Students at University High School are making final preparations on their fall musical. Next to Normal is more than just a quippy pun for the school in Normal—the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning show explores heavy, relevant themes related to grief, family, mental health and substance abuse, all going on within a nondescript suburban household.
“I just thought about, whichever character I was going to be, this was going to be a very different experience than I’ve ever had before,” said senior Ellis Zimmerman.
She was cast as Diana, a mom diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
“Every single person can relate to this show in some way,” Zimmerman said. “Even if something so miniscule as, like, I have a family.”
It's a clear departure from the fairy tales and golden age musicals many high schools put on. Director Ian Guthrie said the decision to do Next to Normal was driven by the students.
“The students have really pushed for more harder pieces to do,” he said. “More things to learn about. More people to learn about. Stories that really happen to them and to people they know.”
Guthrie connected the cast to professors at Illinois State to assist with trauma acting. Zimmerman had many conversations with people who either experience mental health challenges firsthand or within their families.
“I really wanted to be respectful,” she said. “The reason why so many people love this musical is because of how real it is. We really wanted to do it justice.”
While the show delves into relatable topics for today's teens, to them, it's not exactly new. The show premiered in 2008. The oldest members of the cast were toddlers by the time it got to Broadway a year later.
“Mental health is so real for everyone,” said senior Hannah Thatcher, who plays Diana's psychiatrist. “So is bipolar disorder. It is a real thing that affects people. And it’s a lot more common than I think people think it is.”
Senior Judah Dalton plays Gabe, the son of the family. He first heard of the show in a vocal lesson, learning Gabe's signature song, I'm Alive. At first, he wasn't sold. He found the song repetitive and kind of lame. But after taking a deep dive online, he got it.
“It’s so cathartic for me to be able to see these things—it’s gonna sound cheesy—but through music,” Dalton said. “It’s just so powerful.”
While the show centers around Diana—her mania and depressive episodes; what's real and what she's imagining; trying to get the pharmacological formula right and even memory loss after she tries a more radical treatment—it's also about the ripple effect mental illness has on a family. Diana's daughter Natalie, in many ways, is a typical teenager going through typical teenage things.
“Natalie, the character I play, is a high school perfectionist, and I can relate to that a lot,” said sophomore Sophie Cook, who plays 16-year-old Natalie. “When I was building my character, it was helpful to take what I feel when I feel those emotions and apply it to the character.”
It's a small cast, with just a handful of parts and tough vocals with no place to hide. Junior Riley Park and senior Sadie King say their roles in the ensemble are different than any other show they've been in. Park said her favorite song is Psychopharmacologist, a pseudo-tango which finds Diana dancing with her doctors and pill bottles.
“I like the pending chaos that happens” she said. “It’s fun to not play a specific character and be, like, the show.”
“We were described as the neurons firing in Diana’s brain,” King said.
All that remains is to get audiences in the seats, and the students, really, really, want to see those seats filled.
“I used to play football. I play golf right now. I’m in a lot of different worlds,” said Dalton. “And I just think people don’t give theater as much credit as they deserve. The work this cast has put in is insane—musically, character building, every long night. It’s so much work, and I really hope everyone comes out to see it.”
Performances of University High School's Next to Normal are Oct. 23-26, skipping Friday for the U-High football game [an away game at Mackinaw]. Tickets are $5-$10 online and at the door.
