Yeah, right? They're all fine-looking people, but when their images are rendered with that much detail and they look like they're people who weren't meant to exist, it's unsettling. I love that, because of what it means to the show.
I love these actors but I agree. I was trying to watch this late at night and when I saw Alice's picture, I was like "There goes sleep". I had to forward it so fast because it scared me. Knowing the subject matter of this show made it scarier. I'm still wondering how much I missed the beginning of the show. I can't bare to even try going back to the beginning.
They worked on this for probably at least 2 years. Even if he had some magic spell that makes you look at him it would've worn off after all that time.
I just noticed that once act II begins we never see Henry doing drugs, and he doesn't even act high. So maybe he realized how badly the drugs effect Natalie, so he's actually trying to get clean and help her.
Definitely a possibility. Also, I know he seems kind of jokingly flippant about Diana's drugs (right before Superboy...), but he probably picked up on Natalie's frustration with all the prescriptions. And taking prescription drugs and even some over the counter meds can be a lot more serious, especially when mixing them, which is what Natalie seems to be doing at the top of Act II.
I personally interpreted it as him realizing how bad of an influence him doing drugs and being high around her is. I personally think that he still is a stoner but chooses not to do it around certain people. From a uh experience that a uh *cough* *cough* friend told me about where uh they chose not to do drugs or he high around other friends because of they’re as self control but uh this friend still did drugs when they weren’t around those specific friends
My daughters were in this show in college. Now I've seen all the recordings. That reprise really gets me. The whole show really. It's incredible. I love it. Love all the casts. Esp the one my daughters were in :)
I also don't like his "Gabe. Gabriel." It's two blunt - it's supposed to be said really softly. Gabe kind of fixes the moment with the little laugh though - overall they did fine.
That was phenomenal. Never have I seen mental disorders portrayed in such a beautiful and profound way. I cried , I laughed, I gawked over Aarons muscles(But I always do). but besides that I got the story from beginning to end. They didn't just tell the story, they were the story. True acting from the entire cast. Lastly the music box scene between Gabe and Diana had me drowning in my own tears. Just AMAZING!!!
Yeah, no. The running theory is that because Diana's mentally ill, she can see him the most, as although she gave Gabe the grief he needed, Dan kept Gabe around by suppressing his grief and feelings in order to help Diana and keep the house going. When Dan was "alone", with no one to suppress his feelings around, he was able to acknowledge Gabe finally. This is why he said he had never been alone, and that he couldn't. He was scared of facing the grief, and often, for many people, being depended on and working is the easiest way to shut it out. Dan was never delusional. Not letting yourself grieve keeps the pain around, like hiding an infected wound until you're dying of sepsis. It can affect everyone around you, not just you. No matter how hard everyone grieves for whoever was lost.
I know this is an old comment but ugh i love this song and the way I interpret this whole bit is like, now that he can focus on himself instead of always trying to be strong for Diana, he's able to face his own denial (a coping mechanism he's shown throughout the story) of his feelings and get some well-needed closure of his own. And the trend of Dan being accepting of those feelings continues in the next scene where he accepts therapy. Hopeful ending!
That part makes me so sad because, over these eighteen years, Dan was unable to grieve his son. He had to be strong and help Diana and, when he finally acknowledged his son Gabe was finally able to leave. In a way, when he asked earlier "who's crazy?", There really both are.
When you finally find out that Gabe is Diana's delusion, and realize that that means his words are also technically her subconscience, it adds SO MUCH. Like in "I am the one", Dan asks Diana to "tell me what to do" and Gabe says "look at me", that's Diana wanting Dan to acknowledge Gabe's existence (or y'know, that he *has* existed) and I just love listening to Gabe's lines with this lens on
So some people say that bootlegs can't capture the power of experiencing musicals live but if I cried this dang much because of a handheld recording then I don't think I would've been able to survive watching this live.
