Theater Review: 'Next To Normal' by WCSU Dept. of Theatre Arts

Review by Nancy Sasso Janis

The Western Connecticut of Theatre Arts has tackled the show that in turn tackles the issue of mental illness, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s “Next To Normal.” This beautifully constructed work is a through-composed musical, with mostly sung dialogue interspersed with short (and often darkly funny) spoken scenes. The university students present a strong performance that makes us quickly forget these young performers are essentially still in training.

WCSU Student Co-Dramaturg Sarah Mitelman explains the unexpected casting of the production There are two complete casts that were named after antipsychotic medications. “The Goodman family in Cast Zyprexa is made up primarily of white actors, and the family in Cast Latuda is made primarily of BIPOC actors, for whom the original last name of Goodman has morphed to Casadora.” Mitelman shares that this casting choice was intentionally made to emphasize that mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder, can affect all people and families in many different ways, in the hope to “break the stigmas that mental illnesses can induce across cultural boundaries and in multivalent ways.”

Dr. Justin P. Cowan, Chair of the WCSU Theatre Faculty and Associate Professor, directed both casts, with blocking that strongly makes use of the entire set designed by Clifton Chadick that is strikingly lit by Oliver Wason. The actors sing onstage for the entire performance, with the character of Diana moving about the stage as the audience found their seats. During the two acts, the cast members circle each other, sing atop tables on wheels and generally have powerful interactions. Technical director Tom Swetz with Technical Coordinator Kori Hansen present an amazing stage for the talented actors.

We had the pleasure of seeing Cast Latuda on March 1, and every single member of the group displayed an outstanding singing voice. For this cast, there were a few Spanish phrases inserted into the dialogue, including “mi hija” (“my daughter") and “alabanza (“praise.”)

They are led by Imani Smith, a WCSU junior, in the crucial role of Diana (pictured above.) Smith recently appeared as the minstrel in “Something Rotten,” as well as Miss Nika in “Photosynthesis” at Goodspeed’s 2024 New Works Festival. Thankfully, she never crossed the line into the area of over singing, as I have seen in other recent productions.

Carlos Perez, a WCSU sophomore from Trumbull, played the role of her husband Dan. Junior Elio Perez-Wilson from Deep River, who appeared in “Allegro” at WCSU, sang wonderfully in the role of the couple’s son Gabe. Yazmin DeJesus, a sophomore from Hamden, embodied the role of the family’s daughter Natalie.

Katie Geniuch, a senior BFA Musical Theatre major from Massachusetts, makes the most of the roles of Dr. Madden and Dr. Fine. Genius most recently played Bea in “Something Rotten.” Zachary Spreng, a sophomore from Bangor, ME, does really well with the supporting role of Henry, Natalie’s boyfriend.

The Cast Zyprexa has their final performance on March 2. They include junior Amy Mandelbaum as Diana, senior Jackson Tubis from North Haven as Dan, senior Antonio Porciell as Gabe, senior Cara Leahy as Natalie, sophomore Blessett Leola Anderson from Waterbury as the psychiatrists and junior Jacob Erdody in the role of Henry. The swings who performed on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. include junior Sophie Belkin, sophomore Javen Levesque from New London and junior Donovan Shaw.

The orchestra, composed primarily of current music students and alumni, is conducted by Donna Rendely Peeler and sounded amazing. Current WCSU student Emily Lugarini covered keyboard 2 and Sean Donaher did a great job on guitar. I enjoyed Kitt’s numbers that rock out, as well as the quieter, more heartfelt music.

Costumes designed by Christina Beam are fine, with a few add ons and no costume change for Natalie to don for the “cheesy” dance she is to attend with Henry.

Be forewarned that “N2N” contains themes of mental illness, self-harm and adult language and this production features the use of strobe lights. The performance runs about two hours and 20 minutes but for me flies by at a strong clip. For tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/n...

Next up at the Visual and Performing Art Center is “The Donkey Show: A Midsummer Night’s Disco” in the Studio Theatre early April, followed by “The Crucible” on the Mainstage Theatre.

All photos courtesy of WCSU

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theater reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, and she posts well over 100 reviews each year. She became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle in 2016. Her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted in the Naugatuck Patch as well as the Patch sites closest to the venue. She is also a feature writer and theater reviewer for the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column IN THE WINGS and theater reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the newspaper.

Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the CCC Facebook page.