A mother struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing her illness has on her family. The PBS Great Performances recording of the West End Transfer (from Donmar Warehouse) in 2024.
Acting
Caissie Levy's Diana is shattering and specific.
Score
Tom Kitt's rock score hits harder than most dramas.
Direction
Intimate staging makes the Donmar transfer feel cinematic.
Director
Michael Longhurst
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This 2024 West End transfer reunited original Broadway orchestrator Tom Kitt with a new cast—Caissie Levy previously played Diana in a separate production, making her one of few actors to tackle the role twice.
Next to Normal won the 2010 Pulitzer for Drama—rare for a musical—and its frank depiction of ECT and pharmaceutical treatment sparked actual conversations between patients and psychiatrists about realistic care.