Next to Normal to star Alice Ripley & Brian D'arcy James

Second Stage Theatre has announced that Tony nominees Alice Ripley and Brian D'arcy James will star in their upcoming musical, Next to Normal, featuring music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, and direction by Two-Time Tony nominee Michael Greif. Additional casting will be announced shortly.

In this over-stimulated and pharmaceutically-obsessed world, one almost average suburban family comes to grips with a long buried secret in this darkly funny new musical. Next to Normal explores the lengths to which we'll go to keep ourselves sane and our families in place.

Next to Normal will feature set design by Mark Wendland, costume design by Jeff Mahshie, lighting design by Kevin Adams and sound design by Brian Ronan.

Alice Ripley was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Violet Hilton in 'Side Show' (1997), her other Broadway credits include 'The Rocky Horror Show' (2000 revival), 'James Joyce's The Dead' (2000), 'Sunset Boulevard' (1994), 'The Who's Tommy' (1993) and 'Les Mis�rables ' (1987).

Brian D'arcy James most recently starred on Broadway in The Apple Tree (2006 revival) with Kristen Chenoweth. He originated the role of 'Brendan' in the Broadway production of 'The Lieutenant of Inishmore' (2006) by Martin McDonagh, and played 'Freddy Benson' in 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' (2005). He received a Tony nomination for his portrayal of Sidney Falco in the Broadway musical 'Sweet Smell of Success' (2002).

Michael Greif (Director) received his first nomination for a Tony Award for the musical Rent (1996), and was nominated for a second Tony Award in 2007 for the musical 'Grey Gardens' (2007).