The musical Next to Normal is a family drama that presents the story and life of a wife and mother named Diana Goodman who struggles with a mental disorder. Her mental disorder is in the form of bipolar disorder that can be traced back 16 years. Diana’s husband is very supportive and tries to ensure that his wife in line as well as ensuring that his family stayed together. However, keeping his wife in line is greatly affected when she decides to stop taking the medicine that the doctor has prescribed for her. This leads her to fall deeper into her mental disorder and attempts by several doctors to offer her therapy all fail.
Eventually she even attempts suicide in order to end her misery by slitting her wrists. At the hospital Doctor Madden recommends electroconvulsive therapy as the best way to deal with Diana’s mental illness. She is subjected to two weeks of electroconvulsive therapy. This causes her to have amnesia. However, this does not help with her struggles and it ends up with strained relationships in her family.
Dramatic structure:
Exposition:
Act 1 helps to introduce Diana who is the main character of the musical. In act 1 the audience is introduced to Diana as she is seen waiting late at night for her son (who the audience learns later is dead) and also comforts Natalie (her daughter). This happens within the first minutes of the musical. In addition, the family setting is also introduced by here.
Crisis:
The crisis is introduced when Diana is making lunch in the morning. The family realizes that there is something wrong with their mother when they see a table covered in sandwiches as well as disorganized table and chairs. This leads to Dan, her husband, taking her to hospital. He however does not go into the doctor’s office. He stays in the car thinking about his own depression. Dr. Fine prescribers medication and believes that she is fine. However, this is not the case. During her hallucinations, her son encourages her not to take her medication and leads to her conditioning worsening. She even presents a cake for her son during family dinner and sings happy birthday to him despite the fact that he is dead. She even invites her to join him, which she does.
Climax
The climax of the musical reaches when Diana tries to commit suicide. This becomes the turning point of the entire musical. As stated earlier, after she makes an attempt at her own life at the hospital Doctor Madden recommends electroconvulsive therapy as the best way to deal with Diana’s mental illness. This is mainly because he states that she is a drug resistant case. This leads to her being subjected to two weeks of electroconvulsive therapy. This causes her to have amnesia. Her family tries to use photos and keepsakes to try and help Diana recover her lost memory. However, show is more interested in a music box that reminds her of her son. The music box and questions with regard to the music box leads to a rift between Diana and Dan as Dan does not want to tell her the name of their son. Additional happenings lead to the
Denouement:
The conclusion of the musical starts when Diana decides to leave Dan, this is mainly because she states that she needs to take care of her problems alone. She also does this in order to leave her bad memories behind (her son). Natalie finds her father at home in tears and she comforts him for his loss. Lastly, Dan starts seeing Doctor Madden about his own depression.
