Press Release:
WCU students, faculty opening Mainstage Season with ‘Next to Normal’ Sept. 25-28
The students and faculty of Western Carolina University’s School of Stage and Screen will kick off their 2013-14 Mainstage Season as they present the Tony Award-winning rock musical “Next to Normal” Wednesday through Saturday, Sept. 25-28.
Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. for each performance at WCU’s Hoey Auditorium.
Also the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, “Next to Normal” is being co-directed by multiple Tony nominee Terrence Mann, who holds WCU’s Carolyn Plemmons Phillips and Ben R. Phillips Distinguished Professorship in Musical Theatre, and Nathan Thomas, director of the university’s musical theatre program. WCU dance program director Karyn Tomczak is the choreographer.
With book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt, the musical portrays the struggle of a suburban mother with depression, memory loss and worsening bipolar disorder, and the effects of those problems on her family members. Suffused with humor and hope, the production won three Tony Awards during its original run, and it does contain some mature content and language.
WCU student Tierney Leigh Cody will portray the suburban mom, Diana, in the lead role. Other members of the cast are students Joshua Farrar (Gabe), Paul Thiemann (Dan), Claire Van der Linden (Natalie), James Hendley (Henry) and Brian J. Gay (Doctor Madden).
Individual tickets for “Next to Normal” are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and WCU faculty and staff, and $7 (in advance) and $10 (day of show) for students.
Subscriptions for the entire Mainstage Season of four shows are available through Sept. 28 and provide a substantial savings over individual show prices. Upcoming productions are “Zombies on Campus! A SlaughterPocalypse” in November, “A Doll’s House” in February and “Les Miserables” in April. Subscriptions are $50 for adults, $40 for seniors and WCU faculty and staff, and $20 for students.
For more general information about the Mainstage Season, contact WCU’s School of Stage and Screen at 828-227-7491. To order season subscriptions or individual tickets, call the box office at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at 828-227-2479 or go online to fapac.wcu.edu.
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