What I liked
Loved how so much of what we see on stage feels like what it’s like in Abby’s mind – the circus, the seizures, the bright colors, the dancing pills.. LOVED the dancing pills.
The Characters and this Cast.
The Character of Abby – inspired by the real-life journey of Sandra’s granddaughter Lucia from her first seizure, through her epilepsy diagnosis and its aftermath. Rachel Kellum so beautifully embodies Abby’s tenaciousness, her determination to have a life fully-lived. Rachel’s Abby is inherently sweet, driven, vulnerable, and relentlessly aspirational – it’s so easy to get on this ride with her, to cheer her wins and sink with her losses. Her voice is out of this world – raw, effervescent – a Star in the making.
Amir Levi is BRILLIANT as the personification of Seizure – and that violent, toxic relationship that charms his way past your defences, sinks its teeth in and won’t let go – before he’s even spoken a word, the relationship between him and Abby is so clear and compelling, dangerous, magnetic, vivid – and filled with heart – in Amir’s hands the Villain Seizure is also vulnerable and funny and infinitely watchable …p.s. the twist with Seizure at the end is flipping adorable!
Ariana (Abby’s mom played by Brittani Murphy)’s emotional anthem of her wish to switch places with her daughter, speaks to anyone who’s ever loved someone who can’t be cured. Some really great songs in this play that I really feel will someday be making the rounds as go-to audition songs – Ariana’s anthem is one of them. Also a big fan of “The Boyfriend App” – shoutouts to Raul Ferrando who composed the music; and Sandra Cruze for her catchy lyrics.
And OMG Sandra Cruze as Abby’s Grandmother – witnessing this amazing artist living out the theatrical version of her real life journey was so powerful – grounded, rich, and funny – a joy to watch.
Loved it. Was very lucky to witness this project grow from its infancy – I’m not biased. It’s won me at every turn. And now, seeing it evolve from staged reading form – to being up on its feet with dancing and sets and props and projections live and in technicolor.. profoundly cool. And this is just the condensed version – CAN’T WAIT to see the whole thing and how it continues to grow!
What I didn't like
MORE SHOWS!!! Extension, please.
My overall impression
A uniquely moving story. On every level, “Abby Normal” is the theatrical embodiment of ‘character being forged not by the circumstances of what happens to you, but rather through what you choose to do with those experiences.’
“Abby Normal” was born out of Sandra Cruze’s family’s real life experience with epilepsy. Through it, she alchemizes her family’s pain, frustration, disappointments, fears, challenges, and longings – wrapping them up in pure love, passion and perseverance, infusing their story with whimsy and imagination, and singing and dancing!, and comes out the other side with characters that are defined by all the ways they transcend the story they’ve been given – characters we can’t help but fall in love with, characters that leave us, as the audience forever changed – opened – awakened.
Sandra Cruze has crafted a transformative show that is as educational as it is entertaining – as funny and smart as it is heart wrenching – with “Abby Normal” she’s taking a subject most people have zero first hand experience with, and making it 100% relatable, identifiable, and inspiring – and is using what life handed her to make a tangible difference in the real world.
There’s something really magical here –
Go! See it. Follow it. Don’t miss what they do with it next. It’s gonna be huge.
