NYT: An Out-of-Town Overhaul Helps a Musical Find Focus

April 29, 2009
An Out-of-Town Overhaul Helps a Musical Find Focus
By PATRICK HEALY

Michael Greif sensed something was wrong. It was February 2008, and Mr. Greif — the director of the Tony Award-winning musicals “Rent” and “Grey Gardens” — was watching his latest production, “Next to Normal,” night after night during its Off Broadway run at Second Stage Theater. In a recent interview he recalled feeling that many audience members were not gasping or flinching at a pivotal revelation in Act I: the main character had just tried to kill herself.

“Everything on stage looked pretty — people weren’t getting that Diana had just bled out all over the living room,” Mr. Greif said, referring to the character Diana Goodman, whose struggle with bipolar disorder is at the heart of this musical. “It was one of several moments where the tone of the show was off. Big moments just weren’t landing.”

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Drabbles in Threes

So. I'd written the following three drabbles based upon the prompts in the even_angels_ prompt community which is organized (and prompted) by fewthistle and flying_peanuts. My thanks to them for the prompts ... both when they were posted two years ago, and for now. :)

The prompts are actually the first and last sentences of the drabbles (in italics).

I'll probably write these sentence prompt drabbles on the weekend and try to post them by midweek if not earlier. :)

( I. )

( II. )

( III. )