Tobiarts Productions

Next To Normal

“De la lumière” (Light) recorded during lockdown :

Message from Tom Kitt, the original composer :

Dates and venues:
 
– Performances: 27 and 28 November 2019 at the Centre Culturel d’Uccle.
With English surtitles – Met vlaamse ondertiteling
– Performances: 27 December 2018 to 6 January 2019.
– Preview performances: 4 and 5 September 2018.
At the Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels – 23 rue Ravenstein, 1000 Brussels
With English surtitles – Met vlaamse ondertiteling

A few reviews:

TONY COMEDIE – 10 February 2019
‘The staging and French adaptation by Damien Locqueneux are also of outstanding quality. As for the actors, I loved Virginie Perrier, the lead actress who plays the role of Diana, and I found Matthieu Meunier great in his role as the different doctors.’
– Full review –

MUSICAL AVENUE – 9 février 2019
‘The French translation by the pair Damien Locqueneux and Arnaud Giroud (Matilda, Young Frankenstein) is excellent. There is no strange phrasing or mistranslation. You might even think the text was originally written in French.’
– Full review –

BROADWAYWORLD – 5 janvier 2019
“As with any contemporary musical after Sondheim, the translation into French was indeed a challenge, which Damien Locqueneux has nailed brilliantly, as he has the direction, bringing some nostalgic warmth from the 50s to what the cold streets of the more abstract original production lacked.”
– Full review –

RUE DU THEATRE – 3 janvier 2019
‘Powerful energy fills the show, led by a first-rate Franco-Belgian production studio headed by Damien Locqueneux with choreography by Nora Alberdi. Arnaud Giroud oversees the music with a group of five musicians playing country, rock and pop music to bring Tom Kitt’s many compositions to life.’
– Full review –

MUSICAL VIBES – 31 décembre 2018
“De kracht van deze productie ligt bij de mensen die er deel van uitmaken. Zes sterke acteurs, even veel goede muzikanten en een team dat dit alles omkadert met even veel passie als professionalisme. Dit resulteert in goede zang en speltechnieken waardoor de emoties krachtig overgebracht worden, in het publiek worden er menig traantjes weggepinkt.”
– Full review –

Press review:

Summary:

Nothing is more beautiful than love. And nothing is stronger than a family. Next To Normal takes us into the secret twists and turns of a modern clan: an almost normal family. The show is harrowing, sometimes troubling, yet also optimistic, vibrant and entertaining. Next To Normal is a true musical with worldwide success, having been awarded three Tony Awards (2009) and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2010)! It is performed for the first time in French, following 200 shows in the Netherlands in 2014 and thousands of others throughout the world, surtitled in English and Dutch, and accompanied with a live orchestra!

Cast:

Virginie Perrier
Diana Goodman

Hervé Lewandowski
Dan Goodman

Oonagh Jacobs
Nathalie Goodman

Jervin Weckx
Gabe Goodman

Anthony Scott
Henri

Matthieu Meunier
Docteurs Fine & Madden

Videos:

Photos:

Shows (preview performances) :

Rehearsals :

Orchestra :

Musicians:

Piano: Arnaud Giroud
Drums / Percussion: Arthur Ros
Guitars: Paolo Loveri (formerly Serge Wintgens)
Bass guitar: Sylvie Sansalone
Violin / Synthesiser: Gaëlle Boque
Cello: Camille Donzé

Creative team:

Production and adaptation: Damien Locqueneux
Musical direction and adaptation: Arnaud Giroud
Assistant producer: Jeremy Bruyninckx
Script-doctor: Antoine Guillemain
Lighting creation: Laurent Kaye
Lighting coordination: Juan José Borrego or Joseph Iavicoli
Set design: Noémie Vanheste
Costumes: Justine Struye
Choreography: Nora Alberdi
Sound engineer: Marco Gudanski, with assistance from Thierry Van Cutsem
Technical director: Julien Soumillon
Voice coach: Fabrice Pillet
Stage manager: Joanne Cools or Philippe Blonda
Press officer: Valérie Cornelis
Surtitling: Eleonore Hardenne (intern during the show at the Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels)
Intern (for the show at the Centre Culturel d’Uccle): Kelly Furtado
Photographs: Bruno Mullenaerts et Alexandre Mhiri

Credits:

With support from the Belgian federal government’s tax shelter scheme for cinema and theatre production and from investors in the scheme.
Work presented with authorisation from Music Theatre International Europe, represented by Auteursbureau ALMO in Antwerp.

Partners: