"Next to Normal" at the Academy of Music

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - June 12, 2011

Next to Normal is the story of a family struggling to take care of themselves and each other as they face a slew of obstacles. Alice Ripley won the Tony award for her portrayal of Diana, a mother who suffers from worsening bi-polar disease.

Matt Wolf, VP of Programming at the Kimmel Center said, "It's the kind of show where you really have to see and I don't want to ruin it because it's really such a special journey. The show has such a wonderful way of impacting every single set of people who go to see it differently."

The Tony award winning music is a dense and varied score of contemporary rock with dabblings in traditional music theatre.

"It's fresh and exciting music and the truth is the content in the show is different. It's new. It's something that no other show I've seen really takes on head-to-head and I think that in order to successfully accomplish this, you really needed to have a score that's as unique as the book and the lyrics," said Wolf.

Originally entitled Feeling Electric, the show started as a short sketch but in 2009 became a tear-jerking tour-de-force on Broadway.

Wolf adds, "This is really a story about hope and about healing and about overcoming obstacles and about freedom at the end of the day."

Next to Normal runs June 21st to the 26th at the Academy of Music. For tickets and show times, go to http://kimmelcenter.org.

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