'Next to Normal' comes to Manila

MANILA, Philippines - Atlantis Productions — which celebrated its 2010 Season with hit productions of Avenue Q, Legally Blonde, Xanadu and the Manila and Singapore runs of A Little Night Music — opens its 2011 Season with the Tony Award and Pulitzer-Prize winning rock musical Next to Normal.

Tom Kitt (music) and Brian Yorkey (book/lyrics) penned the emotional work that puts a woman’s lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder and depression center stage. The two earned the 2009 Tony Award for Best Score and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Kitt and Yorkey reflected on their work in an interview with Playbill.com following their Pulitzer Prize win. “Without Rent and Stephen Sondheim, there is no Next to Normal,” Kitt said. “I think that we’ve always been moved and inspired to write material that maybe says something a little different through musical theater. I think at the very beginning, when we set out to write this, we just wanted to write something that mattered to us, something that felt maybe that it hadn’t been explored in musical theater before. But never could we have imagined in our wildest dreams that we’d be here.”

Fresh from his critically acclaimed staging of A Little Night Music in Manila and Singapore, Bobby Garcia directs the Manila production of Next to Normal, which is the first licensed English language production outside the United States. Garcia says, “I am thrilled that Atlantis is opening 2011 with a show as groundbreaking and as powerful as Next to Normal. It is one of the most unlikely hit musicals to have ever opened on a Broadway stage, and I am thrilled that we will get to create our own unique family for this production. When I saw Next to Normal off-Broadway two years ago and on Broadway last year, I was once again excited for the future of musical theater.”

One of Philippine musical theater’s most accomplished actresses Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo (as Diana) and rock star/theater actor Jett Pangan (as Dan) star in Next to Normal. They take on two of the most demanding roles written for musical theater originated on the Broadway stage by Tony Award-winning actress Alice Ripley and J.Robert Spencer. It is presented through a special licensing agreement with Music Theater International.

Shows are also now available for show-buying and fund-raising opportunities with excellent returns on your investment. It is the perfect show to raise money for your organization, foundation or charity.

Next to Normal runs from March 11 to 27, 2011 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati. For information call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187.