CAMEO embraces 'Next to Normal' as summer '17 musical

Dad's an architect; Mom rushes to pack lunches and pour cereal; their daughter and son are bright, wise-cracking teens, appearing to be a typical American family. And yet their lives are anything but normal because the mother has been battling manic depression for 16 years.

"We are incredibly excited to bring Next to Normal to the Medina community and the Performing Arts Center stage," says Michael Sferro, producer for CAMEO and president of the Medina County Arts Foundation. "We're preparing to explore an emotional powerhouse that addresses grieving a loss, ethics in modern psychiatry, and suburban life. It is one of the most powerful pieces of theatre I've ever experienced."

Now in its 14th season, CAMEO, the 'Artist-in-Residence' of the Medina Performing Arts Center, will take audiences into the minds and hearts of each character, presenting their family's story with love, sympathy and heart.

Details on audition and performance dates, the production team, and more are forthcoming.

"CAMEO strives to bring relevant, thought-provoking, and entertaining works to the stage," says Sferro. "Recent productions of Godspell (2016) and West Side Story (2015) have addressed political divisiveness and racial divides. Now we're going to tackle the stigmas of mental health."

Next to Normal, with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt, explores how one suburban household copes with crisis and mental illness. Winner of three 2009 Tony Awards, including Best Musical Score and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize, Next to Normal was also chosen as "one of the year's ten best shows" by critics around the country, including The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone and The New York Times.

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