Next To Normal

No, this blog entry isn't describing myself, nor is describing my experience of America (though the title really isn't that far off) - it's the name of a pretty awesome Broadway musical I saw last night. After finishing the week at work I wasn't sure what to do, but figured that while I've got so much theatre [in English] around me, I may as well make use of it. So off again I went to Tkts to get a ticket for a shot. At a Thanksgiving Day dinner the previous week someone recommended Next To Normal (which I hasn't heard of before). Since there were tickets available I decided to go for it (though it was a toss up over Cirque du Soleil or Mamma Mia). This show was primarily a musical with bits of dialogue scattered throughout. A relatively small cast (especially compraed to American Idiot) of only 6 plus a great on-stage band. My only gripe with the show, was that every now and then the music drowned out the singing - though thankfully this wasn't too significant and didn't happen much. Overall, I don't think I could have chosen a better show to see - it had everything: great music, excellent singing, fantastic acting, a really hard hitting storyline which although relatively emotional, was filled with some awesome comedicc moments. My overall rating: fantastic!

The story focuses on a typical family with a mother who suffers from chronic bi-polar disorder and severe delusions. It follows the story of her loving husband trying to help her rid herself of her disease, and her 'almost perfect' daughter who seemingly can't stop herself starting to follow in her mother's footsteps. It had some really powerful messages and gave an interesting insight into mental illness and its impact on a typical family. This was all done in a very amusing way without making light of the matter in any way whatsoever. This is a show where you will definitely laugh out loud at times, and you may even cry a bit. It was definitely worth the $66.50!

On a side note, after a relatively chilly day in New York yesterday I found myself a hot chocolate prior to the show. Thinking 'oh no' when I saw them simply take the hot chocolate from a pre-mix machine and pour it into the cup, I was pleasantly surprised to find it one of the nicest hot chocolates I have ever had. Shortly afterwards when someone asked me to take a photo of them in front of the restaurant, they told me that the place was world famous (I assumed the sign that said "World Famous" was a crock, but apparently not!) 10 minutes later, when entering the theatre, someone else smelled my hot chocolate and commented as well about the smell of my hot chocolate. Then they saw the cup and said, "Oh, it's from Juniors, no wonder!" So apparently I went to a very famous restaurant (known for it's cheesecakes I'm told) without even knowing!