April Rebecca in Next to Normal | Photo by Valentina Caballero
Next to Normal is one of those after-2000 contemporary musicals about mental illness, family dysfunction or a combination of the two, and which have gotten all jumbled up in my mind. I don’t especially love any of them and there’s one I actively despise. For years, I’ve lumped it in with Kimberly Akimbo (it’s fine, I guess, but irritates me) and Dear Evan Hansen (a cloying, irresponsible story I wish was a person so I can slap its obnoxious face). Next to Normal is the one I’ve known the least about, having listened to a couple songs and thought: meh. Continue Reading