`` Next Up Normal `` : A Family Struggling With The Ups And Downs Of Surviving A Mental Illness

1299 Words6 Pages
“Next to Normal” is about a family struggling with the ups and downs of surviving a mental illness. Following the lives of this very dysfunctional family, the playwright touches on what families living with a mental disease have to go through on a daily basis. This musical attempts to shine a light on the stigma associated with being “normal” and how anything other than normal is seen as unacceptable and needs to be “fixed.” The musical deals with heavy themes such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and suicide.
The storyline centers on the life of the matriarch of the family, Diana. After the traumatizing and unexpected loss of her son Gabe, Diana loses herself. She struggles to accept that her son has passed and it has begun to consume her life. Diana eventually develops Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (which progresses into Bipolar disorder). Stemming from this illness, Diana is unable to normally participate in everyday life and spirals out of control. She has vivid hallucinations about her son and cannot cope. Eventually, after dozens of trial medicines, electro shock therapy seems to be her only hope of a “normal” life. This musical daringly tries to portray the roller-coaster ride she is experiencing.
Another thematic element explored within “Next to Normal” was depression. This hopeless feeling is expressed right from the start of the musical with the song Just Another Day. Each of the family recounts how they should be enjoying their lives but for each

More about `` Next Up Normal `` : A Family Struggling With The Ups And Downs Of Surviving A Mental Illness

Get Access