Review: Next to Normal

ALMOST NORMAL


The mother of the family suffers from bipolar disorder and is badly addicted to medication. The adolescent daughter is a vicarious sufferer whose worries the parents do not have the energy to focus on. And the son is the cause of the family’s silent grief. Despite its subject matter, Studio Pasila’s Next to Normal musical is a powerful story of survival and hope.

Markku Nenonen has directed the performance without pretentiousness and uses the athleticism of young male actors Tuukka Leppänen and Petrus Kähkönen as a choreographer. Vuokko Hovatta is an extremely believable teenager, and Jonna Järnefelt gives the most magnificent role of her career.