Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Prelude
2. Just Another Day
3. Everything Else
4. Who's Crazy/My Psychopharmacologist and I
5. Perfect for You
6. I Miss the Mountains
7. It's Gonna Be Good
8. He's Not Here
9. You Don't Know
10. I Am the One
11. Superboy and the Invisible Girl
12. I'm Alive
13. Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I'm Falling
14. I Dreamed a Dance
15. There's a World
16. I've Been
17. Didn't I See This Movie?
18. A Light in the Dark

Disc 2:

1. Wish I Were Here
2. Song of Forgetting
3. Hey #1
4. Seconds and Years
5. Better Than Before
6. Aftershocks
7. Hey #2
8. You Don't Know (Reprise)
9. How Could I Ever Forget?
10. It's Gonna Be Good (Reprise)
11. Why Stay?/A Promise
12. I'm Alive (Reprise)
13. The Break
14. Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I'm Falling (Reprise)
15. Maybe (Next to Normal)
16. Hey #3/Perfect for You (Reprise)
17. So Anyway
18. I Am The One (Reprise)
19. Light

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #619 in Music
• Released on: 2009-05-12
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Cast Recording
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Album Description
Next to Normal has been described as a contemporary musical that explores how one suburban household copes with crisis. With provocative lyrics and an electrifying score of more than 30 original songs, Next to Normal shows how far two parents will go to keep themselves sane and their family's world intact. Next to Normal recently received five Helen Hayes Award nominations for its Arena Stage engagement, including Outstanding Non-Resident Production, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Non-Resident Production (Alice Ripley), Outstanding Lead Actor in a Non-Resident Production (J.Robert Spencer), and Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Non-Resident Production (Aaron Tveit and Jennifer Damiano). For its sold-out Second Stage Theatre engagement, Next to Normal won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Score and also received the following accolades: Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Featured Actor (Aaron Tveit), and Outstanding Lighting Design (Kevin Adams); Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley) and Outstanding Music; Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical and Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley); and a Drama League nomination for Outstanding Musical, among others.

Customer Reviews

The best new Broadway score of the season
"Next to Normal," with music by Tom Kitt and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, is the kind of cast recording I respond to immediately, in which the music is in perfect synch with the plot. The songs are not just "songs," but extensions of the characters--direct outpourings of their emotions. Musical fans know it's not just about a catchy melody or lyric--the music has to hook into your emotions in an almost intangible way. On the best cast recordings, you don't have to listen to an entire "song"--sometimes just a mere musical phrase or dramatic moment can tingle the spine. I suppose, in theory, good musicals should always do this, but the last time I felt a musical worked this well, particularly in a sung-through style, was "Caroline, or Change." There are no clunky moments here--just two discs of musical theater bliss.

Like "Caroline," "Next to Normal," features a nimble, varied score--here it ranges from pop, rock, to folk, even a waltz and a hilarious Rodgers and Hammerstein parody. It's hard to pin down the sound exactly-- which is one of the great pleasures of the recording. Another pleasure is the cast. The fantastic (and soon-to-be Tony winner) Alice Ripley is Diana, a suburban mom in the throes of bipolar disorder. She's well matched with J. Robert Spencer, affecting as her well meaning but hopelessly enabling husband. Jennifer Damiano and Aaron Tveit make strong impressions as the struggling teens rounding out the family, and Adam Chanler-Berat and Louis Hobson add fine support in smaller roles. Singing Yorkey's smart and perceptive lyrics, the cast gives full due to the weighty subject matter. This is certainly the best new Broadway score of the year, and a superb cast recording. Not to be missed.

Amazing Cast, Music
Saw this musical last month in New York and was completely entertained. While the subject matter seems unusual for a musical, the cast was amazing & the score was a powerful force - and gets better and better with repeat listenings.

Starring Alice Ripley (Side Show, Rocky Horror Show) and J. Robert Spencer (Jersey Boys), the interplay of both delicate ballads and edgy rockers reflects the ever-changing moods of a household dealing with bipolar issues. Aaron Tveit (robbed of a Tony nomination) and Jennifer Damiano are also terrific.

Best tracks:

Just Another Day
I Miss The Mountains
You Don't Know
I Am The One
Superboy and the Invisible Girl
I'm Alive
I've Been
Light

A Terrific Score
This isn't your "feel good" musical - it's a "feel everything" musical, with no easy answers, but plenty of heart and a fine cast that brings to vivid life a story of a troubled family that has at its core a wife and mother (played by the glittering Alice Ripley) with bipolar disorder. It's very moving and surprisingly funny. I bought this CD two weeks ago at the Broadway show's intermission because I knew I would want to hear these songs again. Get the recording - see the show!