Watched "Next To Normal" twice.
The first time made me cry. The second made me retrospective.
I'll share with you one of my favorite Scenes.
* Diana (the lead character) whose worsening bipolar disorder is threatening to steal what's left of her sanity and her family is now trying to reconcile with her only daughter Natalie whom she had emotionally ignored for 16 years.
DIANA: We tried to give you a normal life. I realize now I have no clue what that Is.
NATALIE: I don't need a life that's normal that's way too far away but something next to normal will be okay. Yeah something next to normal that's the thing I want to try. Close enough to normal to get by.
DIANA: We'll Get By...
The lyrics struck a familiar chord because growing up I've dreamed of having a normal life.
As a young kid my painting of a "normal" life would be to have a mom and dad at home, perhaps to have two hands, to be financially comfortable.
Of course I got what's next to normal.
Coming from a broken family I was raised almost singlehandedly by my ultra-religious aunt (both of us just smile now at the good old days).
I also lost my right hand (which became my one way ticket to Disabled rights at school) and was scrimping seemingly eternally from one monthly budget after another.
Now that I've gotten older (and yes i say "older" with extremely shaky conviction) I see normal in a different way. Apparently the things that were next to normal were the ones that got me through in life. The difficulties and even the eccentricities made me appreciative of the things I have and can have. At the end of the day, I got by. We got by. And for that I'm grateful.
"Next to Normal" ended with no happily ever after in sight. Each of the characters had to resolve to move on with life via their assigned misfortunes making the story all the more refreshing. Life after all is not about perceived normalcy but rather more of harsh realities. And the faster you accept it the more equipped you are to make the most out of it. As such, even if I don't share the exact same problem with the characters it's spirit hit close to home.
So yes Next to Normal is a must see for all lunatics out there (including myself). With great music flowing from a heart wrenching story executed flawlessly by a truly world-class ensemble, it became more than just entertainment, it became food for the soul.
No comments:
Post a Comment