Brian D’Arcy James to Join Broadway’s Next to Normal on May 17

Brian d’Arcy James will reprise his performance as Dan Goodman when he joins the Broadway production of Next to Normal, beginning May 17. James will be replacing J. Robert Spencer, who, as previously reported, will be departing the production on May 16.

Due to a previous commitment, James will not be in the show, July 1-11.

The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical, written by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey and directed by Michael Greif, addresses issues of mental illness and a suburban family’s efforts to cope with loss.

James played the role of the family patriarch in the musical when it played at Second Stage Theater in 2008. He was most recently seen in Time Stands Still and Shrek the Musical on Broadway.

He will be joining a company which features Alice Ripley, Kyle Dean Massey, Jennifer Damiano, Adam Chanler-Berat, and Louis Hobson.

The creative team includes Mark Wendland (set), Jeff Mahshie (costumes), Kevin Adams (lighting), Brian Ronan (sound), Sergio Trujillo (musical staging), Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt (orchestrations), and AnnMarie Milazzo (vocal arrangements).

For more information, visit www.NextToNormal.com.