Photo Flash: CityRep presents NEXT TO NORMAL

Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre (CityRep) continues their Tenth Anniversary Season with the 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical NEXT TO NORMAL, with Music by Tom Kitt and Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey.

With a thrilling contemporary score, NEXT TO NORMAL is an emotional powerhouse of a musical about a family trying to take care of themselves and each other. Its story concerns a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effect that her illness has on her family.

Starring in the CityRep production is Broadway veteran actress Stacey Logan. Ms. Logan has appeared on Broadway as Rita in SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, Babette in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Patsy in CRAZY FOR YOU, Abigail in BIG, Paquette in Hal Prince's CANDIDE on Broadway and at NYC Opera, Tracy Lord in HIGH SOCIETY, Polly in CRAZY FOR YOU, and Susan Lawrence in BIG. For CityRep, Ms. Logan appeared as Haley Walker in BAD DATES and as Barbara Fordham in AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY. Also featured is Lane Fields (TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE and A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD), Matthew Alvin Brown (THE 39 STEPS), Anderson Daniel (CityRep debut), Jennifer Hiemstra (CityRep debut) and Jordan Justice (BILOXI BLUES).

CityRep Artistic Associate Michael Jones will direct, with Musical Direction by Chuck Koslowske, Scenic Design by Amanda Foust, Costume Design by Aaron Patrick Turner, Lighting Design by Art Whaley, Sound Design by W. Jerome Stevenson, and Properties Design by Jon Haque. Steve Emerson is the Production Stage Manager.

Each show of NEXT TO NORMAL will be followed by a talkback session with the audience, the cast, and mental health providers who will discuss the issues brought forth by the production.

NEXT TO NORMAL will play in the Freede Little Theatre at the Civic Center Music Hall at 201 N. Walker in downtown Oklahoma City. Previews begin on Friday, November 11 at 7:30 pm. The Opening Night is Saturday, November 12 at 7:30 pm, with the final performance on Sunday, November 20 at 1:30 pm.

Tickets are $8 (Student Rush Tickets and Military Personnel with Military ID), $20 (groups of eight or more), $30 (matinees) and $35 (evening performances), and may be purchased by calling the Civic Center Music Hall Box Office at 405.294.2264 or 1.800.364.7111. Tickets may be purchased online through the CityRep website at www.cityrep.com, or through the Civic Center Music Hall Box Office website at www.okcciviccenter.org. NEXT TO NORMAL is sponsored by Chesapeake Energy Corporation, BancFirst, Cedar Ridge Psychiatric Hospital and Residential Treatment Center, NAMI Oklahoma, Integris Mental Health, the Mental Health Association of Central Oklahoma and Norman Regional Health System. Season Sponsors are the Oklahoma Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Richard P. Dulaney Foundation.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

Friday, November 11, 2011 7:30 pm Preview Performance
Saturday, November 12, 2011 1:30 pm Preview Matinee
Saturday, November 12, 2011 7:30 pm Opening Night
Sunday, November 13, 2011 1:30 pm Matinee

The Schedule continues as follows:

Friday, November 18, 2011 7:30 pm Performance
Saturday, November 19, 2011 1:30 pm Matinee
Saturday, November 19, 2011 7:30 pm Performance
Sunday, November 20, 2011 1:30 pm Matinee

CityRep (Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre), under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Donald Jordan, is one of only two Equity professional theatre companies in the state of Oklahoma, and as such provides a vital service to our community by presenting programming that is reflected in major arts communities around the country-and to our Oklahoma professional theatre artists by providing an Oklahoma venue for employment and an artistic home. CityRep operates under an agreement with Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.