I had the privilege of seeing the music Next To Normal at The Denver Center for the Performing Arts downtown On January 13. The play was about a dysfunctional family of four with a schizophrenic mother.
It was interesting to be able to see the different points of view from the different members of the family and how they were affected by her disorder. The husband was convinced she needed to be on more pills and see more doctors while the talented daughter felt ignored and non-existent within the family, and turned to drugs as a result. One thing I did not see coming about halfway through the play was when the audience realized that the "son" had actually died as a baby and the character playing him was simply a figment of the mother's imagination. In the end, the mother finally realizes she must leave her family to be able to heal from her son's haunting presence. Once she leaves, she finally experiences this freedom, but then the father becomes paranoid with his ghost.
The music was incredible, although I was not impressed with the mother's voice. The daughter and son were extremely talented singers, however. The set was quite simple and the lighting was very colorful so it felt very modern.
The play definitely seemed to be a satire on how much americans rely on modern medicine to fix every single problem. I really enjoyed the overall experience, although it was an awakening to how blessed I am to come from a quite normal family and not have to deal with those same issues expressed on the stage.
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