Next to Normal
by Brian Yorkey, Tom Kitt

Name: Next to Normal
Brand: Brian Yorkey
SKU: 9781559363709
Rating: 4.45 (3585 reviews)

Next to Normal Book Cover — Next to Normal Cover

Highlights

Awards & Recognition

Pulitzer PrizeTony Award

What readers are saying

Readers appreciate the emotional depth and significance of the musical, often citing it as a transformative experience. Many highlight the powerful writing and its exploration of complex themes such as mental illness and grief. The rawness and authenticity resonate strongly with audiences, making it a beloved work in modern theatre.

Emotionally powerful storytellingExcellent music and lyricsDeep exploration of mental illnessSome find it overly depressingRepresentation of medication criticized

Synopsis

Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

"No show on Broadway right now makes as a direct grab for the heart--or wrings it as thoroughly--as "Next to Normal" does.

[It] focuses squarely on the pain that cripples the members of a suburban family, and never for a minute does it let you escape the anguish at the core of their lives.

Next to Normal does not, in other words, qualify as your standard feel-good musical.

Instead this portrait of a manic-depressive mother and the people she loves and damages is something much more: a feel-everything musical, which asks you, with operatic force, to discover the liberation in knowing where it hurts.”

—Ben Brantley, The New York Times.