FULL CASTING FOR THE UK PREMIÈRE OF
TOM KITT AND BRIAN YORKEY’S AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL
NEXT TO NORMAL
With Jack Thorne’s When Winston Went to War with the Wireless currently running at the theatre, Donmar Warehouse Artistic Director Michael Longhurst and Executive Director Henny Finch today announce full casting for the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical Next To Normal.
Joining the previously announced Grammy Award nominee Caissie Levy and Trevor Dion Nicholas, Michael Longhurst directs Jack Ofrecio,Olivier Award winner and Tony Award nominee Jamie Parker, Jack Wolfe and Olivier Award winner and BAFTA nominee Eleanor Worthington-Cox. The production opens on 22 August, with previews from 12 August, and runs until 7 October.
NEXT TO NORMAL
Music by Tom Kitt
Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Directed by Michael Longhurst
12 August – 7 October 2023
Musical Supervisor: Nigel Lilley; Designer: Chloe Lamford; Lighting Designer: Lee Curran; Sound Designer: Tony Gayle; Movement Director and Choreographer: Ann Yee; Video Designer: Tal Rosner; Musical Director: Nick Barstow; Associate Musical Director: Natalie Pound; Casting Director: Anna Cooper CDG.
Original Broadway Production Produced by David Stone, James L. Nederlander, Barbara Whitman, Patrick Catullo and Second Stage Theatre.
“It is much more than a feel-good musical; it is a feel-everything musical.” New York Times
Critically acclaimed Broadway musical Next to Normal is an intimate exploration of family and loss. At its heart is Diana Goodman, a suburban wife and mother living with bipolar disorder and haunted by her past. Donmar Artistic Director Michael Longhurst directs the long-awaited UK première of this powerful musical about a far from average family.
Next to Normal is the winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and three Tony Awards including Best Original Score.
Tom Kitt received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, two Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Orchestrations, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Score for Next to Normal (Second Stage Theater/Broadway). He is also the composer of If/Then (Tony and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations), High Fidelity (Broadway), Bring it On, The Musical (co-composer with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Broadway), Superhero (Second Stage), Disney’s Freaky Friday (Stage Production and Original Disney Channel Movie Musical), Dave (Arena Stage), The Winter’s Tale, All’s Well That Ends Well, Cymbeline (Public Theater’s NYSF), From Up Here, The Madrid (Manhattan Theatre Club), Orphans (Broadway), The Retributionists (Playwrights Horizons), and As You Like It (Toho Co., Japan). As a music supervisor, arranger, and orchestrator, credits include SpongeBob Squarepants, The Musical (Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk Award nominations), Head Over Heels, Jagged Little Pill; Grease Live!, Rise (NBC), and American Idiot. His work with Green Day also includes additional arrangements for their Grammy Award-winning album 21st Century Breakdown and their album trilogy, ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré! Tom received an Emmy Award as co-writer (with Lin-Manuel Miranda) for the 2013 Tony Award opening number, Bigger. Other television songwriting credits include a musical episode of Royal Pains, and songs for Penny Dreadful, Sesame Street, and Julie’s Greenroom. As a musical director, conductor, arranger and orchestrator, credits include the Pitch Perfect films, 2Cellos featuring Lang Lang (Live and Let Die), The Kennedy Center Honors, 13, Debbie Does Dallas, Everyday Rapture, Hair, Laugh Whore, Pippin (Deaf West), and These Paper Bullets. Upcoming projects include musical adaptations of the films Almost Famous (premiering on Broadway in October 2022), Magic Mike, and The Visitor.
Brian Yorkey received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as the 2009 Tony Award for Best Score for Next to Normal (Second Stage Theater/Broadway). He was also nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical for Next to Normal, and his work on the show earned him the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Score. He partnered again with the Next to Normal team on If/Then (Tony Award nominee for Best Score) starring Idina Menzel. He co-wrote the libretto for The Last Ship (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination, with John Logan), with a score by Sting. His musical adaptation of Freaky Friday for Disney Theatricals enjoyed a national tour before being adapted into a Disney Channel Original Movie. Current theatrical projects in development include the original musical Jesus in My Bedroom, with composer Tim Symons, as well as a stage musical adaptation of Magic Mike. Additional theatre credits include Making Tracks, which has played off-Broadway and regionally, the musical adaptation of Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet, and the play, Book of Jobs with Alex Glover. Brian was the Executive Producer and Showrunner of 13 Reasons Why for Netflix, Paramount Television and Anonymous Content.
