NEXT TO NORMAL

About the show

Next to Normal is an original musical that began largely as a critique of the medical establishment and the medical treatment for mental illnesses like those from which Diana suffers but, as the show continued to develop, the writers chose to focus on the family and their struggles instead. Next to Normal began in 1998 as a ten-minute workshop sketch about a woman undergoing electroshock therapy and its impact on her family, titled Feeling Electric. Book and lyrics writer, Brian Yorkey, brought the idea to composer, Tom Kitt, while both were at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, and the pair began to write together. This eventually led to the show receiving several NYC readings before debuting Off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theatre from January 16, through March 16, 2008.