Review: 'Next to Normal' by Sacred Heart University Theatre Arts

Dedicated to the memory of Luke Garrison, a Gabe we will never forget…There will be light.

Fairfield, CT - The Sacred Heart University Theatre Arts Program bravely takes on the powerful rock musical ‘Next to Normal’ with music by Tom Kitt and books and lyrics by Brian Yorkey. The SHU students were directed by SHU director of performing arts Jerry Goehring with musical direction by assistant director of performing arts Leo Carusone. Mr. Goehring was assisted by SHU seniors Patrick Robinson and Nicole Jablonski.

‘N2N’ tells the story of Diana, a mother diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the long-time effects that her mental illness has had on her family. Her husband Dan makes the difficult decisions about her care and her teenaged daughter Natalie becomes invisible amid the chaos while negotiating a relationship with her boyfriend Henry. It is a heavy subject matter not often seen in a Broadway musical that requires intense acting by all six of its actors; they also need to be outstanding singers in order to perform the glorious music the effectively moves the story along.

The director assembled this cast of university students that meet all of these course requirements. Mr. Goehring filled the roles with race blind casting with no explanation necessary. Since all of the actors are of college age, the audience needed to ignore the fact that adult roles did not look much older than the teens. Once the respectful university audience sorted out the various family members, they were engrossed. For me, it could have been any of the other four productions of ‘N2N’ I have recently reviewed.

Producer Hannah Jones did the house announcements to welcome the audience and insisted that everyone take out their cell phones and turn them off with her. She assured us that we could manage without electronic devices for two hours.

Henry: “Uh. You're kind of a confusing person. Natalie: You should meet my mother.

Chris Faccenda, a senior theatre major at SHU, played the role of the boyfriend Henry with a gentle touch and it worked. Mr. Faccenda recent credits include “JCS,’ ‘Working,’ and ‘The Tempest’ at Sacred Heart. As Natalie, sophomore Delaney Lynch was perfect in every way. She worked intently to bring this troubled teen to life.

Henley Solomon (‘Tick, Tick...Boom!,’ Judas in ‘JCS’) is a junior at SHU. He brought his significant acting talent to the role of Diana’s dutiful husband Dan and his big voice was perfectly suited to his solos like “He’s Not Here.” This young actor is one to watch for in the future. SHU senior Julia Vezza played the demanding role of Diana Goodman with a wisdom beyond her years. Up close she reminded me of an slightly younger version of the talented community theatre actress Kailee Ostroski; she was able to shine on “I Miss the Mountains.” Ms. Vezza has appeared in ‘Tick, Tick...Boom!’ and ‘JCS’ at SHU.

Mike Villanueva, a junior Education/Theatre double major at SHU, brought a crystal clear tenor voice to the role of Gabe and his was a heartfelt performance. “I’m Alive” was especially full of energy and memorable. Sophomore Justin Weigel, who was part of ‘Avenue Q,’ ‘Macbeth,’ and ‘Working’ at SHU, played the roles of Doctor Madden and Doctor Fine. This young man can truly do it all; whether a caring doctor or “scary rock star” doctor, he sang very well.

Kudos to the musical director Mr. Carusone on ensuring that every one of these crystal clear singing voices sounded their best. Whether performing solos, duets, trios, quartets, or entire cast pieces, the lyrics were clear and the notes were in pitch-perfect harmony. I only noticed one slight change to “I Am the One” but everything else was the arrangement with which I am quite familiar. Mr. Carusone alone accompanied the cast on piano for the entire two acts.

The set of white slats and window frames that suggested the suburban home was designed by committee. Costumes designed by Ms. Jablonski included a lot of changes for all and made the point. I loved the light blue touches for the final scene and fine hair and makeup by Olivia Porriello. Subtle lighting designed by Christine Seppala kept us focused on the correct area of the small stage and Lauren Celentano provided the brief segments of choreography. Zachary Lane was in charge of the homey props.

Congratulations to the entire cast and the faculty members that worked with them to bring this important and challenging work to the SHU black box theatre to share with the university and surrounding community. I could hear plenty of sniffles throughout this very respectful opening night audience in the second act, so clearly they appreciated the work of their fellow students. Because the scheduled performances were sold out, the theatre arts program has added two shows: Saturday Nov 4, 2pm and Saturday Nov 11, 2pm.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues and she posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theater Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417