So how do you recast the emotional center of the most original musical currently running on Broadway? The answer is much easier than I would have thought: call Marin Mazzie.
On July 19, Ms. Mazzie took over the role of Diana Goodman, a mother struggling to hold on to her family and her sanity in the pop-rock musical Next to Normal. Originally played by Alice Ripley, who gave a startlingly nuanced, Tony Award winning performance, the producers of the show had very big shoes to fill. Ms. Mazzie makes Diana all her own and fills those shoes with grace, strength, and a powerhouse vocal performance.
It is difficult to discuss the character of Diana without giving away key plot surprises, but suffice it to say, the audience is taken on a journey of one woman’s mental illness and the affect it has on her family. The role requires an emotional depth that is rarely seen on the Broadway stage today. From the frenetic opening number “Another Day,” to the reflective “I Miss the Mountains,” to the angry “The Break,” Ms. Mazzie not only vocally captures Diana’s pain and confusion, but gives her a heart and soul that will bring a tear to the eye of even the most jaded theater go-er. In the hands of a lesser singer / actress, the show would fall apart. But like Diana trying to hold herself together, Ms. Mazzie holds together the integrity of this powerful piece of work.
Other casting changes on the 19th included the roles of Dan and Natalie Goodman, Diana’s husband and daughter, now portrayed by Jason Danieley and Meghann Fahy, respectively. Mr. Danieley’s beautiful voice finds the hurt and desperation in Dan as he tries to help his wife the only way he knows how. In his performance, I was able to see how Dan is filled with the best intentions, if not exercising the best execution of those intentions. Ms. Fahy’s Natalie is phenomenal. As a daughter desperate to escape her family’s dysfunction by any means necessary, she possesses the voice and acting chops to make Natalie more than an angst ridden teen and more of a young woman who is terrified of what her future may hold.
Three members of the cast continue their roles and seem to just keep getting better. Adam Chanler-Berat oozes charm as the loveable stoner Henry, Natalie’s boyfriend. I have always regarded Henry as the quiet hero of the show; the unlikely anchor in the storm of Natalie’s world. And the chemistry between these two gifted performers is second to none. Kyle Dean Massey as the Goodman’s son, Gabe, beautifully walks the line of sometimes angelic, sometimes demonic youth. Louis Hobson, as Diana’s therapists Dr. Fine and Dr. Madden, possesses a strong voice and a loving concern for Diana in a role that could have easily been played as one dimensional.
With such a strong ensemble, I wish the creative team of Next to Normal continued success as Broadway’s premiere intelligent musical.
I tried to wipe my memory, influence and impressions of Alice's fingerprint on the role of Diana in part to honor Marin and because I wanted to enjoy the experience of the performances rather than constantly predict and compare the similarities and differences. Mazzie took me on Diana's journey anew. She pointedly and masterfully reopened every emotion I thought I had smartly under control after having seen the show several times before her. I lost myself in Marin's portrayal so much that the show was entirely new to me and I forgot to predict the plot and I was painfully reminded with new appreciation that I wasn't bracing myself for any of the plots impacts. Marian, Jason, Meghan and the unsung but far from forgettable supporting cast grabbed me in on their first night together before an audience and I left feeling like it was the first time I collided with N2N. The cast changes were smooth and perfection. I'm so glad I finally got the chance to see Marin after missing so many of her shows before. Brilliant seems like a dull word to describe the experience that night but the value of all involved is immeasurable and I think N2N could run endlessly with countless cast changes and still maintain as vivid an impact for audiences as its first opening night on Broadway, off-Broadway, out of town, workshop, whatever opening from incarnation to perfection there was.
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ReplyDeleteOne of the things I like about your review is that it brings home the way a show can entirely change with a change in cast. Too often, because I'm such a fan of film, I completely forget that theater is so completely different.
ReplyDeleteThis is obvious, but it is worth restating: film--and television, for that matter--don't change. Though I may see something in successive viewings, the performers are the same and, perhaps more important, the performances are the same.
(I'm reminded of the often told story of Olivier--having performed what many regard as the finest performance of Hamlet in the history of the theater--weeping in his dressing room. Someone came up to him and asked why he was in such a state when he had just created something so memorable. Olivier, the story goes, looked up and said "because I'll never be able to do that again!")
Because, as I said, I immerse myself in film the way you immerse yourself in theater, I make the mistake of carrying the paradigm of the moviegoer to theater. In other words, I say "why should I see this again? I know exactly what it is." As your review makes clear, theater really is a medium in which you can't enter the same river twice.
I was blown away by Alice Ripley, but will now give serious thought to checking this out again. Thanks so much for the heads up.