Baum and Chambers Lead BRT's NEXT TO NORMAL to Artistic Heights, Both Expected and Unexpected

Megan Murphy Chambers' searing, shattering portrayal of Diana Goodman in Boiler Room Theatre's stellar production of next to normal, the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning musical now onstage through June 16, may well prove to be the season's most memorable performance by an actress in a musical, but director Jamey Green has surrounded her with an exceptional cast of actors who match her blow-for-blow with their own stunning performances.

In fact, in the retrospect afforded me by twelve hours, I have to admit that the production's most revelatory performance is delivered by Mike Baum, as the long-suffering and beleaguered Dan Goodman, Diana's stalwart and steadfast husband. That doesn't mean Chambers' performance is anything less than the spectacular onstage turn that it is-but, truth be told, it was expected from her. When word of her casting became publicly known, it is safe to say that 99% of the theater-going public (and actors themselves) agreed that Chambers' casting was indeed perfect. And she delivers exactly what we all hoped for, showing off the versatility, the confidence and the presence that has long identified her as one of the very best to be found onstage.

Baum, of course, has a resume that is just as impressive as Chambers'-in the past year alone he's displayed his all-encompassing range while playing such disparate characters as Brad in The Rocky Horror Show, Bobby in Company and three different roles in Pacific Overtures-but his portrayal of Dan is breathtakingly heartfelt, deeply moving and allows him to show everything that he is capable of bringing to the most challenging of roles. Clearly, Baum's is the eye-opening performance of this production, which marks the musical's Middle Tennessee premiere.

Riveted to their seats, audience members remain hushed and almost reverent throughout the two-plus hours of the show which commands their rapt attention and which demands their complete involvement just as certainly as Green demands it of his cast, musicians and creative team.

Green's casting of Chambers and Baum-along with the other four actors who people the complex and provocative musical-elevates next to normal from "just another show" at BRT (which was named as First Night's Outstanding Theater Company of 2011) to such artistic heights that it leaves audiences spent, gasping for breath while stifling sobs (both from the dramatic nature of the plot, but also from the pride and amazement one feels at witnessing such a joyful-yes, joyful-theatrical expression), yet eager to watch it all over again. And again.

next to normal, with music by Tom Kitt and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, is described as "a rock musical," and some of the music, indeed, is heavily rock-influenced, but don't think for even a second that this work of art can't be placed firmly among the list of shows that we usually think of when we think of musical theater. The songs do what is expected in musicals-propelling the story forward, elaborating on the plot developments and furthering the aims of the writers in creating something larger than life-but they transcend any stagebound convention, becoming instead something new and unique in the constantly evolving and organic process known as theater.

Green does double-duty as the production's musical director and there is no one more accomplished and disciplined as he to bring the music to life. With a musical ensemble that includes Rick Malkin on percussion, Doug Bright on bass, Dale Herr on guitars, Diedra Emerson on cello and Charis Mackrell on violin, with Green conducting and on keyboards, Kitt's score is performed with passion and alacrity, lending expert support to the efforts of the six-person cast.

In fact, next to normal-which is almost completely sung-through-might be more akin to opera than musical comedy, what with its serious overtones and its treatment of subjects heretofore considered off-limits to people working in this particular genre. The play's opening sequence, "Just Another Day" starts out in a high-spirited, almost comical manner, but it's not long before you sense that all is not right in the Goodman home: The scene that began with Diana waiting up for the late arrival of her 17-year-old son from a night presumably on the town, and the hustle and bustle of a middle-class suburban family getting ready for a typically busy day, ends with Diana on the floor, manically assembling sandwiches and losing touch with her fast-fading semblance of reality.

Jeffrey Ellis is a Nashville-based writer, editor and critic, who's been covering the performing arts in Tennessee for more than 25 years. He is the recipient of the Tennessee Theatre Association's Distinguished Service Award for his coverage of theatre in the Volunteer State and was the founding editor/publisher of Stages, the Tennessee Onstage Monthly. He is a past fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center and is the founder/executive producer of The First Night Honors, held during Labor Day Weekend, which honor oustanding theater artists in Tennessee in recognition of their lifetime achievements and includes The First Night Star Awards and the Most Promising Actors. Midwinter's First Night, held the first Sunday in January after New Year's Day, honors outstanding productions and performances throughout the state. Further, Ellis directed the Nashville premiere of La Cage Aux Folles, The Last Night of Ballyhoo and An American Daughter, as well as award-winning productions of Damn Yankees, Company, Gypsy and The Rocky Horror Show, with Ellis honored by The Tennessean as best director of a musical for both Company and Rocky Horror.

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