One More Musical for the Year

This year has seen quite a drop in the number of shows we normally see. In fact, I think the last performance was Peter Pan way back at the beginning of November. A month ago, though, Caesar bought tickets for one final show to finish out the year. Which is great as I was beginning to experience withdrawals.

And going to the theater always means trying a new restaurant. This time, he happened to find The Local Place, a coffee shop run by King's Hawaiian and situated next door to their bakery. It's a cute little place, located just a few off-ramps from us on the 405 North and complete with a mini store with all their baked goods -- from loaves of sweet bread to chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies. I ordered a Hawaiian Bento Box filled with rice, potato salad, Hawaiian fried chicken, shredded pork and teriyaki chicken; Caesar's plate came with ribs, Hawaiian fried chicken and kim chee. And it was delicious! The fried chicken was a little sweeter than what I would have expected, and the ribs were tender and tasted like candy.

After dinner, we sped up the freeway to the Ahmanson for Tuesday night's performance of Next To Normal. The show centers on Diana, a woman dealing with bi-polar disorder and depression. Her husband Dan does whatever he can to make home life easier for her, but the constant visits to the doctor with no visible changes are beginning to wear on both him and their relationship. Their daughter Natalie always seems to feel left out no matter how hard she tries in school and at home, but finds herself resorting to other means to bring some kind of normalcy to her life.

I know -- not your typical musical theater fare. We even talked about that on the drive home. 10-15 years ago, this subject matter probably would not have made for a show, unless somehow they managed to lighten it up, make the doctor visits more fluffy and comical. What we both liked about Next To Normal is that the writers didn't sugarcoat anything. Diana's experiences with depression and mental illness and how her doctors handle treatment were right on the money, very stark and sometimes scary. Alice Ripley -- who earned a Tony award for her portrayal of Diana -- reprised her role here in Los Angeles, and it was easy to see why she deserved that award. She carries out all the hesitant movements and the uncertainty of what is and isn't real in Diana's mind with finesse, and she can belt out a song without any effort at all. In fact, the entire cast performed the same way, from Asa Somers' Dan to Emma Hunton's Natalie and Curt Hansen's Gabe. A stellar cast that I felt treated the material and the story with much respect.

Such an amazing show and a great way to end the 2010 theater year.

Image from City Desk - Washington City Paper.