NEXT TO NORMAL at Peppermint Creek was sensational - a tremendous, complex script/score, beautifully delivered by six excellent actor/singers who seemed to be plucked from a Broadway cast: Sandy Buchanan Sykes, Todd Tuchek, Matt Eldred, Emily McKay, Adam Woolsey and Andrew Gorney.
It's modern music but operatic in the way the emotion is woven through this mostly sung show. The orchestra, under the direction of Edric Haleen, was both dramatic and subtle, well balanced with mikes and sound so the words could be understood. The six musicians were incorporated into the artistic "house-divided" set (by Bartley Baurer) with sliding panels and two levels.
The show is about mental illness... and/or facing life... and/or how facing the many layers of life can be LIKE mental illness... how we cope... love and loss... how we communicate... or don't...
This was opening night, so there was a talkback. I wrote down some of the adjectives mentioned by the audience: intense, beautiful, mind-blowing, amazing, spectacular, intimate, dynamic... (See? It's not just me raving here.) Kudos to Director Chad Badgero both for directing and for persistence; he told us he applied 17 times before getting the rights to this Pulitzer Prize winning script.
I sometimes sit in an audience and think, "This show is really good; if other people stand up, I will, too." This time, there was no "if"; everybody was on their feet right away -- AND it was a full house (100-ish? It's not a big theatre) so MAKE RESERVATIONS and arrive EARLY (general seating) I predict sellouts.Miller Performing Arts Center, 6025 Curry Lane, Lansing, MI 48911
Continues through July 20 Thur-Sat at 8pm -- with a 2 pm Sunday matinee ONLY on the 14th.
www.peppermintcreek.org
It's modern music but operatic in the way the emotion is woven through this mostly sung show. The orchestra, under the direction of Edric Haleen, was both dramatic and subtle, well balanced with mikes and sound so the words could be understood. The six musicians were incorporated into the artistic "house-divided" set (by Bartley Baurer) with sliding panels and two levels.
The show is about mental illness... and/or facing life... and/or how facing the many layers of life can be LIKE mental illness... how we cope... love and loss... how we communicate... or don't...
This was opening night, so there was a talkback. I wrote down some of the adjectives mentioned by the audience: intense, beautiful, mind-blowing, amazing, spectacular, intimate, dynamic... (See? It's not just me raving here.) Kudos to Director Chad Badgero both for directing and for persistence; he told us he applied 17 times before getting the rights to this Pulitzer Prize winning script.
I sometimes sit in an audience and think, "This show is really good; if other people stand up, I will, too." This time, there was no "if"; everybody was on their feet right away -- AND it was a full house (100-ish? It's not a big theatre) so MAKE RESERVATIONS and arrive EARLY (general seating) I predict sellouts.Miller Performing Arts Center, 6025 Curry Lane, Lansing, MI 48911
Continues through July 20 Thur-Sat at 8pm -- with a 2 pm Sunday matinee ONLY on the 14th.
www.peppermintcreek.org
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