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I've been aware of Next to Normal for several years now and have listened to the cast recording end-to-end several times. Needless to say that when a filmed version was available, I was very excited. Glad to say it did not disappoint.

If I had to describe the show in three words, it would be gripping, human, and evocative. The cast is small (no extras) and the set is confined to the living room, so it's a very intimate show. You feel every bit of emotion. The cast is wonderful top to bottom. Huge props to Caissie Levy, what a sympathetic but suffering Diana. Jamie Parker was so good as Dan, could've easily been whiny but walks the fine line to be so gut wrenching. Eleanor Worthington-Cox really exceeded my expectations. My first impressions of Natalie was flat, but she really gave the character so much texture. Jack Wolfe, wow! Angelic yet so haunting, you feel his presence is so menacing yet so beautiful. Really draws you in to Gabe the idea and the character. Direction too was extremely clever. So many parallels drawn that I didn't realize were there, really put Matthew Longhurst on my radar.

Come prepared because you will be shattered.

The most powerfully emotional musical I have ever seen is Dear Evan Hanson (on stage, not the film) and, I am rather shocked to say, this show equals it.

The emotional journey of this family as they deal with the mother's mental illness is overwhelming. You are completely drawn in, sharing their pain and confusion and loss and the deep love that just can't seem to heal that loss and bring them back together.

They are completely believable as a family, exhibiting love, affection, annoyance, anger, recrimination - all the complications of family relationships, but pushed to extremes by the mother's illness and the unspoken loss they have suffered and the struggle to repair the damage.

There is humor as well, amidst the anguish, showing that each character is more than just the sum of their pain. These are real, three-dimensional people that you totally believe and come to deeply care about.

The show is perfectly cast with each actor brilliantly manifesting their character and each with a phenomenal voice that could not possibly be improved upon. Caissie Levy and Jack Wolfe create a beautiful, albeit dysfunctional bond as do each of the other actors. I honestly can't imagine anyone else playing these roles. A perfect cast.

There is little dialogue with the vast majority of the show being sung and the songs are perfect: baring their souls, expressing pain and longing and love and, yes, even some humor. And there is no easy, pat conclusion; by the end, you will be heartbroken and yet, somehow, also inspired.

This is not a show with a happy, sentimental conclusion or a devastating, tragic conclusion but a story that is as honest and complex and deeply emotional as real life.