The first time I saw this production live, I felt loads of emotion, for sure. But, for some reason, the second time I saw it, I absolutely lost it and fell completely apart. I was literally sitting in my seat for about 10 or 15 minutes after it ended, sobbing. I wasn't the only one either - there were about 5 others just dotted through the theatre, sobbing. We all kept finally calming down, before looking up at each other, smiling through tears... and then falling apart again. It was a ridiculous but beautiful moment.
OK i thought this was gonna bee a light-hearted musical. Please tell me why I'm up here crying while trying to do my homework. Really should have read the description, but this was absolutely beautiful.
@@razberrymist9475 I thought it was gonna be a comedy based on the title. I knew nothing when my friend bought the tickets. Was bawling like a baby. To this day, this is still my favorite musical. I feel so lucky to have seen the original cast on Broadway.
Sascha Houpt we did this in Schenectady New York. And no we kinda did the colors based on our states of emotion/how far gone we currently were. I started out dark blue, went to purple, then by the end I was in red.
4:30 when I saw it live I nearly died. Dan LOOKS at the kid then ignores him, and foreshadows his own problems and lack of having dealt with Gabe. And Gabe's face when he realizes Dan saw him is so giddy and excited and it's SO much to deal with in one moment.
omg that look at 5:24 from Alice Ripley. Such an obvious little "you see that....thats my son. Im a little crazy. Something isnt right here. You just wait. You'll see". This is why I love bootlegs. Without them, you'd never get to see these little moments.
That happens to me all the time! Well I mean used to before Broadway was canceled, I’d see a show on Broadway and then really get to admire an actor I took for granted when I saw them in stage for the first time djdndndnd welp
The emotion changes so much from 1:57:10 to 1:57:14. It’s goes from holding him down to holding him up and it’s so amazing that the actors can do that is just a few seconds by changing something small about the embrace. Holy moly this musical is amazing and I’m crying.
Then again, this person was filming this show illegally, and it is pretty impossible to do optimal work when you have to hide the fact that you are recording the whole time.
@@malloryfallon6394 He represents unresolved grief. Dan never saw Gabe physically, unlike Diana with her delusions. Dan just suppressed his grief for years, not dealing with it to try and keep his family together, scared of any further grief or pain. Especially with how Gabe stuck with Dan. He didn't go with Diana, because Diana had already grieved, and come to terms with her grief, and began a path to recovery. He stuck to Dan, because Dan was the one holding on. Not Diana. Finally, he acknowledges Gabe, and then Gabe is gone. He no longer really haunts them in the same way, because the validation of that grief was finally acknowledged by Dan himself.
Its 3 am and my tears are running into my hair as a lay back after this. I had heard the music and known the story but the part where Dan finally says Gabe's name got me messed up more then I had been before.
ugh, I think this kind of story is the most tragic, where everyone's doing their best and the love is there, but it just isn't enough. and sometimes people who care about one another aren't what's best for each other. hurts man
I knew nothing about this when I clicked on this video apart from the fact that it was number one on a top musicals of the 21st-century list. Now I understand why, Jesus Christ this was amazing! I just finished it, so I’m kind of at a loss for words. Sorry
I think DEH tackles a different side of mental illness than this (teenagers struggling with anxiety and depression in school) whereas this is about a crazy woman and how it effects her family… but still yeah
@@katiehelms8903 I think DEH tackled it pretty badly. And "a crazy woman" is a VERY simplified way of describing Diana and it's not at all just about her either...
@@welp3974 I know I simplified it, Next to Normal is a very layered musical (and masterful in my opinion). I think Dear Evan Hansen did a pretty good job of capturing anxiety and depression in high school, and one thing I really like about it is the way the protagonist and antagonist are really both the main character. I think it shows the complexity of being a teenager and still figuring out what to do in the world by having the main character screw up really badly, because I think it’s important for teens (like me) to know that even if they’ve done something messed up, it doesn’t make them the bad guy and moving forward is possible. It also really captured the essence of anxiety in high school IMO. I actually prefer Next to Normal as a musical, but do feel the need to point out that it is a whole other situation than DEH - it isn’t trying to do the same thing. DEH isn’t my favorite musical but it is certainly relatable and I understand why it got so popular.
