Madeleine Coles
Life Editor
The ISU School of Performing Arts just closed its first musical of the year, Next to Normal. The show, with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt, was an impressive production, but certain elements left something to be desired.
The play was performed in the Bistline Theatre in the Stephens Performing Arts Center. It is a thrust theatre, so seating is not only in front of the stage but also to the left and right of the stage. The production took full advantage of this by creating a simple yet intricate set that allowed for clear viewing no matter where an audience member was seated.
Next to Normal was an interesting choice of musical, particularly for the conservative community of ISU and Pocatello. The play is quite risque for an area such as this. It focuses heavily on mental illness and talks openly about drug abuse, sex and family disfunction.
The focus of the play is on Diana Goodman, a woman with severe bipolar disorder, and her husband and children. Ultimately, the play is about the struggle the family goes through in an attempt to cope with Diana’s disorder and the disorder it brings everyone around her.
The show features a cast of only six, however, ISU’s production used its understudies as ensemble members, extending the cast to 12.
Out of the six main actors, the standout by far was Jenna Davies in her role as Diana. Not only does Davies have a lovely voice, but her portrayal of a mentally unstable mother and wife was superb.
At times both funny and incredibly unnerving, Davies masterfully takes the audience through the manic highs and the painful lows of bipolar disorder.
In addition to Davies’ performance itself, her chemistry with actor Levi Bruner, who plays her character’s husband, Dan, added incredible depth to the already dark musical.
Bruner’s performance was also far above that of the rest of the cast, and the relationship he and Davies share on stage is without a doubt the most intriguing and emotional part of the show.
While it would be hard for any actor to outshine the performances of Davies and Bruner, Alisha Hunter, who plays Diana’s daughter Natalie, simply could not keep up the pace they set. Although at times Hunter’s performance was moving, she was not vocally right for the part, and it showed.
Hunter’s character and her relationship with her boyfriend Henry (portrayed by Tristan Berg) simply could not compare to the intensity of Davies and Bruner. Like Hunter, Berg had difficulty keeping up with the pace of both his fellow actors and the show’s plot, although he is a very talented singer.
Sean Grayson played Diana and Dan’s son and Natalie’s brother, Gabe. Although he did not deliver as strong a performance as Davies and Bruner, he was one of the highlights of the play – when he really tried.
Grayson is a talented vocalist, but only when he is singing as loudly and strongly as he can. Many of the softer notes were out of tune, if they weren’t lost to the audience completely. If Grayson had put more into his performance, he could have perhaps been as good as Davies and Bruner.
The final character, Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine was portrayed by Tanner Morton and although this character has quite a large role in the play, Morton’s portrayal of him was nothing more than forgettable. His vocals and acting were fine, but there was no passion, no intrigue, nothing to set him apart from his castmates.
Although some of the performances were weak, in terms of design elements, this show was one of the best I have ever seen. The simple rotating set was a perfect way to keep the audience in proper view at all times without detracting from the intensity of the play itself.
The sound and light elements were nearly flawless, with only one sound hiccup during one of Grayson’s songs.
In addition, the costumes were very well done and aided the characterization in a flawless way.
Overall, I did highly enjoy this play. It was much darker and deeper than anything I thought ISU would do, and guest director Tony Clements did a truly wonderful job making the audience feel and understand all of the wild emotions this musical takes the audience through. It was money well spent.
