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'Next To Normal': A Character Analysis

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The best word I can think of to describe Next To Normal is cathartic. It’s a very new age show that addresses so many things that have previously been thought to be taboo: mental illness, abuse of drugs and prescription medication, and how exactly someone is supposed to deal with a personal tragedy. I may not personally be struggling with exactly the same things these characters, but I can relate on an emotional level, as can many, many others. I only had one real critique with this show, and that was the overabundance of swearing. A well placed curse to make a point or strike a cord can work, but there were simply too many. A small handful of them worked with the story itself, such as when Natalie botches her piano recital, when her and her …show more content…
I recognised the father from a different show that I had seen here, but he portrayed such a different character that I couldn’t even put my finger on which show it was. Each actor made the characters their own, and each owned their characters so well. In most productions of any show, there is at least one actor who just doesn’t take the part as seriously as the rest of the cast, and acts as a ‘weak link’ of sorts, (I know, I have on occasion been the weak link) but in Next To Normal I could not pick out any cast member who had not put their heart into their role. The entire cast had great chemistry, great delivery, and great character. Each and every one of them was a joy to watch from beginning to …show more content…
It deals with a myriad of difficult topics, and unlike most fictitious works, it doesn’t all work out in the end. There are moral gray areas, and no one character claims true innocence or victimhood. Diana, though sympathetic, causes real pain to her family through her actions, and Dan, in all of his well meaning, only makes the situation worse because he’s trying to hide the pain and protect his wife. This show has real, raw emotions, and it doesn’t try to sell some story that it all works out. It instead presents the much more realistic moral that people have to actually confront their past, pains, and troubles if they ever want to start healing. There is no way to magically make life’s problems

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