Caissie Levy plays Diana Goodman. Her theatre credits include Leopoldstadt (Longacre Theatre), The Bedwetter (Linda Gross Theatre), Caroline, or Change (Studio 54), Frozen (St James Theatre), First Daughter Suite (The Public Theatre), Les Misérables (Imperial Theatre), Murder Ballad (Union Square Theatre), Ghost The Musical (Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Piccadilly Theatre, Manchester Opera House), Hair (Gielgud Theatre, Al Hirschfeld Theatre), Wicked (Pantages Theatre, Gershwin Theatre), Hairspray (Neil Simon Theatre and US tour) and Rent (US tour). Her television credits include The Battery’s Down, Creative Galaxy, Gotham, Wishenpoof! And for film; Options and Ms. Bula Banerjee.
Trevor Dion Nicholas plays Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine. His theatre credits include George Washington in the West End production of Hamilton; Preacher in Bonnie & Clyde (Theatre Royal Drury Lane); Disney’s Aladdin – What’s On Stage Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical (West End, Broadway & US Tour); Big River (US Tour); The Wiz; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Ragtime, The Little Mermaid, The Wizard of Oz; Into the Woods; Little Shop of Horrors; Rent; The Exonerated and This is the Life (ETA Hoffman Theatre, Germany). Trevor is the voice of the Ghost of Christmas Present in the Netflix animated film Scrooge: A Christmas Carol. Television credits include: Panellist/Judge on All Star Musicals (ITV); Lester in Moley (Boomerang); The Show Must Go One (Sky Arts); Strictly Come Dancing (BBC); Christmas at the Snow Globe; The Americans, Sunday Night at the Palladium, Royal Variety Performance and Disney’s Broadway Hits at Royal Albert Hall (Emmy Award).
Jack Ofrecio plays Henry. His theatre credits include From Here to Eternity (Charing Cross Theatre), Boys Will Be Boys (Flawstate) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare’s Globe).
Jamie Parker plays Dan. His theatre credits include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Southwark Playhouse Elephant); The Doctor (Harold Pinter Theatre); Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Olivier Award winner for Best Actor and Tony Award nominee for Best Leading Actor in a Play (Palace Theatre/Lyric Theater, Broadway); Guys & Dolls (Chichester Festival Theatre/Savoy Theatre); High Society (The Old Vic); Assassins; Proof (Menier Chocolate Factory); Candida (Theatre Royal Bath); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Leeds Playhouse); Henry V, Henry IV Parts I & II, A New World, As You Like It (Shakespeare’s Globe); Racing Demon (Sheffield Crucible); Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (Chichester Festival Theatre/Theatre Royal Haymarket); My Zinc Bed (Royal & Derngate, Northampton); Revenger’s Tragedy (National Theatre); The History Boys (National Theatre/Broadway); Singer (Kiln Theatre); Between the Crosses (Jermyn Street Theatre); The Gondoliers (Chichester Festival Theatre); and After the Dance (Oxford Stage Company).Television includes: The Long Shadow, Masters of the Air, Becoming Elizabeth, Des, Treadstone, The Cloud, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel, Count Arthur Strong, Lawless, Parade’s End, Silk, The Hour, Burn Up, Horne and Corden, Imagine Van Gogh, Silent Witness, Maxwell, As If, Wire in the Blood and Foyle’s War. Films include: 1917, The Lady in the Van, Le Weekend, Valkyrie and The History Boys.
Jack Wolfe plays Gabe. His theatre credits include Peter in The Magician’s Elephant (RSC); The Snow Queen (Rose Theatre Kingston); The Musician (The Belfast Ensemble); Sweeney Todd (Lyric Theatre Belfast) and Pinocchio (National Theatre). Television includes: Shadow and Bone, Inside No.9 and The Witcher. Film includes: The Magic Flute by Roland Emmerich.
