High Tide Theatrical stages powerful musical 'Next To Normal' (2024)

High Tide Theatrical is taking some big swings in its first full season of shows. The combination of a powerhouse cast, an up-and-coming director and a Pulitzer Prize-winning script give its latest production all the makings of a hit.

“Next To Normal” runs Aug. 16-24 at the Lighthouse Lounge, located next door to Martha’s Vineyard in downtown Springfield. It is believed to be the Springfield debut of the rock musical, which was nominated for 11 Tony Awards in 2009 — including Best Musical — and took home the honor for Best Original Score. “Next To Normal” won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2010.

Despite its newness to the Queen City, director Joshua David Smith and lead actor Sally Trtan have deep connections to the powerful play.

“I actually saw this show on Broadway with the original cast.” Smith said before rehearsal Aug. 13. “It was my first Broadway show I ever saw and I fell in love with it. Then when it first went on tour, I saw it when it opened in Denver, so I’ve already had a very strong emotional connection to the show.

“It falls right in line with High Tide’s mission to be accessible and relatable, and tell genuine stories and just try to be there for the community.”

The musical examines the impact of bipolar disorder on a family

“Next To Normal” explores how one suburban household copes with crisis and mental illness.

Diana (played by Trtan) is the family’s matriarch, who lives with bipolar disorder and is haunted by the death of her infant son nearly 16 years ago. Diana lives with her husband, Dan (played by Seth Dylan Hunt), and overachieving daughter Natalie (Teghan Hailey Jade, in her second High Tide show this season), a high school student and piano player. “Next To Normal” takes audiences into the minds and hearts of each character and shares their sides of the story.

High Tide’s cast also includes Miles Stamper, Colter Camp, Kaitlyn Wilson and understudy Nick Harms. Kathryn Cole is the music director for “Next To Normal,” while Michelle Scott is the assistant director. Smith also serves as High Tide’s artistic director.

See Also

Fatal moped accident reported near Big Bridge - The Martha's Vineyard Times25 years after her tragic death, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy remains a beautiful enigmaThe Black Dog: The story behind the beloved companyStates of Mind: The death of Ethen Cunningham — Part 2 | Peninsula Clarion

“Next To Normal” was written by Brian Yorkey, with music by Tom Kitt. High Tide has rated the show PG-13 for strong adult language, drug abuse, mental illness and suicide. It depicts mental health conditions and disorders — including bipolar disorder, anxiety and grief — and includes depictions and discussions of drug use, self-harm, death and medical trauma.

Director keeps rehearsals light in effort to boost the cast’s morale

Staging a play with such challenging themes isn’t easy and it requires finding just the right actors. Smith said once you’ve found the right cast, everything else works out.

“It’s a balance of finding the talent but also finding the professionalism and responsibility that these people feel for portraying this story, because it’s very important and it’s heavy,” Smith said.

Smith said there isn’t a weak link in the cast and the actors all bonded together quickly. That bond is vital.

“This show is all relationship-based,” Smith said. “We’re dealing with a family and we’re dealing with romantic relationships, so them already being comfortable with each other really helps with the chemistry and reads better on the stage.”

For Smith’s part, he’s had to find ways to keep rehearsals from becoming too heavy.

“I always want to make sure that — since it is such a heavy show — these actors feel like they leave in a better mood than when they arrived,” he said. “So I try to keep the rehearsal process very light, friendly and fun at all times, just to kind of combat the darker elements of the show that we have to face every night.

“Everyone in there is a family. We’ve all gotten really close to each other and we’re just having a blast.”

Sally Trtan plays dream role in her dream show

They’re also having a lot of laughs to offset the subjects they portray.

“We definitely manage it by being very goofy outside of the rehearsal period,” Trtan said. “So when we’re getting ready or we have some breaks, we just tease each other and make each other laugh and try to lighten it up.”

That closeness is apparent when Trtan and Hunt are on stage together. Trtan said Hunt — whose resume includes time with the Municipal Theatre of St. Louis — has provided an amazing support system.

“He and I have really helped each other kind of stay in a safe area of our emotions and talk through everything to make sure that we’re comfortable with each other and where we’re trying to push each other to go emotionally,” said Trtan, a veteran player of Springfield’s stages. “It’s a lot of communication and then a lot of laughter when we’re not in the scenes.”

This is Trtan’s dream show and dream role. She, like Smith, fell in love with “Next To Normal” years ago and feels deeply connected to the script.

“I just immediately connected with Natalie, because she was around the same age as me at the time, and Diana has always been someone I really related to because I myself have major depressive disorder,” Trtan said. “So there are some similarities between who she is and things that I’ve dealt with in my life.

“I just felt like it was a really important story because there haven’t been many musicals that have dealt with mental health and especially not female mental health, so it just felt very important.”

Smith is happy to have her in the cast.

“She’s an incredible powerhouse talent,” Smith said. “She’s done a few shows lately here in Springfield, but she’s one that comes out for a show that she’s actually really passionate about, so we’re glad to have her.”

‘This could definitely happen to anybody’

It’s not hard for Trtan to pick a favorite moment in the show. When asked, she quickly pointed to a scene where Diana tries to explain to Dan what it feels like to be her.

“It’s very emotional and it’s very raw,” Trtan said. “She kind of faces that struggle of getting someone to understand something that they can’t unless they feel it, which is a lot of what happens with mental health. You can only understand so much unless you’ve been there yourself.”

Trtan has, and she hopes her performance in “Next To Normal” will help audiences get a deeper knowledge of what it’s like to deal with mental health issues on a day-to-day basis.

“And to understand the struggles that people are going through and that they don’t necessarily intend to hurt the people around them,” she said. “It’s unfortunately just kind of a side-effect, essentially, of some heavier diagnoses. And I hope they have just a little more empathy for people. I think it’s a really broad-reaching story and I think a lot of people will be able to relate to it even if they didn’t think they would.”

Smith also hopes the audience finds a way to relate to the story in some capacity.

“It’s a very real story,” he said. “This could definitely happen to anybody. That’s why it’s called ‘Next To Normal,’ it could happen to your next-door neighbor and you wouldn’t even realize it. It’s just letting people know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, there are people dealing with this and they’re not alone. It’s a lot more common than you realize and a light needs to be shined on it.”