Review: Theater Latté Da's 'Normal' is anything but

If you're lucky enough to see Theater Latté Da's "Next to Normal," bring some tissues.

Director Peter Rothstein's production, which opened Saturday in Minneapolis, is a poignantly beautiful tearjerker. As Diana, a bipolar depressive mother struggling with inconsolable grief and suicidal ideation, Erin Capello delivers an exquisite, deeply felt performance. And she is supported by a terrific cast that includes Matt Riehle as husband Dan and child star Audrey Mojica in an artistically mature turn as her disaffected daughter Natalie.

"Normal" tackles difficult material for a musical, a genre whose fallback is the happy song and frolicsome dance. Diana's infant son Gabe (Kyle Weiler) died years ago, but the hole that that loss created has never healed. And the ghost of Gabe haunts and sometimes taunts the family.

Diana tries therapy, meeting with a celebrated doctor she literally sees as a rock star (Riley McNutt in one of the lighter, most risible moments of the show). But grief overwhelms and exhausts her family.

Composer Tom Kitt and lyricist/book-writer Brian Yorkey earned the 2010 Pulitzer for drama for "Normal," and deservedly so. The taut, dreary narrative is groundbreaking even without the accompanying music that includes folk rock and emo as well as jazz and show tune influences.

The hope, if we can find any in this story, comes not so much from the narrative itself as from the terrific artistry that also made "Normal" a draw on Broadway and on national tours, where the show has sometimes been an odd fit for big stages. The 250-seat Ritz Theater, where Latté Da does its productions, is ideal for "Normal," where the intimacy of the house matches that of the show, helping to focus its emotive power.

Rothstein's heart-tugging direction leans into the notions of light present in the script. Paul Whitaker's set, an electric outline of the family home and other environs, is more gestural than structural. It makes it easy to switch from home to doctor's office to nightclub and other places where the story takes us.

The musical boasts a nimble Jason Hansen-led quintet that provides backing for all the performances. As costumed by Mathew LeFebvre, Diana goes from primary colors (red and yellow) to a drab mediocre existence at the end. But that's a win.

If we want to embrace and root for Diana, it's because Capello's crystalline soprano gives us such an honest, heartfelt window into her hurt. Her performance transmits her feelings to us with the right balance between beauty and pain.

Riehle also finds just the right mix of support and tolerance, and emotional exhaustion. His Dan copes with the expected crises and he steps up to the plate, even sporting an apron that suggests he's a Mr. Mom by the end.

Weiler, an alum of the national tour of "Hamilton," is a terrific performer who haunts the stage like an over-enthused ghost. He turns in a strong performance, even if he seems a bit long in the tooth for Gabe.

Those who have watched Mojica onstage at the Children's Theatre Company will see her growth. Her Natalie may have been surly and disaffected anyway even with a functional mother but the family situation makes the transition to adulthood that much harder. Mojica takes us knowingly into Natalie's complicated journey.