Eleanor Worthington-Cox plays Natalie. Her theatre credits include The Secret Life of Bees (Almeida); Jerusalem (Apollo Theatre);Tom Cat (Southwark Playhouse); Bugsy Malone (Lyric Hammersmith); To Kill a Mockingbird (Regents Park Open Air Theatre) and Matilda: The Musical – Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Cambridge Theatre). Television includes: Britannia, The Irregulars, The Enfield-Haunting, Cucumber and Hetty Feather. Film includes: Gwen, Action Point and Maleficent.
Michael Longhurst is the Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse. For the company, direction includes Private Lives, The Band’s Visit, Force Majeure, Midnight Your Time (lockdown film), Teenage Dick, Europe, Belleville and last summer’s multicast revival of Nick Payne’s Constellations, whichbroke box office records at the Vaudeville and won the 2022 Olivier Award for Best Revival. Constellations previously ran on Broadway (Samuel J Friedman Theater, for MTC), West End (Duke of York’s, Evening Standard Award Best Play), UK tour, originating at the Royal Court. His Chichester Festival Theatre production of Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s Caroline, or Change transferred to Studio 54 for Roundabout Theater on Broadway with Sharon D Clarke reprising her Olivier Award-winning performance (also West End and Hampstead). The Broadway production received three Tony nominations including Best Musical Revival. Other theatre includes Amadeus with the Southbank Sinfonia (National Theatre/NTatHome), The Son (Kiln Theatre/Duke of York’s Theatre), Gloria (Hampstead Theatre), Bad Jews (Theatre Royal Haymarket/Theatre Royal Bath/UK tour & current revival at the Arts), They Drink It In The Congo and Carmen Disruption (Almeida Theatre), ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore, The Winter’s Tale (Shakespeare’s Globe), If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet (Off-Broadway for Roundabout), Linda, The Art of Dying, Remembrance Day (Royal Court Theatre), A Number (Nuffield Southampton Theatres/Young Vic), Cannibals (Royal Exchange Theatre), The History Boys (Sheffield Theatres), Dealer’s Choice (Royal & Derngate), The World of Extreme Happiness (NT Shed), Stovepipe (site-specific promenade with the National Theatre, HighTide and Bush Theatre), Midnight Your Time (HighTide), On The Beach (Bush Theatre), On The Record, Gaudeamus (Arcola Theatre), dirty butterfly (Young Vic – winner of the Jerwood Directors Award) and Guardians (Pleasance/Theatre503 – Fringe First Award).
LISTINGS
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41 Earlham Street, Seven Dials, London WC2H 9LX
Box Office: www.donmarwarehouse.com / 020 3282 3808
PERFORMANCE TIMES
Evenings Mon – Sat: 7.30pm
Matinees Thu & Sat: 2.30pm
TICKET PRICES
£65 / £60 (£55) / £45 (£41) / £23 (£21)
£10 standing tickets
Preview discounts apply to the first four performances only
BARCLAYS UNDER 30s £10 TICKETS
To celebrate our 30th birthday and thanks to generous support from our Associate Sponsor Barclays a limited number of £10 tickets are available for under 30s for every performance.
YOUNG+FREE
YOUNG+FREE tickets for 16–25-year-olds released by ballot. Sign up at www.donmarwarehouse.com.
Generously supported by IHS Markit.
DONMAR DAILY
New tickets on sale every day at the Donmar. Allocations of tickets will be made available every day for performances 7 days later. Tickets will be available across the auditorium at every price band.
ACCESS
The Donmar Warehouse is fully wheelchair accessible. Guide dogs and hearing dogs are welcome in the auditorium. There is a Loop system and a Radio Frequency system fitted in the main auditorium and there are also hearing loops at all the front of house counters.
ASSISTED PERFORMANCES
If you require a companion to attend the Donmar, their ticket will be free. To book call 020 3282 3808 or email [email protected].
For all other access enquiries or bookings call 020 3282 3808.
CAPTIONED PERFORMANCES – 7.30pm (captioned by Stagetext)
Next to Normal: Monday 25th September
AUDIO DESCRIBED PERFORMANCE – 2.30pm (audio-described by VocalEyes)
Next to Normal: Saturday 30th September
BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETED PERFORMANCES – 7.30pm
Next to Normal: Saturday 23rd September 2.30pm