Dramatic PAWS: Next to Normal
March 29, 2019 April
UConn Dramatic PAWS (Producing, Acting, Writing Students). is a student-run organization dedicated to fostering an open environment for theatre majors and non-theatre majors alike. The club stages productions, as well as encourages its members to be creative in all facets of the arts. On March 29, Dramatic PAWS hosted a musical performance called Next to Normal.
Next to Normal is an original broadway production, the performance contains depictions of and conversations about mental illness and suicide, as well as graphic language. The story centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing her illness has on her family. The musical also talks about the grief of losing loved ones, suicide, drug abuse, and disputes in modern psychiatry. The whole play is completed by only six actors. The costumes, props and scenes are relatively simple, but this does not diminish the charm of the play.
This musical is a 2008 American rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. The content of the musical addresses grief, suicide, drug abuse, ethics in modern psychiatry, and the underbelly of suburban life. Before its Off-Broadway debut, Next to Normal received several workshop performances and won an award for Outstanding New Score and received Drama Desk Awards nominations for Outstanding Actress and Outstanding Score.
The female protagonist of this story named Diana, a family woman who has long been plagued by bipolar disorder and hallucinations. Although Diana’s husband and daughter repeatedly reminded her son that Gabe had died, she was still illusory that Gabe was still alive and living with them. She tried a variety of drugs and therapies, and changed to different psychiatrists, but her symptoms were repeated and her life gradually became out of control until she developed a strong anti-drug psychology and even tried to commit suicide. After receiving electroshock therapy, she lost 19 years of memory. With the help of her husband and daughter, she began to recall the bits and pieces of the past. But because of her family's intentional concealment, she hasn't remembered about her son Gabe for a long time, even though she vaguely felt that she seemed to have forgotten something important. Until one day, a music box evokes her memory of Gabe when she is still a baby. She also remembered her past illusion about the teen Gabe, which made her very confused. Dan’s insistence on avoiding resistance on this topic made her unacceptable. She finally lost confidence in this family relationship, decided to temporarily leave her husband and daughter, moved back to her parents' home, hoping that time and distance can help her out of the woods.
The musical opened on Broadway in April 2009. It was nominated for eleven Tony Awards that year and won three: Best Original Score, Best Orchestration, and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley. It also won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, becoming the eighth musical in history to receive the honor.
Gaby Martone is the director of Dramatic PAWS, she is a senior and served as Secretary of PAWS for two years as well as participating in their productions of Legally Blonde (Pilar), Company (Joanne), American Idiot (Choreographer), and Heathers (Veronica Sawyer). According to the Gaby Martone’s (the Director) note, the issue of mental illness and the myriad of subcategories that fall beneath it has always been close to her heart. Gaby has personally been affected by mental illness, and she wants the audience to see mental illness for what it is, start a discussion about it, and help to create a safer path for those suffering to find relief. Gaby also claims that this show was written a little over 10 years ago, at a time where people were just beginning to discuss mental illness and practices that go along with it. She believes that audience will see a harsh criticism of the mental health system, which, at the time, was not well understood by the public, partially influenced by negative depictions in films and other cultural outlets, and partially due to a history of barbaric and dangerous practices. It is important to know that psychologists, psychiatrists, psychopharmacologist, and other professionals of the sort are now extensively trained and certified, and generally fully capable of assessing and assisting patients. There usually is a complicated drug regimen associated with complex cases such as Diana’s (the protagonist in this musical) , however prescribed medication should only be stopped if severe side effects are shown, and this should be at the judgement of the doctor. In the show, the audience only see a few forms of treatment, but there are many more that have been found to be incredibly effective and life-saving. Most important, Gaby emphasizes, is that every person is different.
According to the Cast Biographies, the female protagonist who acts Diana Goodman is Kerrie Maguire, a senior in UConn. She is so incredibly excited to be performing in her favorite musical as her fifth and final show with Dramatic PAWS. Kerrie’s past PAWS shows include Legally Blonde, Company, American idiot, and Heathers.
I think that in the performance, every actor is very involved in the plot, their singing and performance skills are very commendable, especially the plot of the heroine's performance against the disease, many viewers are touched by her wonderful performance, and I also left a deep impression on the actor who played the son of Diana. On the one hand, his singing is very prominent. On the other hand, the emotional expression and body language in his performance left a deep impression on me.
