Paramount’s ‘Next to Normal’ is boldly, beautifully haunting

Donna Louden, Devin DeSantis, and Barry DeBois. Photo by Liz Lauren.

The lyrics to its finale read in part: “And you find out you don't have to be happy at all, to be happy you're alive.”

Mary Poppins, this is not. But, all the same, Paramount Theatre’s Bold Series summer production of acclaimed musical Next to Normal is hauntingly, disturbingly, emotionally brilliant. It demands its audiences come with expectations properly set.

Indeed, patrons experience the full range of human emotions watching this story of the Goodmans, a suburban family coping with life sixteen years after the death of their toddler son. Mother Diana, undergoing psychiatric treatment for bipolar I, is brilliantly portrayed by Donna Louden in her Chicagoland debut. Husband Dan (Barry DuBois) suffers silently while trying to hold the family together for Diana and teen daughter Natalie (Angel Alzeidan). The fabulous ensemble is completed with Diana’s hallucinations of deceased son Gabe (Jake Ziman), Natalie’s boyfriend Henry (Jake DiMaggio Lopez) and Diana’s therapists, Drs. Fine and Madden (Devin DeSantis).

Brian Yorkey’s marvelous libretto and Tom Kitt’s soaring music form a near-opera that touches rock and country genres with a host of gorgeous ballads, and their work is put across well by a six-piece ensemble directed by Kory Danielson and conducted by Cecilia Villacres. Musical high points include the Alzeidan/Lopez duet, “Perfect for You”; Louden’s ode to the manic episodes, “I Miss the Mountains”; Ziman’s dynamic, “I’m Alive”'; Alzeidann, Louden, and Ziman’s “Superboy and the Invisible Girl”'; and DeSantis’ “Dr. Rock.” The rendition of the show’s finale “Light” will remain in patrons’ consciousness, showing off the ensemble’s collective vocal chops.

But it’s Jim Corti’s directorial vision that’s particularly poignant. This is a subtle, stark, and disquieting production. It’s staged on a stripped down, five-step unit set with minimal costume changes but some terrific sound and lighting effects (by Eric Backus and Cat Wilson, respectively). The production is a testament to Next to Normal’s deserved status among musical theatre’s strongest calls to compassion—to those suffering from mental illness and especially to those who love them. Mental illness is suffered by one in five American adults. By extension, it affects 100 percent of American families.

If there’s a caveat to this enthusiastic recommendation of Paramount’s gem of a production, it’s to those patrons who prefer their theatrical redemption a bit more blatant. That said, this is a show examining a family’s quest for resilience and love in the aftermath of tragedy and through ongoing illness. While hope may not be a strategy, believing "there will be light" is a whole lot better than the alternative. Contemplating that there really is no such thing as normal can be quite cathartic.

Next to Normal runs through Sept. 3 at the Copley Theatre, 8 E Galena Blvd, Aurora. For tickets or more information, please call (630) 896-6666 or click here.

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