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Putting mental illness to music in Deep Dish Theater's Neat to Normal... http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/putting-mental-illness-to-music-... <br /> s <br /> Arts x Theater March 06,2013 <br /> 0 like 4 Tweet Share <br /> Putting mental illness to music in Deep Dish <br /> Theater's Next to Norma/ <br /> by Byron woods <br /> f <br /> Photo by Jonathan Young <br /> /effrey Kzcaino and Abigail Cofyeii in Deep Dish Theater's production of Wext to Normai. <br /> I'll venture an educated guess here: last Saturday's performance of!Next to <br /> Norma/at Deep Dish Theater was about three nights away from the version <br /> they really wanted us to see. <br /> Many in attendance would have been surprised to learn that Lisa Jolley,who <br /> plays the lead role of Diana, had been voiceless throughout final rehearsals, <br /> due to that upper respiratory bug so many have spent time with lately. <br /> Friday night's performance marked the first time she'd sung all week.And <br /> though a spokesperson said everyone now was in good health, on Saturday I <br /> was struck early by the rawness in the voice of John Allore,who plays <br /> Diana's husband, Dan. <br /> Losing your voice is the stuff of theatrical nightmares. So by all means, let's <br /> sign both up for whatever the theater's equivalent is of a Purple Heart.Then <br /> add board operator Matthew Lubin's name to the list. Presenting a rock <br /> musical in so intimate a space would be daunting in the best of <br /> circumstances, but with the lead vocalist absent during tech week, Lubin was <br /> still very much in the hot seat Saturday.Vocal balance and overamplification <br /> were problematic throughout the evening,with backing vocals regularly as <br /> loud or louder than the leads and even the orchestra. Director Paul Frellick's <br /> staging, too, seemed awkward at times on Rob Hamilton's cramped set. <br /> Economics usually drives independent theaters to forgo the luxury of <br /> understudies. Generally,they're lucky. But Saturday's performance had an <br /> important lesson for when they're not. Even if a performer fully recovers <br /> from an illness by opening night, a show's technical component has to <br /> recover too. Lacking a full week of tech rehearsals,there was very little time <br /> for that to happen here by Saturday, though a fearless cast and crew kept <br /> the ship afloat. <br /> I of 2 5/22/2013 10:49 AM <br />