I'm no Sho-shopath!

I adore Next to Normal.

I first heard of it when Alice Ripley mentioned the Off-Broadway show she was working on, then called Feeling Electric, at Skinner/Ripley: Raw at Town Hall. She then began to sing "I Miss the Mountains" and from that moment on, I was hooked.

I already loved Alice Ripley. She and Emily Skinner made a dynamic duo as Violet and Daisy Hilton, respectively, in the short-lived Broadway show Sideshow. Despite its 91 performance run on Broadway, Sideshow, Alice Ripley, and Emily Skinner earned a cult following. I, admittedly, am a part of this cult.

So when I heard Alice Ripley's show Feeling Electric was now going to be on Broadway as Next to Normal, I knew I was going to love it.

And I did.

The show is such a startlingly Broadway hit. It's not your typical feel-good, happy-go-lucky musical that has you leaving the theatre whistling and humming tunes from the show. For those of you that don't know, Next to Normal follows the life of Diana Goodman, manic depressive and bipolar with delusional episodes, and her family as they try to cope and live. In the song above, "Didn't I See This Movie?" Alice Ripley's character, Diana, is being told of a new treatment by her husband and one of her many doctors. Let's just say, she doesn't take the news very well.

Alice Ripley has such a unique voice, one which is clearly shown in this song. She has an intense vibrato, and her voice is usually placed farther back in her mouth. Despite this odd placement, most likely due to vocal damage from sing-screaming her heart out in Sideshow, Alice Ripley has power in her voice like none other. Listen to her from :23 on, with the start of her "CRYYYYY!" This power comes out of nowhere, and remains for the rest of the song.

And then comes my favorite part.

Listen to Alice Ripley at :39 when she sings "I'm no sociopath!" Except she doesn't actually she say that. What she really says is "I'm no sho-shopath!"

Oh, Alice. Of course you're not a sho-shopath. I am surprised that you aren't a "Shylvia Platt" though.

I love all of Alice Ripley's little voice quirks. Like how when she sings "farmer" it sounds more like "far-er-mer" and when she sings "pain" it sounds more like "pay-in" with a lot of emphasis on the "n." Her "know" at 1:11 has a really cool slide. I can almost see Alice Ripley sliding her head up as she sings it. At 1:15, Alice Ripley sings "movie" but like "sociopath" she has to add her little special mark to it. So "movie" becomes "moo-oo-vie."

And of course, the lyrics are so phenomenal in this song. My favorite is "The patient got impatient and said 'Sorry, Doc, I'm through!" "Patient got impatient" is just such a great play on words.

What better way to end a powerhouse song than with a riff? At 1:19, she sings "I walked out!" with a great riff on the "out." Not only does she riff, but she also gives a stop to her voice. First, she uses her breath to help her hit the notes, so instead of "out" it becomes "h-out." Well, actually, it's "OW-OW-HOW-OW-OUT." But between the "HOW" and "OW" Alice Ripley stops her voice, so each "OW" becomes separate and distinct from each other. Amazing what a little breath and force can do to a word, isn't it?

I had the privilege of seeing Alice Ripley perform as Diana in Next to Normal in LA. I was absolutely blown away by the power and intensity in her voice, even if it was even more placed back than I had ever heard it before. She's a wonderful performer, and gets so deeply into her role as Diana that by the end of the show she is absolutely drained, physically and emotionally. It was a great night, one I won't forget. But the best part of the entire show?

When Alice Ripley sang "I'm no sho-shopath."

I did a little fist pump.