Photo Flash: First Look at Red Branch Theatre Company's NEXT TO NORMAL

Red Branch Theatre Company is the first organization in Columbia to premiere NEXT TO NORMAL. The show runs on select dates from April 6th through April 22nd at Drama Learning Center in Columbia. See production shots below!

NEXT TO NORMAL is directed by Stephanie Lynn Williams, music directed by Wil Lewis, stage managed by Anastasia Herne, and starring Mark Allen, Wendy Baird, Jennifer W. Culotta, Dean Davis, Noah Mitchel & Brady Stevens.

Next to Normal opened at the Booth Theatre, where it ran for 733 performances. Next to Normal is a rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. Its story concerns a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effect that her illness has on her family. The musical also addresses such issues as grieving a loss, suicide, drug abuse, ethics in modern psychiatry, and suburban life. It was nominated for eleven 2009 Tony Awards and won three, Best Original Score, Best Orchestration and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley. It also won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, becoming just the eighth musical in history to receive the honor.

Red Branch Theatre Company, based in Columbia, MD, is dedicated to fostering a love of theatre in its audience that is life-long. We create theatre experiences that will challenge, educate, and entertain all ages. From its earliest inception in Ancient Greece, theatre has been a community gathering, a communication of our humanity. With this inspiration we strive to bring together artist and audience in our Baltimore/Washington community and beyond by providing theatrical work that is exciting, affordable, powerful and thought provoking.