Next to Normal by Brian Yorkey (review)

Most productions of Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt’s Tony- and Pulitzer-winning rock musical Next to Normal are delivered through the experience of predominantly white, able-bodied, hearing actors, even when the script does not suggest a particular race, culture, or ability. However, Ground Floor Theatre and Deaf Austin Theatre’s co-production integrated d/Deaf (lowercase denotes the audiological trait; uppercase denotes cultural identity) actors and characters, and included subtle elements specific to Deaf culture, such as a light doorbell and attention-getting techniques like stomping. By recasting the Goodman family’s narrative within a Deaf context, this unique production emphasized the family’s constant failures of communication and added both clarity and complexity to the characters through its casting choices and differences in signed and sung lyrics. Beyond simply providing linguistic accessibility to d/Deaf audiences, the production highlighted an underrepresented voice within mental health narratives.

Jim Lindsay (Dan/English), Megg Rose (Diana/ASL), Seth Washington (Dan/ASL), and Kerry McGinnis (Diana/English) in Next to Normal. (Photo: Dave Hawks.)

Next to Normal follows Diana Goodman as she and her family grapple with her bipolar schizophrenia diagnosis. Throughout the show, audiences witness discussions about mental health, death, and grief, as well as the limitations and weaknesses of medical diagnoses and treatments and the everyday dys-functions of suburban family life. Except for Gabe, Ground Floor/Deaf Austin’s co-production double-cast all characters, with a d/Deaf and a hearing actor performing roles simultaneously, allowing for full access in both ASL and English. The hearing actor playing Gabe performed in Simultaneous Communication (SimCom), singing and signing for himself. Based on blocking and primary interactions, Diana and Natalie were performed as principally d/Deaf, while Dan and Henry were principally hearing. The linguistic and cultural likenesses between mother and daughter and father and boyfriend correspond with the show’s frequent suggestions that teenagers Natalie and Henry may very well end up like Diana and Dan, who appear in flashbacks as naïve, but now detached and dysfunctional. The character of Drs. Madden/Fine, traditionally portrayed by one actor, was shared equally by the Deaf/hearing actors. That the production chose not to generate a clear Deaf/hearing divide between Diana and her doctors accentuated, much more than traditional productions, that access to medicine does not in reality override mental health’s complexities, existing beyond merely barriers of communication and language. The inclusion of ASL was thus accessoriented and thematically rich.

The ASL/English cast during the finale song, “Light,” in Next to Normal. (Photo: Dave Hawks.)

Although SimCom is frowned upon by the Deaf community since ASL is often compromised, the single-casting of Gabe furthered the character’s idealism and allure. The illusion of SimCom (a false conceit that one can communicate effectively in both signed and verbal languages at once) parallels the illusory nature of Gabe himself: having passed away seventeen years prior, Gabe is a manifestation of Diana’s delusional episodes. A figment of her imagination, he communicates with and appeals to Diana in a unique way. This production also effectively stressed Diana’s struggles to communicate with those closest to her: as she exerted extra effort as a d/Deaf character, her hearing husband ineffectively communicated with her, and her d/Deaf daughter felt ignored by her, even though they both use ASL. In single-casting Gabe, the production thus accentuated the idealized relationship and connection that Gabe, unlike other family members, offers to Diana.

While each Deaf/hearing pair often stood near one another, pairs would also perform across the stage, occupying different levels or areas of the platforms depending on sightline considerations and implications in the scenes. Pairs also displayed fluid, intimate interactions, expanding the characters’ emotional and psychological complexities. For example, the hearing actor playing Dan often sang to his d...