Twist In The Story Keeps ‘next to normal’ Spinning
August 30, 2017 at 6:19 p.m.
Twist In The Story Keeps ‘next to normal’ Spinning
By David [email protected]
“It’s about a family and their struggle with mental health issues. It has a very rock score, so if you enjoyed ‘Rent’ you’ll really enjoy this one,” said Eckhoff, who plays Gabe in the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts’ production of the musical.
“And there’s an awesome plot twist in this play, and we don’t want to spoil it or anything, but it comes as quite a shock and it really sets up for the rest of the story for the musical,” Plyler added.
She plays Natalie Goodman, the daughter in the show.
Wagon Wheel’s “next to normal” premiered Tuesday night at the theater and continues through Sunday. Tickets are available at the box office or through the website at wagonwheelcenter.org.
“You have to come see it,” Plyler said. “It’s so different, and it’s not only amazing in the depth of the characters and the depth of the story, but amazing in the portrayal of the story through the music and how this rock music really does speak to the soul of the characters.”
Eckhoff said, “It’s like an operetta, too, so once the music starts it kind of just runs. There’s hardly any scene work. If there is scene work, it’s underscored by Tom Kitt’s music.”
Kitt wrote the show’s music, with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey. They put the musical together over six years, and it addresses grief, suicide, drug abuse and modern psychiatry.
The show opened in April 2009 on Broadway, winning three of its 11 Tony nominations. In 2010, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, becoming only the eighth musical in history to receive the honor. The prior musical to win the Pulitzer was “Rent” in 1996, which the Wagon Wheel Theatre performed for an encore show in 2014.
Plyler, whom audiences may remember as Smitty in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,”?Miss Preen in “The Man Who Came To Dinner,” Marty in “Grease” or Joanie Lish in “The Full Monty” in 2016, said it was quite an honor to be a part of “next to normal.”
“It’s quite an honor just to try and emulate what this author has laid out in front of us; (it’s) not only heartbreaking, but just eye-opening into a world that not a lot of people really realize but a lot of people are in,” she said.
Audiences may remember Eckhoff from his roles during the 2016 season, including Bud Frump in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” Professor Metz in “The Man Who Came To Dinner,” Kenickie in “Grease,” Ethan Girard in “The Full Monty” and Lumiere in “Beauty & The Beast.”
He said “next to normal” was the show where he “caught the bug of musical theater. It’s very powerful. You come into the show and you leave the show changed. It’s that good. It’s an honor to be able to perform it.”
The musical is about a mother, Diana Goodman, who has been dealing with bipolar disorder for years, and the effects it has on her family. Wagon Wheel veteran Kira Lace Hawkins plays Diana, with David Schlumpf playing her husband, Dan Goodman.
Plyler and Eckhoff said mental illnesses can affect anyone and their families.
“I feel like, especially nowadays, me being a millennial, a lot of kids these days are pressured by social media and all these different outlets that, we start to feel the anxiety and depression,” Plyler said. “That’s a minuscule scale, but I think everyone has been depressed at some point in their lives and gone through grief or sadness or loss.”
Eckhoff agreed:“A lot of millennials, when they start to feel a little bit of anxiety and whatnot, they’re told to be medicated. And this show is highly about medication for depression and for anxiety and for other mental health issues. It just gives you a whole new light as to what chemicals are we putting into our brains that 600 years ago in the Dark Ages we didn’t have but people still continue to live on. It makes you really question what modern medicine has been doing to our culture.”
He said the whole story is left “very open” at the end.
“You take what you get from it, which I think is the most important part of the play, is that there is no set lesson. The lesson is what you take from the characters and their story,” Plyler said.
The musical only has six characters. Eckhoff said the focus is sharper with a smaller cast because there are fewer people to rely on.
“You have to give 100 percent all the time, and it’s also just more work for everyone involved. Because we’re doing a two-hour show with a full-sized musical, some people will be in only a few numbers, but with this we all have multiple scenes we’re in and take part of and (work) the story. It’s really cool,” he said.
Plyler said the music in the show ranges from rock ballads to metal.
“I feel like that emotional scale is just so telling in this play because you just feel it. It gets right into your gut,” she said. “Sometimes, I’m just in the lobby waiting to go on and I’m just rocking out like freaking out over here because it’s just so powerful. And the voices, and the music and the underscoring is all just so riveting.”
The orchestra pit consists of a percussionist, a guitarist, a bassist, pianist, a cellist and a violinist.
“So you get a wide range. It’s not just all hard rock metal. You can get some really sweet string moments as well,” Eckhoff said.
Plyler said she loves the song “You Don’t Know,” which Hawkins sings. “She just kills the singing and kills the acting and it’s so specific with her moments. It’s quite a scene to watch, her and David (Schlumpf) both. They’re a power couple on stage. Truly, truly remarkable.”
The number that Eckhoff said makes him really sad is the title song “next to normal” in Act II.
“It just really is so tender and beautiful,” he said.
He encouraged people to give “next to normal” a chance.
“It is a newer musical, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worse than the older musicals,” he said. “It’s something fresh that is a part of all of our lives. All of us know at least one person that struggles with mental illness. ... You enter the show and you leave the show thinking.”
