Village Theatre veteran readies musical for Broadway
April 6, 2009
By Jeff Richards
Brian Yorkey discusses his Broadway project ‘Next to Normal’ debuting April 15. By Greg Farrar
While growing up, Brian Yorkey dreamed of going to Broadway to appear on one of the world’s largest stages in front of more than 1,000 people.
At Village Theatre in Issaquah, he was a long way away.
But his dreams will be realized this spring, as his musical, “Next to Normal,” heads to Broadway April 15 at the Longacre Theatre.
“I hate to admit it’s a dream I had when I was 12, but it’s true,” he said. “Words can’t describe it, ironically, even though words are my job.”
The achievement comes after 10 years of work on the musical for Yorkey and co-writer Tom Kitt. Yorkey wrote the script and lyrics; Kitt composed the music.
Though they took breaks over the long period of time to work on other shows, the two always came back together to collaborate on their shared brainchild.
“The crux of the show is really about Brian and I and our friendship,” Kitt said.
The two met while attending Columbia University in New York City. They began work on “Next to Normal” as an assignment for a Broadcast Music Inc. workshop.
Though originally conceived as a 10-minute show, the pair went on to expand the story into a full-length musical.
“Next to Normal” is about the Goodman family and the troubles it undergoes as the mother, Diana, struggles with a form of bipolar disorder.
Yorkey conceived the idea while watching an episode of “Dateline NBC” about bipolar disorders. He learned that most of the patients were female while most doctors diagnosing the disorder were male.
“It’s about what if a woman was suffering from depression and all the men in her life were trying to help,” he said. “We wanted to do something that would be different.”
For the music, Kitt wrote a score consisting mostly of rock ’n’ roll, but also with some jazz, funk and folk.
“The passion and raw energy of rock music fit with the mood,” he said. “Aggressive rock music with a strong beat and rhythm can evoke all the anger and argument in the story.”
“Next to Normal” got its start at Village Theatre in 2005, when it underwent its first readings and workshops.
“I think that’s really cool for a theater in Issaquah, Washington, to get a show kick-started on its way to Broadway,” Yorkey said. “Without Village Theatre, we wouldn’t be here.”
The musical debuted off Broadway at the Second Stage Theatre on Feb. 13, 2008.
Yorkey said it received mixed reviews, though the critical and audience response gave them enough feedback to make improvements.
“We hadn’t been able to nail the tone before,” he said. “It’s hard to know until you get it in front of an audience and see what doesn’t work for them, what pulls them out of the story.”
Yorkey and Kitt went back to work, lessening some of the extraneous roles, such as the doctor, and focusing more on the family.
“We were able to find the story and stick to it without going off on tangents,” Yorkey said. “Now, it grabs people at the top and pulls them through this experience.”
After rewrites, the musical opened Dec. 10 in Washington, D.C., at the Arena Stage.
This time, it received favorable reviews across the board, paving the way for a return to New York, this time on Broadway.
It will be Kitt’s second time with a musical on Broadway, though his first experience, with “High Fidelity,” lasted only a couple of weeks before the run ended.
“It’s made me a little more seasoned with what to expect,” he said. “But there’s nothing better than a big, beautiful theater to hear your music in.”
This is the first Broadway experience for Yorkey, who grew up in Village Theatre. Beginning as a KIDSTAGE student, he eventually rose to the role of associate artistic director.
He is still involved with Village Theatre. Most recently, he directed the theater’s rendition of “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which ended March 29.
“The Village Theatre is home to me,” he said. “Any opportunity to come back and direct at Village Theatre I jump at.”
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