A film of the West End transfer of the Donmar Warehouse’s critically acclaimed UK premiere production of Next to Normal will receive a UK-wide cinema release in September.
Recorded by Liberator Film Services last summer at Wyndham’s Theatre, the Michael Longhurst-directed London production of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning rock musical will be screened at selected Vue, Cineworld and Independent Cinema screens on 11 and 14 September. The film was screened in the US on 9 May as part of broadcaster PBS’s Great Performances series.
Commenting on the cinema screenings, Longhurst said: “After the absolutely astonishing reaction to its US release, I’m so excited that UK audiences will now be able experience the raw power of Next to Normal and the heartbreaking detail of those incredible performances in close up, on the big screen.”
The film features the UK premiere production’s cast led by Grammy Award nominee Caissie Levy (Caroline, Or Change, Studio 54, Frozen, St James Theatre), Olivier Award winner and Tony Award nominee Jamie Parker (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Southwark Playhouse Elephant, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Palace Theatre/Lyric Theater, Broadway), Jack Wolfe (The Magician’s Elephant, RSC, Pinocchio, National Theatre), Olivier Award winner and BAFTA nominee Eleanor Worthington-Cox (Matilda: The Musical, Cambridge Theatre, Bugsy Malone, Lyric Hammersmith), Trevor Dion Nicholas (Hamilton, Victoria Palace, Bonnie & Clyde, Theatre Royal Drury Lane) and Jack Ofrecio (From Here to Eternity, Charing Cross Theatre, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare’s Globe).
Featuring music by Tom Kitt (High Fidelity, If/Then) and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey (If/Then, The Last Ship – libretto co-writer with John Logan), the UK premiere production of the powerful rock musical sold out every seat at every performance at the Donmar Warehouse.
The intimate exploration of family and loss won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and won three Tony Awards including Best Original Score and Best Performance For a Leading Actress Award for Alice Ripley. The musical debuted Off-Broadway in 2008, winning the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Score and opened on Broadway in 2009.
The screenings’ announcement coincides with the release of ‘Next to Normal: Original London Cast Recording’ by Ghostlight Records in streamed and digital formats.
Angela Thomas
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