Next to Normalizing Mental Health
“Rock musicals” are not, as musical theatre agnostics might think, homages to Guns N’ Roses. The songs are rarely performed in gravelly voices over epic riffs. Next to Normal, the rock musical which played at the Off-Broadway Theatre two weeks ago, had guitar and drum-heavy music but there were no headbands in sight. More Billy Joel than Axl Rose.
That said, the drug use in this production could rival any rock star’s. We first meet the main user, Diana Goodman, in boisterous form: she’s making sandwiches for her children and having sex with her businessman husband. This is prime suburban fare; the audience just waits for the cracks to appear. Indeed, by the end of the opening scene, the sandwiches scatter the floor and Diana croaks, “the house is spinning.”
Diana has bipolar disorder. She has suffered from psychotic episodes for sixteen years, to the dismay of her beloved family. Hints of depression (although never fully addressed) mire Diana’s husband. Her daughter, Natalie, at first a sullen nerd, starts to rave away her familial pain with prescription drugs while Natalie’s ever-soothing boyfriend tries to stabilize her downfall. Their duets are sweeter than honey but just as rich, performed tenderly by Erin Hebert, PC ’18, and Jake Moses, TD ’21.
The play explores mental illness at its most extreme. The director, Abbey Burgess, TC ’19, stressed the importance of collective research to emulate symptoms fairly. As is common with plays about severe mental disorders, Diana’s delusions frequently pull the carpet from under our feet. Our implicit trust in her perspective is subverted by her slipping grasp on reality, to agonizing and thrilling effect. No spoilers, but I’ve never seen a birthday cake held with such heartbreaking pathos.
And our guide in this rollercoaster? The masterful Erin Krebs, JE ’18, as Diana, compelling us with her sheer skill of storytelling (and creating a credible character) in song. Gilberto Saenz, ES ’19, also deserves credit for being our and Diana’s sobering mainstay as the husband, complexly and convincingly bearing the burden of it all.
Those seeking a nuanced portrait of mental health issues may have been disappointed. Depictions of extreme treatments, including electric shock therapy — coupled with the breakneck dramatic pace — were especially hard to swallow. Moments of calm were lost amid the noise of Diana’s journey.
But though the play was at times heavy-handed, the performances were thoughtfully handled. Tobiah Richkind, TD ’21, playing a ghost from Diana’s past, trudged the set villainously, as a refreshing embodiment of grief. The closest to a rock star was Alex Swanson’s, TD ’21, psychopharmacologist (a mouthful to say, let alone sing), providing a necessary dose of funny.
In conversation, Burgess highlighted the subtle gesture of hope at the play’s close, which, in her opinion, functions as an antidote to the play’s extremities. Her efforts to humanize mental health were undeniably successful, confirmed by audience members’ final sobs. But the play left me wondering: when will drama be written that doesn’t sensationalize mental health? And when will Yalies get to see it? Nonetheless, in playing to extremes, the production never failed to move us.
