Joel Markowitz sat down with Alice Ripley in her dressing room at Arena Stage prior to the December 16th evening performance of Next To Normal. They discussed her role as Diana, the changes that were made for the Arena Stage production, the “Costco” song and “I Miss The Mountains,” working with Brian d’Arcy James in the NY show ” … what every leading lady wishes. You could just stand and watch him sing to you every night. It’s a really wonderful thing.”, her NYC cast now at Arena Stage and new cast members Louis Hobson and J. Robert Spencer “”…He is so tall like a pine tree-something that shields you from the elements, something you can lean on…he has a great rock voice. He’s different from Brian in every way, and that’s why it works.”, her theatre career, and great advice that the late Robert Prosky gave her when she met him working on Shakespeare in Hollywood at Arena Stage.
DC theatregoers have seen some of Alice’s best work on our local stages. Alice was nominated for two Helen Hayes Awards in 2003 for her performances of “manic” Amy in Company, at the Sondheim Festival, and as Emma in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tell Me On A Sunday, both at the Kennedy Center. The following year, in 2004, she was nominated for her performance as Lydia Lansing in Arena Stage’s production of Shakespeare in Hollywood. But it’s Alice Ripley’s mesmerizing performance of Diana Goodman in Arena Stage’s powerful production of Next To Normal, that has the local critics raving.
Joel has been an Alice Ripley fan since he saw her play the roles of Mrs. Walker in the Who’s Tommy, Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard, and Fantine in Les Miserables on Broadway. But, after seeing her “joint” Tony Award nominated performance as Violet Hilton (with Emily Skinner) in Side Show, Joel turned into an Alice Ripley groupie. Joel returned to NYC to catch her performances of Molly Ivors in The Dead and Janet in The Rocky Horror Show, as well as attend many concerts where Alice appeared. His love and respect for Alice Ripley shines in this podcast.
I listened to clips of her singing other things besides Next to Normal and she is quite flat on long notes a great deal of the time. Pity, because she sure has an acting intensity to admire.
WRT Ripley being off key. I submit that this is the way the director wanted the part to be played. Ripley portrays a troubled, broken woman whose off key notes add to the haunting feeling of the show. This must be very difficult for her to perform, as her ear would instinctively want to correct her pitch.
Hi Pat:
I hope you enjoyed the podcast. I have seen Alice 7 tines do the show at Arena Stage and in NYC, and I have never had that problem. She deserved her Tony.
IT’s true about Alice Ripley’s singing. She is a powerful performer, but I’ve seen Next to Normal 3 times and just heard a recorded live performance on Sirius radio…..Indeed she is off key. It has bothered me every time in Normal and now the radio. I hate that because she is so dynamic. Whether she is flat or sharp, I could not tell you, but clearly the note that the orchestra is playing is not the same note that she is singing!
Hi, in case you haven’t heard the news: there will be a cast recording for “Next to Normal”!! The cast will be in the studio in mid-February. Then, keep an eye on http://www.sh-k-boom.com for more info.
Pitch may not have always been perfect, but I think Ms. Ripley, along with other cast members got the emotion part really right. The two women sitting next to me shared a three hanky moment the whole time. It was obvious that the two could relate to what Ms. Ripley’s character was going through, as well as how it affected the whole family. I could hear sniffles from other audience members as well.
Again, awesome podcast Joel!
gg ~ I freely admit that Alice can have some pitch issues in this show, but I think that getting the emotion right with this performance was probably more important than landing the perfect pitch every time. IMHO anyway. For me the overall performance overrode any occasional (and 6 or 7 times is occasional in a sung-through show) pitchiness.
Sorry to say something negative, but she was noticeably flat several times during the performance. I saw the show yesterday (in its closing weekend) so perhaps she has a cold and it was a one-time thing. Her acting is wonderful, she definitely cries a lot of real tears, and much of her singing was spot on. But at least 6 or 7 times she would be holding a note and would be about a half-note flat. It was especially noticeable when the orchestra would come back in.
Aw, what a wonderful interview! Love Alice! Love the show! Love this podcast! You’re amazing!
Great interview, Joel! I saw the show with a huge audience of teens on Monday and just kept thinking, “only women over 30 can really relate to her” and then she said it in your interview. It makes me feel all the more special that you take the time to see our Churchill shows when I hear such a fantastically professional interview as this one.
Great podcast Joel. Very good questions. This show is brilliant. I saw it several times at Second Stage and many more times here at Arena.