When watching ‘Next to Normal’, be prepared to ‘feel everything’
Next to the festivities of recent holidays, the Sandbox Collective’s first 2025 production, a local staging of Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning musical “Next to Normal” seems a sobering start to the theater company’s season, to say the least.
But in the matter of mental health, which is the show’s central theme, there’s no time like the present to spark discussions about the topic, especially when today’s generation “has the language” to properly tackle such issues, says Sandbox’s managing creative director Toff de Venecia.
“There’s always a need to have a platform about [mental health],” said De Venecia at a recent peek at show rehearsals in Makati City.
“Next to Normal” tackles mental health issues through the story of a family coping after a tragic event upends each member’s relationship with the others. The musical made its Broadway debut in 2009, and has been credited with launching the discussion of mental health in mainstream theater.
Here in the Philippines, the show’s last staging (by Ateneo’s Blue Rep) was cut short by the pandemic; it ran for only three weeks in 2020. It was also staged nine years prior by Atlantis Productions at a time when mental health awareness was not at the level that it is today.
“I think it’s time that we bring this very important piece back for the Manila audiences, especially this new generation—Gen Z, Gen Alpha,” said De Venecia. “I think it’s very timely, timeless, and important.”
Sheila Valderrama, who plays matriarch Diana Goodman, added that the pandemic factor makes the play even more relevant. “The upheaval, postpandemic … mental illness was very rampant. Like Toff said, we want to continue the conversation and extend it beyond the forum,” she said.
Valderrama plays her role alternately with Nikki Valdez, who makes her return to theater with “Next To Normal.” Alternating in the role of Diana’s husband Dan are OJ Mariano and Floyd Tena, while playing perfect daughter Natalie Goodman are Sheena Belarmino and Jam Binay. The elusive Gabe Goodman will be played by Vino Mabalot and Benedix Ramos; Omar Uddin and Davy Narciso will share the role of Omar, the boy who falls in love with Natalie. Finally, playing the role of the psychiatrist Dr. Madden is Jef Flores.
Directing the production is De Venecia and joining him are musical director Ejay Yatco, choreographer Stephen Vinas, production designer/associate director Mark Daniel Dalacat, dramaturg Jonas Garcia, technical director Francisco Miguel Yabut, lighting designer Gabo Tolentino, sound designer/engineer Aji Manalo, hair and makeup designer Eliza Dawn Aurelio, and intimacy coach Serena Magiliw.
An authentic experience
Magiliw’s role as intimacy coach is key to the show’s authenticity, as are the mental health experts, spiritual coach, grief mentor, and psychiatrist that the cast and crew consulted with to prepare for the production, said De Venecia.
“Of course, the actors have their own tools and experiences they can draw from, but they don’t have those all the time, and [mental health issues aren’t] something you can estimate,” he said. “So all of these different elements will come together to create an experience that is, hopefully, more grounded and authentic and true.”
What the cast and crew say for certainty is that the “Next To Normal” experience is one where audiences need to be prepared to “feel everything.” (Do not follow this writer’s example, who forgot her pack of tissues.) And because focus is on mental health, Sandbox assures audiences that trigger warnings have been put in place, and that partnerships with institutions such as The Medical City have been secured in order to provide the proper support to those who may need it post-show.
“It’s a good grief, a good cry,” said De Venecia. “It’s probably the only show where we’ll ask people to just sit and stay in their seats for a good five, 10 minutes, just to absorb and process what they’ve seen.”
“Next To Normal,” presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International, runs until Feb. 23 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater in Makati City. Visit www.thesandboxco.com.
