I Love Drama.

So, once or twice a year, one of my old professors takes a group of students from her college on a field trip to see some amazing theatre. And even though I haven't actually been a student of hers in a long time, she always invites me along, and I always jump at the chance to go with!
Last spring I wrote this post about the shows I went to and my experience, and I figured I'd stick with the tradition :)

So this year we again went to Milwaukee for our "fine art adventure". First we stopped at the Milwaukee Art Museum, where there was an Impressionist exhibit showing. Although I have to admit - even though it means I'm an uncultured hooligan - I didn't really enjoy that exhibit much. I liked much better the modern art, which was sometimes weird and nonsensical, but always amusing! Even if I didn't understand it, it made me laugh or think... rather than go "oh look, another pretty naked girl". Anyway, I'm uncouth.

Next on the agenda was The Rep, otherwise known as the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. And this time around, we saw a musical called Next to Normal, which I knew almost nothing about. I heard it was a musical about mental illness, and I chose not to find out anymore information so that I would be moved and surprised when I saw it.

So, it turns out that Next to Normal is about a woman who suffers from bipolar disorder that verges on schizophrenia and how she tries to cope with it. But more moving than her story, I thought, was the story of her family and how the disease affects them in different ways. The most moving part was how even though they all loved each other, they were all being hurt and all spiraling horribly out of control, because the disease took over each of their lives.

I'm not sure how much you readers know about my life, but a lot of this hit really close to home for me, especially the storyline about the daughter who felt neglected and then turned to drugs for comfort.

Needless to say, I sobbed through parts of the first act, and almost ALL of the second act. It was a healthy cry though, and we all came out of the theatre wanting to talk about how mental illness or other "shameful" illnesses had affected our families.

Anyway, it was a fabulous time, and a very good reward for me finishing up the semester, and now I'm exhausted and ready to go to bed! Goodnight everyone :)