Metropolitan Performing Arts Community Theater presents: “Next to Normal”

An unflinching look at a suburban family struggling with the effects of mental illness. With book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt, it is the Winner of three 2009 Tony Awards, including Best Musical Score and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. Next to Normal was also chosen as “one of the year’s ten best shows” by critics around the country, including The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone and The New York Times. Dad’s an architect; Mom rushes to pack lunches and pour cereal; their daughter and son are bright, wise-cracking teens, appearing to be a typical American family. And yet their lives are anything but normal because the mother has been battling bipolar disorder for 16 years. Next to Normal takes audiences into the minds and hearts of each character, presenting their family’s story with love, sympathy and heart. Next to Normal is an emotional powerhouse that addresses such issues as grieving a loss, ethics in modern psychiatry, and suburban life.