Next to Normal plays final performance

The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical, Next to Normal, plays its final Broadway performance on 16 Jan 2011, having played 21 previews and 733 regular performances.

Next to Normal opened at the Booth Theatre on 15 Apr 2009, following previews from 27 Mar 2009.

The musical opened to mixed, but mostly good reviews: It has rhythm and angst and unexpected harmonies. What is doesn't have is a story that I can believe (newyorktheatreguide.com); A work of muscular grace and power (New York Times); More than a triumph - it's next to wondrous (New York Daily News); Close to good may not be enough (New York Post); Easier to admire than love (Bloomberg); Powerful, riveting and not to be missed (The Record); Touches your heart and gets under your skin (NY1).

Next to Normal is a contemporary musical that explores how one suburban household copes with crisis, and shows how far two parents will go to keep themselves sane and their family's world intact.

Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and three 2009 Tony Awards (Best Original Score, Best Actress in a Musical and Best Orchestrations), Next to Normal features music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, and direction by Michael Greif.

Next to Normal stars Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley, Kyle Dean Massey, Meghann Fahy and original cast members Adam Chanler-Berat and Louis Hobson.

Original cast member Alice Ripley won a Tony for her portrayal of 'Diana,' a mother struggling with mental illness. Her fellow cast members J. Robert Spencer (Dan) and Jennifer Damiano (Natalie) were nominated for Tony's for their performance.

The creative team includes Mark Wendland (set design), Jeff Mahshie (costume design), Kevin Adams (lighting design), and Brian Ronan (sound design).

Next to Normal opened at Off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre on 13 Feb 2008 and was significantly reworked in a subsequent out-of-town run at Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage, where it opened on 10 Dec 2008 and played through to 18 Jan 2009.