To see the complete video of the interview with Eckhoff and Plyler, visit the free video section of the Times-Union website at www.timesuniononline.com.
“It’s about a family and their struggle with mental health issues. It has a very rock score, so if you enjoyed ‘Rent’ you’ll really enjoy this one,” said Eckhoff, who plays Gabe in the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts’ production of the musical.
“And there’s an awesome plot twist in this play, and we don’t want to spoil it or anything, but it comes as quite a shock and it really sets up for the rest of the story for the musical,” Plyler added.
She plays Natalie Goodman, the daughter in the show.
Wagon Wheel’s “next to normal” premiered Tuesday night at the theater and continues through Sunday. Tickets are available at the box office or through the website at wagonwheelcenter.org.
“You have to come see it,” Plyler said. “It’s so different, and it’s not only amazing in the depth of the characters and the depth of the story, but amazing in the portrayal of the story through the music and how this rock music really does speak to the soul of the characters.”
Eckhoff said, “It’s like an operetta, too, so once the music starts it kind of just runs. There’s hardly any scene work. If there is scene work, it’s underscored by Tom Kitt’s music.”
Kitt wrote the show’s music, with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey. They put the musical together over six years, and it addresses grief, suicide, drug abuse and modern psychiatry.
The show opened in April 2009 on Broadway, winning three of its 11 Tony nominations. In 2010, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, becoming only the eighth musical in history to receive the honor. The prior musical to win the Pulitzer was “Rent” in 1996, which the Wagon Wheel Theatre performed for an encore show in 2014.
Plyler, whom audiences may remember as Smitty in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,”?Miss Preen in “The Man Who Came To Dinner,” Marty in “Grease” or Joanie Lish in “The Full Monty” in 2016, said it was quite an honor to be a part of “next to normal.”
“It’s quite an honor just to try and emulate what this author has laid out in front of us; (it’s) not only heartbreaking, but just eye-opening into a world that not a lot of people really realize but a lot of people are in,” she said.
Audiences may remember Eckhoff from his roles during the 2016 season, including Bud Frump in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” Professor Metz in “The Man Who Came To Dinner,” Kenickie in “Grease,” Ethan Girard in “The Full Monty” and Lumiere in “Beauty & The Beast.”
He said “next to normal” was the show where he “caught the bug of musical theater. It’s very powerful. You come into the show and you leave the show changed. It’s that good. It’s an honor to be able to perform it.”
The musical is about a mother, Diana Goodman, who has been dealing with bipolar disorder for years, and the effects it has on her family. Wagon Wheel veteran Kira Lace Hawkins plays Diana, with David Schlumpf playing her husband, Dan Goodman.
Plyler and Eckhoff said mental illnesses can affect anyone and their families.
“I feel like, especially nowadays, me being a millennial, a lot of kids these days are pressured by social media and all these different outlets that, we start to feel the anxiety and depression,” Plyler said. “That’s a minuscule scale, but I think everyone has been depressed at some point in their lives and gone through grief or sadness or loss.”
Eckhoff agreed:“A lot of millennials, when they start to feel a little bit of anxiety and whatnot, they’re told to be medicated. And this show is highly about medication for depression and for anxiety and for other mental health issues. It just gives you a whole new light as to what chemicals are we putting into our brains that 600 years ago in the Dark Ages we didn’t have but people still continue to live on. It makes you really question what modern medicine has been doing to our culture.”
He said the whole story is left “very open” at the end.
“You take what you get from it, which I think is the most important part of the play, is that there is no set lesson. The lesson is what you take from the characters and their story,” Plyler said.
The musical only has six characters. Eckhoff said the focus is sharper with a smaller cast because there are fewer people to rely on.
“You have to give 100 percent all the time, and it’s also just more work for everyone involved. Because we’re doing a two-hour show with a full-sized musical, some people will be in only a few numbers, but with this we all have multiple scenes we’re in and take part of and (work) the story. It’s really cool,” he said.
Plyler said the music in the show ranges from rock ballads to metal.
“I feel like that emotional scale is just so telling in this play because you just feel it. It gets right into your gut,” she said. “Sometimes, I’m just in the lobby waiting to go on and I’m just rocking out like freaking out over here because it’s just so powerful. And the voices, and the music and the underscoring is all just so riveting.”
The orchestra pit consists of a percussionist, a guitarist, a bassist, pianist, a cellist and a violinist.
“So you get a wide range. It’s not just all hard rock metal. You can get some really sweet string moments as well,” Eckhoff said.
Plyler said she loves the song “You Don’t Know,” which Hawkins sings. “She just kills the singing and kills the acting and it’s so specific with her moments. It’s quite a scene to watch, her and David (Schlumpf) both. They’re a power couple on stage. Truly, truly remarkable.”
The number that Eckhoff said makes him really sad is the title song “next to normal” in Act II.
“It just really is so tender and beautiful,” he said.
He encouraged people to give “next to normal” a chance.
“It is a newer musical, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worse than the older musicals,” he said. “It’s something fresh that is a part of all of our lives. All of us know at least one person that struggles with mental illness. ... You enter the show and you leave the show thinking.”
To see the complete video of the interview with Eckhoff and Plyler, visit the free video section of the Times-Union website at www.timesuniononline.com.
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