flynn
* John Jacobson
* Tim Knauber
* Sydney Place-Sallstrom
* Ray Coudret
* Front of House Volunteers
* ArtZany/KYMN Radio
* Andrew Rossow
* Susie Phillipi with Rice County Drug Treatment Court
* Darren Schaufenbuel

Book by

* Brian Yorkey (Writer)

Music by

* Tom Kitt (Composer)

Lyrics by

* Brian Yorkey (Writer)

## **Songs**

"Prelude"

* Orchestra

"Just Another Day"

* Diana, Natalie, Gabe, and Dan

"Everything Else"

* Natalie

"Who's Crazy"/"My Psychopharmacologist and I"

* Dan, Doctor Madden, and Diana

"Perfect for You"

* Henry and Natalie

"I Miss the Mountains"

* Diana

"It's Gonna Be Good"

* Dan, Natalie, Henry, and Diana

"He's Not Here"

* Dan

"You Don't Know"

* Diana

"I Am the One"

* Dan, Gabe, and Diana

"Superboy and the Invisible Girl"

* Natalie, Diana, and Gabe

"I'm Alive"

* Gabe

"Make Up Your Mind"/"Catch Me I'm Falling"

* Doctor Madden, Diana, Dan, Natalie, Gabe, and Henry

"I Dreamed a Dance"

* Diana and Gabe

"There's a World"

* Gabe

"I've Been"

* Dan and Gabe

"Didn't I See This Movie?"

* Diana

"A Light in the Dark"

* Dan and Diana

Intermission

"Wish I Were Here"

* Diana and Natalie

"Song of Forgetting"

* Dan, Diana, and Natalie

"Hey #1"

* Henry and Natalie

"Seconds and Years"

* Doctor Madden, Dan, and Diana

"Better Than Before"

* Doctor Madden, Dan, Natalie, and Diana

"Aftershocks"

* Gabe

"Hey #2"

* Henry, Natalie

"You Don't Know (Reprise)"

* Diana and Doctor Madden

"How Could I Ever Forget?"

* Diana and Dan

"It's Gonna Be Good (Reprise)"

* Dan and Diana

"Why Stay?"/"A Promise"

* Diana, Natalie, Dan, and Henry

"I'm Alive (Reprise)"

* Gabe

"The Break"

* Diana

"Make Up Your Mind" / "Catch Me I'm Falling (Reprise)"

* Doctor Madden, Diana, and Gabe

"Maybe (Next to Normal)"

* Diana and Natalie

"Hey #3" / "Perfect for You (Reprise)"

* Henry and Natalie

"So Anyway"

* Diana

"I Am the One (Reprise)"

* Dan and Gabe

"Light"

* Diana, Dan, Natalie, Gabe, Henry, and Doctor Madden