Jasper van Gheluwe

Next to Normal

Nanoek

Sun 25 Oct '26 19:00

A contemporary pop-rock musical with Willemijn Verkaik, Edwin Jonker and others.

musical

Sun 25 Oct '26

19:00

Sun 25 Oct '26

19:00

Hertog Jan Zaal

Tickets

Internationally acclaimed musical actress Willemijn Verkaik ( Wicked, Frozen, among others) is back in the Netherlands - this time as Diana in the multiple award-winning Broadway hit Next to Normal. Diana lives with bipolar disorder, which blurs the line between imagination and reality in her family.

Husband Dan (Edwin Jonker) saves what can be saved; son Gabe flies in all directions; daughter Natalie flees into pills and perfectionism. As a viewer, you are dragged into the life of a family that seems "ordinary" on paper, but behind the front door fights for holdouts.

"Next to Normal is something much more than a feel-good musical: it is a feel-everything musical." (The New York Times)

With three Tony Awards (2009) and the Pulitzer Prize for drama (2010) in its pocket, Next to Normal belongs to a rare club: only ten musicals have ever past event awarded this prize. Director Anouk Beugels, known for MELK, a motherfucking musical (showered with five Musical Awards in 2024), consciously chooses a direct, unpolished approach. Raw, contemporary and imaginative - exactly the way NANOEK makes musicals. Hence also this new translation by Judith Boesen. Propelled by steaming pop-rock score, brought live by a four-piece band. This brings the story far beyond the words: you feel the highs and lows in every fiber of your body.

Credits

Cast Willemijn Verkaik (a.o. Frozen, Wicked), Edwin Jonker (a.o. Jesus Christ Superstar, Hadestown), Jonathan Demoor (a.o. Sweeney Todd, Milk), Michael Muyderman(Les Misérables, Saturday Night Fever), Yara Brand, Jaap Stoop Text Brian Yorkey Translation Judith Boesen Direction Anouk Beugels