"When the Broadway transfer of Next to Normal was being planned, my producing partners and I were looking for an intimate 800-seat theater for this six-person musical," producer David Stone said in a statement. "We were happy to book the Longacre Theatre and were willing to make the concession of closing the balcony to create our desired capacity. However, when the Booth Theatre became available and was offered, we knew it was the right space for Next to Normal without alteration."
Featuring a score by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, Next to Normal tells the story of a family and the effect of the mother's mental illness on her husband and children. The musical debuted at off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre on February 13, 2008 and was significantly reworked in a subsequent out-of-town run at Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage, where it opened on December 10. The Broadway production will feature the entire Arena Stage cast: Alice Ripley, J. Robert Spencer, Aaron Tveit, Jennifer Damiano, Adam Chanler-Berat, and Louis Hobson. Ripley, Tveit, Damiano, and Chanler-Berat were also in the Second Stage production.