Actors Audition For "Next to Normal" Show

Mezzo-soprano. Diana was traumatized by the death of her infant son seventeen years ago, and has been in and out of mental health treatment ever since. She has a diagnosis of bipolar depressive disorder with delusional episodes -- she sees her dead son as if he’d never left them. She frequently converses with him, and has trouble distinguishing her fantasy world from reality. At the heart of her psychosis is an inability to grieve the loss of her son.

Tenor. Diana’s husband and biggest supporter throughout the psychological ups and downs of the last seventeen years. It is clear that despite the fact that a lot has changed since they first met and fell in love, Dan still feels committed to taking care of Diana “through thick and thin,” even at the expense of his own mental health (and even if he has stopped remembering the reasons that he made the commitment in the first place).

Mezzo-soprano. Diana and Dan’s daughter. She starts off as a hyper-overachiever who uses perfectionism to try to cope with her deep seated anguish over her mother’s mental illness and her parents’ negligence of her. Soon, however, she turns to acting out in all the stereotypical ways (namely, drugs and partying) in order to deal. Finally (with her boyfriend Henry’s support) we see her decide to grow up and face her issues head on.

Tenor. The seventeen-year-old son of Diana and Dan, who is actually a figment of Diana’s imagination. The real Gabe when he was eight months old. He is handsome, energetic, playful, sensitive: the perfect child. Throughout the show, Gabe tries to lure Diana back to her delusions, insistent that she will never be rid of him. He acts as a kind of indicator of Diana’s mental health; when he is around, we know that things are not going well for Diana.

Tenor. Diana’s primary physician throughout the course of the show. The actor also plays Dr. Fine, the anesthesiologist as well as other medical professionals. Diane occasionally hallucinates that he is the lead singer of a rock band, at which point he transforms onstage into a theatrical manifestation of her delusions. In reality, he is an attractive, self-assured, intelligent doctor, who also happens to be incredibly committed to Diana’s treatment and recovery.

Tenor. Natalie’s seventeen-year-old musician boyfriend. He is incredibly committed to Natalie almost from the moment he first decides to introduce himself to her in a music practice room at their high school. He is insistent that despite all the problems Natalie faces in her life, the two of them are perfect for one another, and he proves time and time again to be a rock on which she can rely. Henry also reminds Diana of what her son could have been like had he lived to Henry’s age.