I think there are some interesting similarities between the Murphys and Goodmans and honestly DEH would've been more interesting if it focused on them instead of Evan since they seem to handle the conflict and grief over a troubled son that was abusive, an addict, isolationist and would just be better off if he was gone but then he actually dies and how do you process that. Anyways I like both musicals and I agree N2N captures mental health better
Some people can relate and we're uncomfortable. A lot of doctors will assume feeling nothing = stable. If I didn't have long lasting blunt affect, I would've chuckled too.
I know it's sad but the line was also ironic, especially considering the statement right before that line. Irony is also a technique used to evoke humour.
We're actually singing one of these songs in choir. "I'm alive" it's a great song but I never thought of it like this until I watched the musical that it's with.
Thank you so much for putting this on, i would have never seen it and it was just magnificent, i love this version, in the final number you can hear one of the male cast singing the high note 'sun' and they seemed to have cut it on other versions, it's such a euphoric note, thanks again from the UK
@@tristendiangelo8910 in very basic terms, blue kinda represents ignoring the issues and just pretending everything is fine, whereas red represents actually facing your problems and healing
I’m not sure I buy that. Cuz during “He’s Not Here/You Don’t Know/I Am the One” Diana’s wearing red and she’s very much in the grip of her delusion; and during “Hey #3” there’s blue all over the background and Natalie’s wearing blue, but she’s gaining a bit of security and resolve on moving forward.
I'd need a better recording to be sure, but I think Natalie is mostly in Blue and Gabe is mostly in Red, and Diana is mirroring which one she's actually paying attention to. In the front half she's mostly in red, but in the scenes where she's trying to get her memories back she's in blue because there's nothing in the way of her seeing Natalie. So the purple in the finalie is her dealing with her grief over Gabe and also seeing her daughter for who she is and not who she isn't.
HOLY FUCK. This was the first time I ever watched this musical or listen to omg this was so well done and that lasts nearly light nearly made me cry. It was so relatable just wow.
As a pianist I find it funny how in all productions of Next to Normal I've seen on RU-vid, even the Broadway ones, all of the Natalies can't play the keyboard during Everything Else, and if their keyboards were turned on, it'd sound like they're just smashing the keys over and over 🤣
I’m also a pianist, but I think playing the piano like that while singing the song and acting and portraying this role would take away from the performance a little bit, for attention to a small detail that the majority of the audience wouldn’t notice. So even though I’m a classical pianist (I’ve played while singing before as well), I think if I portrayed the role I’d probably have somebody else actually playing while I smashed the keyboard senselessly and focused on portraying the character
For me listening to walk with me in my mind I imagined it being Gabe talking to Natalie and he’s telling to walk towards a door and at first she’s just thinking that it’s her own idea, but the she talks to him and it’s the start of her being like her mom. Then Gabe leads her to his old bedroom and she looks around for the first time, but I guess I was wrong. 🤷🏼♂️
Sometimes Natalie’s and Diana’s voices sound similar, and in the soundtrack the doc is singing in Gabe’s register during “Walk with Me”. I made the same mistake.
Oh shoot…this musical got me when Dianna’s new therapist ask her to tell him about the last time she felt truly happy…and I realized I couldn’t answer that question if I’d been asked myself. Gut wrenching.
Hey all, a new download link has been added in the description under this video. I'm also in the process of setting up links for the other videos. (You will not need any account to access these links.) I'm hoping that the server will be able to handle the demand, and that this will be more convenient for you guys. As always, feel free to message me with any questions.
@@razberrymist9475 Billy Elliot won that year. Alice Ripley _did_ get Best Leading Actress though and this show was one of only ten Broadway shows to win the Pulitzer for Drama, so who's the real winner here lol