14 San Diego Uptown News | Jan. 21-Feb. 3, 2011


WHAT'S UP! SCOTT MARKS / FILM REVIEW FROM PAGE 13 SUCCULENT


finding such unusual contain- ers as corrugated metal pipe, antique wagons, old baking tins and toolboxes.


She also demonstrates how to select pots that mimic the plants’ colors and textures, how to tuck cuttings into stone fences or seashells, and how to use the design principles of contrast and repetition for dramatic effect. An entire section deals with the is- sue of topdressing—finishing off an arrangement with pebbles, crushed glass or marbles for a polished look.


“Next to Normal” stars Tony winner Alice Ripley (center) alongside Jer- emy Kushner (left) and Asa Somers (right). (Photos by Craig Schwartz)


Not your run-of-the-mill grandmother's musical Giddy up—it’s the last weekend to catch ‘Next to Normal’ at Balboa Theatre


By Charlene Baldridge | SDUN Theatre Critic


Brian Yorkey’s 2009 Broadway musical “Next to Normal,” recipient of numerous Tony Awards and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The na- tional tour, starring Tony winner Alice Ripley, plays the Balboa Theatre through Sunday, Jan. 23, only. It is hard-hitting, with a thorough rock score and an intense emotional and immense physical setting, part real, and part hallucinogenic. Michael Greif [sic], former artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse, staged the Broadway and touring productions. Yorkey’s book and lyrics concern a modern family that’s struggled to cope with mental illness for nearly two decades. Diana (Ripley) is bipolar and schizophrenic. Although she may have had the disease longer, the onset occurred 17 years earlier with the death of her first- born child at 8 months. Diana’s husband Dan (Asa Somers) is loyal and concerned. Her youngest child, Natalie (Emma Hunton), is a gifted pianist and fraught with normal teen angst exacerbated by neglect. Diana’s charismatic yet sullen son Gabe (Curt Hansen) also inhabits the household, which is frequently visited by Natalie’s sweet, stoner boyfriend, Henry (Preston Sadlier). Jeremy Kushner portrays Diana’s psychiatrists.


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Upon first hearing Kitt’s well-performed musical score one may come away thinking it is one through-composed theme with variations; and yet, Gabe’s haunting, angry “I’m Alive” lingers and so do Diana and


ne might make an early departure because of its intensity, and one may well question its psychological veracity. However, it’s hard to imagine anyone could be unmoved by Tom Kitt and


Natalie’s reconciliation, “Maybe,” and Dan and Gabe’s “I Am the One.” To his credit, Kitt provides almost operatic variety in the mix of solos, duets, trios and quartets. The closing number, “Light,” indicates there may be hope for these people we care so much about. Though she was convincingly bipolar, Ripley struggled a bit vo- cally on opening night, Jan. 19. This is demanding music that is part belt and part ballad. It may be best to belt but in the long run the vocal line suffers. As Natalie, the moist-eyed Hunton is wondrous, secure and indefatigable. Hansen’s performance as Gabe is extremely seduc- tive, and Sommers, also stalwart vocally, manages to avoid the cliché of long-suffering spouse. Kushner’s psychiatrists and Sadler’s concerned Henry were also fine. Though a bit heavy on the bass from house far left, row G, the band


performed Michael Starobin and Kitt’s throbbing Tony Award-winning orchestrations to grand effect. Five traveling band members include conductor/pianist/music director Bryan Perri. Two area players on violin and cello augment the group. All are members of the American Federation of Musicians in the U.S and Canada. Mark Wendland’s industrial scenic design serves the production well physically and psychologically. Relentless in drive and scope, “Next to Normal” may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Like it or not, how- ever, the work is emblematic of our lives and times and therefore wor- thy of the Pulitzer Prize. “Next to Normal” continues through 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 23, at the Balboa Theatre, 868 4th Avenue, downtown. See schedule of perfor- mances and purchase tickets at broadwaysd.com.u


The tone of “Succulent Con- tainer Gardens” is as warm as its pages are lush and beauti- ful. Baldwin obviously takes her subject seriously, but her enthusiasm makes it acces- sible to readers who will want to duplicate the designs she offers or create new ones of their own. Many of the arrange- ments she photographed for the book are in San Diego, some in the Uptown neighborhoods that initially piqued her interest. In addition to writing books, Baldwin also blogs at gardening- gonewild.com with other promi- nent garden writers, and her YouTube video, “How to Plant a Succulent Container Garden,” can be accessed through her website, debraleebaldwin.com. Books ordered through the site come with an autographed bookplate that features her original watercolors of succulent plants. Coffee mugs, mousepads and other items featuring her artwork are also available, as are her photographs.


“Succulent Container Garden- ing” is now also a best seller, and Baldwin’s expertise has earned her an enviable niche in the pan- theon of horticultural writers. In fact, her publisher has given her license to assign common names to plants whose labels were pre- viously only in Latin. Thanks to her, Agave Americana Mediop- icta Alba now goes by the much simpler Tuxedo Agave.


“My audience is fascinated by succulents but not responsive to polysyllabic words,” she said. Baldwin is also much in demand as a speaker. On Jan. 26, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. she’ll give a presentation titled “Container Succulent Gardens: Their Cre- ation and Design” to the Mission Hills Garden Club at the Mission Hills First Church of Christ, 4070 Jackdaw. No reservations are necessary. The event is free to members and $10 for the general public.


After that she’ll speak about Fabrics & notions that speak to the heart


Vietnamese silks, Indian Ikats, Irish & Italian linens, Rayon batiks


A bit of Amy Butler & Kaffe Fassett


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“Art and the Garden” at the San Diego Botanical Garden on Feb. 12, and she’ll be at the Spring Home and Garden Show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds March 4-6. In April she’ll speak at the Cactus and Succulent Society of America meeting in San Diego. Then she’s headed for San Fran- cisco, Sacramento and Charles- ton, S.C. When she’s in town, she invites garden groups to join her at Oasis Water Efficient Gardens in Escondido for design help and instruction.


“My eventual goal is to be a little old crone hunched over a keyboard tippety-tapping away,” she said. “I’ll be exchanging e-mails with people all over the world who have contacted me with questions about succulents and doing presentations to gar- den clubs via Skype.”u


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