Given that Next to Normal is about a woman with bipolar disorder, it is presumably intentional that the Donmar’s revival of this 2010 Pulitzer prize-winning musical feels, at times, somewhat overwhelming. The songs and emotions come at you in a barrage, their multiplicity of genres underlining the confused and sometimes heightened reality in which the protagonist lives.
The show begins with ebullience and panache as we watch a loving, modern family sharing jokes and neuroses. There is a Red Bull-chugging daughter, a perfectionist prepping for her piano recital, and a cheeky, slightly unreliable son; their father has no idea what his wife, Diana, is talking about half the time, while she – compellingly portrayed by Caissie Levy – appears to be holding their busy lives together on “a latte and a prayer”. But by the end of the opening number, she is behaving strangely; it is here that the truth of the situation begins to emerge.
Brian Yorkey’s book and lyrics prove that a portrait of a chronic mental illness doesn’t have to be grim. There is plenty of verve and momentum in a first half that fizzes with humour, from a sexy jazz number about Diana’s pill regimen to the patter song in which her well-intentioned, desperate husband (Jamie Parker) tries to convince himself that all will be well. Chloe Lamford’s stylish design reflects the energy on stage with screens that sometimes hide and sometimes reveal the musicians, and mirror manic episodes with dizzying electric patterns.
While the musical raises questions about treatment for mental illness and about the impact and legacy of Diana’s condition on her family, it delivers far less narratively. The thinness of the secondary plot, in which the daughter, Natalie, self-medicates to cope with what is happening at home, is at least strengthened by a superb performance from Eleanor Worthington-Cox, while Jack Wolfe’s impassioned vocals as her brother, Gabe, light up the moments of rock opera that are the closest Tom Kitt’s music comes to a unifying theme.
The strength of Michael Longhurst’s six-strong ensemble prevents the production from sagging too early, but the second half still feels overlong, as songs crash into each other without any concomitant plot development. What will stay with you is less a story and more a sense of empathy for the characters, struggling to survive in a world where “everything is perfect and nothing is real”.
• At Donmar Warehouse, London, until 7 October.
