NEXT TO NORMAL Reaction - Ep. 27 of Musicals I Know Nothing About

Leave your favourite Next to Normal quote below ⬇️ I'll start: "I don't need a life that's normal, that's way too far away But something next to normal would be okay"

Idk if someone's already mentioned this, but I love how "Superboy and the Invisible Girl" is Natalie's song, and then Gabe comes in, steals the melody, and pushes her into harmony....Such great score and writing...

“I’ll be thinking about this cast recording for months “ Girl, I’ve been thinking about this cast recording for over 10 years.

“Didn’t I see this movie” referred to a real movie: One Flew Over the Kuckoo’s Nest. It has a lot of electroshock therapy, and that’s what they were trying to convince her to undergo. She didn’t want to do it because she had seen that movie. Eventually she agrees and she sings while under ECT while Natalie sings high as a kite on Mommy’s meds in Wish I were here. Gabe is even more sinister in the stage version. He’s the one that moves his Mom’s purse directly in Natalie’s line of sight, encouraging her to drown her sorrows in drugs. Before, she was just a mild pot smoker, introduced to weed by Henry who knows how to make a bong out of an apple. He also convinces Diana to stop taking her medicine. By the way Dan got therapy for himself at the end. The therapist asks if he would like him to recommend someone for him to talk to after Diana leaves, and at first he hesitates but finally says yes.

21:24 "What is Natalie doing here" Lol, that's almost exactly how Diana reacts in the show.

I know I'm late to the party here, but I have to say... do we like Henry? Yes, we love Henry. Henry is Natalie's Dan, but as you realized at the end with Dan: Henry didn't try to suppress Natalie's trauma to try to fix things. Notice in Hey #3/Perfect For You, he's not shying away from the problems. After his reactions of "you look like a star" and "hey, you came", he asks if her mom is okay. For a moment it's dicey, because he does ask if she can "leave it behind" and stay, but when she has her freak out, he calms her down but lets her know that her trauma is part of her, and he loves her in spite of, or perhaps because of the person it's made her become- "crazy is perfect, and fucked up is perfect" I love the parallels with Dan because they introduce Henry as a stoner kid who's clearly had a crush on Natalie, and they start becoming friends. He sings Perfect For You, and you think he's going to be unhealthy for her, especially as he introduces her to weed. At the same time you see Dan apparently being the perfect husband, being completely supportive to Diana despite the burden it's causing him. But in the second act you see this reversal. Henry isn't obsessed with Natalie, but genuinely loves her and is concerned when she takes the drug use too far. He tries to give her the space she needs while still being supportive, and even though she thinks he's being smothering at times, he's truly doing the best he can. Meanwhile, you see how Dan's support has become toxic. He's trying to erase Gabe from their lives so it's not an issue for Diana. She can't feel what she needs to feel, and it's smothering for her

Not sure if you noticed this -- but the only time the son's name (Gabe/Gabriel) is spoken in the show is at the very end by Dan (the father).

One of my favorite cast albums and even better on stage. Fun Fact: Next to Normal is one of only 10 musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (one of 3 since 1997)

I’M DYING THE TITLE CARD THAT JUST SAYS “OUCH” 😂

the whole theater cried when he said "Gabe, Gabriel" towards the end!!

One of my favorite musical moments in this show is the last chorus of Superboy and the Invisible Girl. Natalie is literally singing harmony to Gabe in her ballad about always feeling second best and unappreciated. It’s just such a brilliant and subtle writing decision.

Also I think that Diane left to give Dan and Natalie space to deal with their own stuff. Because as long as she was there, they were both too busy taking care of her.

I just want to say I'm so happy you reacted to this musical. It's my favorite musical of all time. It was the portrayal of mental health that I didn't know I needed--especially how it affects the people around the person with the mental illness. I just connect with this show on so many levels and your commentary made me connect to it in another way. I cry listening to this musical every time at multiple points and some of them don't even seem like a place that you would cry at but I just connect to it so much and I just feel like someone wrote what I felt. Some info so you have a little more context: -Right after "Gonna be Good" the family is having dinner with Henry and Diana brings out a cake saying "it's someone's birthday!" Henry is confused, Natalie tries to get him to leave, Dan tries to get Diana to stop. Finally Natalie says that it's for her brother to which Henry says that he didn't know she had a brother, so Natalie is the first one to say he's dead and has been her whole life. She then leaves with Henry and Dan tries to bring Diana to reality "He's Not Here" -"There's A World" is Gabe convincing Diana to k*ll herself. This is referenced later in "Hey#3" when Natalie talks about bleeding out in the bath. She does attempt but is found. -In "Didn't I See This Movie" Diana is referring to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. She makes a lot of references to it over the course of the song from "That hospital was heady but this cuckoo's nest is worse" to referencing specific character and things that happen in the movie. Disclaimer: this movie is very very dark. It is a pretty accurate portrayal of what mental hospitals were like at that time. They're much better now. -Everything Natalie says might happen in "Hey#3" is stuff that Diana has done. -When watching the show you don't know Gabe's name until Dan says it when he finally remembers him. "I am the One (Reprise)" Gabe is only singing to Dan. Diana has finally accepted his death and is ready to move forward, but Dan has been in denial the whole time. They coped with their son's death in opposite ways, but neither were super healthy and both were actually obsessive. Gabe leaves right after saying "Hi dad" because his job is done. His parents have finally accepted his death so he can finally move on.

There are a lot of lines that I love in these songs, but the one that really got through to me is "you find out you don't have to be happy at all, to be happy you're alive". This is one of my favourite lines out of any song at all.

Saw the OBC in New York, the raw emotion of the album is magnified X1000 in person. Another thing you don't get from listening only is the full depth of Henry, He is really supportive of Natalie but isn't afraid to share his concern.He is so sweet and gentle to her, empathizing with the situation, making sure she knows he cares, but giving her space to deal with everything in her way. Really an amazing character,

This Album helped me through my Teenager Depression. Especially the line "you don't have to be happy at all to be happy you're alive." Was an anchor for me.

Yesssss, this is my second favorite musical! One thing I really like about the show that you couldn't experience, is the fact that the audience doesn't know Gabe's name until Dan says it in the final seconds of the second to last song (I Am The One Reprise). It's wonderful, because it deprives him throughout the show of that last bit of humanity that would come with having a name to refer to him with. Unfortunately, people writing lyrics use his name from the start (which makes sense), so the effect of that moment, and of Diana asking Dan about their son's name, is kind of lost. Still, it's an awesome musical and it was great to see you react to it!

"it goes from bad to worse" is literally a sum up of the show 😂

"The support of the men in this is a relief" Is a comment I actually want to return to, because while the support is sincere and whole-hearted, it's incomplete. Henry represents how Dan used to be; promising optimism without really understanding what's ahead, whereas Dan represents what happens if a couple like Henry and Natalie don't truly stick together through their struggles. Dan becomes paternalistic, isolating. He wants to hide Diana from her pain wherever possible because he doesn't want to deal with his own end of it for fear of causing her symptoms to flare up. But that's a huge factor in why they keep recurring. Most of it is chemical sure, but a lot of that chemistry can be stabilized if the people sharing the pain can communicate openly and take care of each other, whereas Dan has closed himself off and appointed himself some sort of guardian over Diana. That's what Anyway is. "You've been doing your best to keep me afloat, but we're not actually trying to solve anything."

I was in this show as Gabe a while back, so my mom knows it a little. Because of that- when I became aware after a seizure I said "Klonopin" a few times asking my mom to give me my meds, but she thought I was singing the lyrics to "Who's Crazy/My Psychopharmacologist and I"