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Next to Normal Reimagined as Immersive, Live Event (EXCLUSIVE)

“Next to Normal,” the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning 2009 musical, will be reimagined as a live immersive theatrical event. The new version of the acclaimed production will have its world premiere at the Festival Grec de Barcelona this July.

The show will be presented without sets or props in a 20,000 square-foot venue, utilizing a surround-sound system and 360-degree projections to create an immersive experience that places the audience alongside the actors. It is directed by Simon Pittman and carries the blessing of its writers Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey. 

Alice Ripley, who won a Tony for the original show, will reprise her performance who will be joined live by Andy Señor Jr., Jade Laurel, Eloi Gomez, and Lewis Edgar. Tony Award nominee Adam Pascal will play Dr. Madden/Dr. Fine in a virtual format.

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“Tom and Brian’s beloved ‘Next to Normal’ in this new perspective will make a dramatically soulful impact on the human hearts presented. ‘Next to Normal’ exists to help us find the light,” said Ripley.

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“Tom and I couldn’t be more thrilled that the world will get to see ‘Next to Normal’ in this brand-new way. When we wrote the show, we wanted to bring the audience inside the mind of the lead character—and this incredible new immersive production makes that happen in a bold and amazing fashion,” Yorkey said.

“No doubt ‘Next to Normal’ is the kind of story that can be empowered through this immersive experience for the level of intimacy and direct connection it establishes with audiences all around the world,” said Pablo del Campo, the creative producer who brought the idea to the authors.

“I hope this new immersive experience will intensify the brilliance of the original, and offer a thrilling new perspective to the story,” said Pittman.

“Next to Normal” centers on a mother struggling with bipolar disorder and the effects that her illness has on her family. The musical was nominated for eleven Tony Awards that year and won three.

As part of Festival Grec de Barcelona, the world premiere of “Next to Normal” will take place at IDEAL, a European incubator art center led by Executive Producer Jordi Sellas.

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