Twelve Days of Christmas: Day #9

As we embrace a new year of theatre, I have dedicated my blog to looking ahead at what 2011 has to offer. Today, however, I would like to focus on a show that is not set to open this year but is fully deserving of a place in the West End. Top of my theatre wish list of shows to transfer to London this year has to be acclaimed Broadway musical Next to Normal, which is unfortunately closing on Broadway this month.

This rock musical centres on a mother suffering from bipolar disorder and the struggle of her family to cope with her condition. It has won three Tony Awards as well as the coveted Pulitzer Prize for Drama and although I have not had the opportunity to see it myself, it has an amazing score and all the evidence points towards it being an outstanding show. I have written before about my desire for more original, exciting musical theatre writing, of which there is sadly not enough of making it to the West End right now; Next to Normal could fill this gap in our musical theatre scene.

Perhaps if enough people show their support for this musical then someone will see that there is the demand for it to make a transfer to the West End. This is a difficult time when producers are unlikely to take risks and following the early closures of other rock musicals such as Hair and Spring Awakening the prospects for Next to Normal are far from encouraging, but a girl can always dream!

If you have yet to discover Next to Normal then take the time to check it out because it is truly worth it. With this in mind, my treat for readers today is a selection of recordings from the score of Next to Normal. Charlotte Wakefield, who I'm sure many of you will know as Wendla from the original London cast of Spring Awakening, is a big champion of the show and has posted recordings of several of the songs on her YouTube channel. I had a listen to these after seeing her impressive performance in the Next to Normal medley at last year's Whatsonstage.com awards, which first brought this musical to my attention. Unfortunately I cannot share the videos here but they are well worth a look if you head over to her channel; a favourite of mine is 'Everything Else'.

For any of you lucky enough to be heading over to America, the show is now on a national tour and all the information can be found on their website. If anyone has been fortunate enough to see the show then feel free to post a comment with your thoughts. It would also be great to know what other shows people would like to see coming to the West End this year.