Holding Space: A Director’s Reflection on Next to Normal
- Ian Francis Lah
- May 29, 2025
- 6 min read
By Ian Francis Lah, Executive Artistic DirectorNorthern Lakes Arts Association | Broadway in the Boundary Waters 2025
This June, Northern Lakes Arts Association opens its 2025 Broadway in the Boundary Waters season with one of the most critically acclaimed and emotionally resonant musicals of the modern era: Next to Normal.
Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and three Tony Awards, Next to Normal is a bold, beautiful exploration of mental illness, grief, and the complexities of a family simply trying to hold itself together. With book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt, the show is at once heart-wrenching and hopeful, pairing raw, contemporary storytelling with an electrifying rock score that pulses with urgency and heart.
At its center is Diana Goodman, a suburban mother battling bipolar disorder, and the impact her illness has on her family. What unfolds is a deeply human story about survival, memory, love, and the struggle to feel normal in a world that rarely is.
As both director and performer, I’ve spent the past year and a half preparing to bring this piece to life here in Ely, and I want to share a little of the why behind that decision, and the heart of what we’re building together.
Why Next to Normal, and Why Now?
When I was programming this season, I couldn’t ignore what I was seeing around me, in my friends, in my family, and in this community. People are carrying so much. Between the economy, political polarization, climate anxiety, and the isolating effects of social media, the weight of modern life is heavy. I felt it was time to meet that reality head-on.
Next to Normal doesn’t shy away from what’s hard, it tells the truth about mental illness, trauma, and grief. But it also carries so much hope. There’s a line in the show that says, “You don’t have to be happy to be happy you’re alive.” That’s it. That’s the heartbeat of this story.
I want people to walk away feeling seen. I want it to start conversations, about healing, about asking for help, about what it means to hold space for each other. And beyond the message, the writing is stunning. The score and the script are in constant dialogue. It’s smart, emotional, and deeply cathartic. You don’t leave this show untouched.
Meet the Company
This cast is made up of some of the most grounded, generous, and gifted artists I’ve had the honor of working with:
Andrea Strom (Diana Goodman) makes her BIBW debut in one of musical theatre’s most challenging and nuanced roles. A beloved local performer and co-founder of Crapola Granola, Andrea brings raw emotional honesty and incredible vocal presence to the role. Her Diana is fierce, fragile, and unforgettable.
Ian Francis Lah (Dan Goodman) returns to the stage alongside directing the production. As NLAA’s Executive Artistic Director, this dual role is both professional and personal — drawing on years of leadership, storytelling, and lived experience.
Noah Schnabel (Gabe) is a recent DeSales University graduate making his Ely debut. He brings intensity, depth, and a soaring voice to the show’s most haunting role.
Olivia Sauerberg (Natalie) joins us from Rider University. As a performer and the choreographer for our youth summer camps, Olivia brings fierce intelligence and emotional clarity to the show’s teenage daughter.
Dovid Adler (Henry) returns to NLAA after last summer’s Bright Star and Into the Woods. He brings warmth, humor, and authenticity to this role — as well as serving as Assistant Director for 13: The Musical Jr.
Ben Woods (Dr. Fine / Dr. Madden) joins us from Chicago, IL. A dynamic performer, director, educator, and recording artist, Ben brings complexity and power to both of Diana’s doctors, and makes a bold BIBW debut.
Molly Hill Fuller (Music Director) brings precision, heart, and joy to every note of this score. A longtime collaborator and friend, Molly’s ability to unlock emotional storytelling through music is unmatched.
This team has become a family, onstage and off, and their trust in each other is what brings this show to life.
Balancing the Heavy with the Human
From the first rehearsal, I told the cast: Let’s not just lean into the heaviness. It’s tempting, the show is full of emotional highs and lows. But Next to Normal is just as much about joy as it is about sorrow. It’s about remembering that even in the midst of pain, there are still small moments of light. There’s laughter. There’s connection. There’s love.
The show mirrors that: you’ll see Dan and Diana in the middle of something heartbreaking, and then you’ll shift to Natalie and Henry, fumbling their way through young love. Or you’ll watch the younger couple struggle just as the parents flash back to their own early days.
In the background of my directing work, I also read several memoirs, by people living with bipolar disorder and by their families, because I wanted to bring their voices into the room, even indirectly. In rehearsal, we’ve held space to talk about our own experiences. Because everyone has been close to this in some way. Everyone.
The goal is always to humanize. Not to sensationalize. Just to say: This is real. You are not alone.
Why It Matters in Ely
Growing up in Ely, I know firsthand what rural mental health access looks like, or doesn’t look like. We don’t have the same infrastructure here that larger cities do. And on top of that, we’re often working against a cultural narrative that says: “Just deal with it. Be strong. Keep going.”
But that silence costs people their lives.
I’ve lost friends to suicide. I’ve battled depression. I have family members with bipolar disorder. These aren’t abstract concepts, they’re real people I love. And only recently has it become more acceptable to talk about these things publicly.
Producing Next to Normal in a town like Ely makes the story more personal. More urgent. Because people here are hurting too, and they deserve art that reflects their reality, that gives language to things they might not yet know how to say.
On Playing Dan, and Holding It All Together
Dan is a character I’ve thought about for years, even before I knew I’d play him. He’s trying to hold the family together, even as everything is breaking. He’s sacrificing, staying, giving. There’s a weight to that. And it mirrors what I do as a director, and as the artistic leader of this organization.
There’s a deep parallel between my life and Dan’s. I’ve watched my own father show up again and again with quiet strength and unconditional care. I see that in Dan. I see that in myself. And I see how sometimes we set aside our own needs just to keep the thing we love from falling apart.
It’s a lot, directing and acting in a show like this. But it’s also a gift. It means I get to live this story from the inside and from above, and that duality brings me closer to the truth of it.
Why We Make Work Like This
What I love most about Ely is that this is a town of thinkers, feelers, and artistic risk-takers. Our audiences don’t just watch, they engage. They show up with questions, curiosity, and care. And I’m so grateful to be part of a community that makes room for work like this.
This season, we get to celebrate with something joyful like Sister Act, and we also get to dig deep with something as truthful and tender as Next to Normal. That balance matters. The sugar and the substance. The laughter and the ache.
Because theater isn’t just about escape, it’s about empathy. It’s about holding space. And that’s what we’re doing here.
Next to Normal
June 18–29, 2025
Vermilion Fine Arts Theater – 1900 East Camp Street, Ely, MN
Come join us. Come sit with us. Come feel with us.You don’t have to be happy to be happy you’re alive.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Operating support is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
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