The Out-of-Town Tryout, Backwards

When Next to Normal, a new musical about bipolar disorder, ran Off-Broadway last year, “the tone of the show was off,” says director Michael Greif. “Big moments just weren’t landing.” So the producer decided “to take an unusual step: he moved a show that had already opened in New York to an out-of-town theater (Arena Stage, in Washington) for an overhaul.”