The opening night of the musical Next to Normal/(A)normal is coming to the National Operetta and Musical Theater "Ion Dacian". I saw the preview show last spring and I was profoundly touched. First of all, I admired the courage of the producers to stage a score like this in the despondent climate that rules Romania at present, same as it did back then. Why? should be the first question of the reader. A musical is a joyous time, with guaranteed fun, a show including frothy stories and songs that you can easily hum to, such a rare occasion to break away, for two hours, from the dullness of everyday life! Next to Normal/ (A)normal is very far from this idealistic view that we so love. By the well-known means of the genre we are told a tragic tale, about a mother poisoned by the sorrow of having lost one of her children, the boy, 16 years prior. The pain is manifested by bipolar seizures, by that that the woman is living in two worlds that she can't tell apart. In her mind and soul, her boy stayed with her, he is moving, he is talking to her, he's growing, he's maturing… but she's the only one that can "see" him. Her family is not coping well with her state, neither the doctors, nor the electric shocks couldn't help and the ending can only be a tragic one. The family is breaking apart.

This 2008 American rock musical, with the dialogues and lyrics written by Brian Yorkey and the music by Tom Kitt, is by all means a remarkable success. In 2009, the Broadway version was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won three: best music, best orchestration and best actress (Alice Ripley). In 2010, Next to Normal/ (A)normal won the drama Pulitzer Award being described as "… a powerful rock musical which faces mental illnesses in a suburbs family and expands the scope of musicals."

The production, of course, toured very successfully the United States. The next step was to conquer Europe. Next to Normal/ (A)normal is performed in Holland (2012), Germany (2013), Italy (2015), Spain (2017), Portugal (2016), Belarus (2018) and now, Romania. The show exists thanks to Musical on Stage, declared the winnerof the projects contest hosted by AFCN, at Multiannual Programmes and implemented by CREAS in partnership with the National Operetta and Musical Theatre "Ion Dacian" and the The National University of Theatre and Film "I.L. Caragiale". All involved can be valued only by using superlatives. Every single performer succeeds in bringing to life complex, credible characters, played and sung professionally. The voices - although very different according to the sound emission, somehow manage to harmonize themselves, the individual vocal range and the intensity of the emotions bringing diversity and homogeneity to the part, in an unified whole. The remarkable instrumental ensemble aced a challenge which was not exactly a cakewalk. The translation of the dialogues and lyrics was correct and the pronunciation was at hand for the singers. The austere setting and dull costumes potentiates, by the artificial lack of shine, the tragic of the scenes.

We hope we convinced you that the musical Next to Normal/ (A)normal that the National Operetta and Musical Theatre "Ion Dacian" is hosting is a show worth watching. Thus, Thursday, October 25, 7 p.m., we invite you to take your seats and watch the first performance of the season, actually the opening night of the production.

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Next to Normal/(A)normal

Cast

Diana Goodman - Anca Florescu

Dan Goodman - Adrian Nour

Gabe Goodman - Lucian Ionescu

Natalie Goodman - Sidonia Doica / Alexandra Penciu

Henry- Andrei Miercure / Victor Ion

Doctor Madden - Cătălin Petrescu

Creative Team

Director: Victor Bucur

Conductor: Alexandru Burcă

Translation and adaptation: Geanina Jinaru-Doboș

Music director: Alexandru Burcă

Assistant Director: Daniel Burcea

Script: Cristi Marin

Vocal Coach: Ana Cebotari

Backup: AndreeaDobia

Graphic Designer: Sabina Spatariu

Sound Design: Liviu Elekeș

Lighting Design: Cristian Niculescu, Costi Baciu

Orchestra

Geanina Meragiu- Violin / Synthesizer

Robert Magheți- Drums

Imola Tamás- Percussion

Radu Petrovici- Bass / Contrabass

Olivia Ghita- Cello

Răzvan Mihai Grigorescu- Guitar

Daniela Georgescu- Bass / Contrabass