Broadway collaborators bring the pain to musical theater

With “Next to Normal,” Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey found a way to turn mental illness and family dysfunction into entertaining musical theater, winning a Pulitzer Prize along the way.

Kitt wanted to delve back into the dark side and asked Yorkey to collaborate again, this time on a story of a woman struggling with the direction her life is taking. The result, the Tony-nominated “If/Then,” is coming to Starlight Theatre July 26-31.

“I thought about choice, chance and fact,” said Kitt, speaking by phone from Manhattan, where he lives. “I kept thinking about how much is meant to be in our lives, how much our choices affect what happens. And I thought of doing this show.”

“If/Then” tells the story of Elizabeth, a 40-year-old newly divorced woman who has just moved to New York City. The show splits into two stories about her: one with “Liz,” who seeks new experiences, and one with “Beth,” who focuses on her career — and how their choices affect their lives. Kitt said audiences need to pay attention in the beginning to understand the two storylines.

“This isn’t a simple-minded musical that’s cheerful with song and dance,” Yorkey said. “It will raise your spirits. It’s intended to make you lean forward and engage with the characters and yourself.”

The show received mixed reviews from critics but got Tony nominations for original score (Kitt and Yorkey) and actress in a musical (Idina Menzel). Menzel, perhaps best known for Broadway’s “Wicked” and Disney’s “Frozen,” played Elizabeth on Broadway and for several stops on the tour.

Anthony Rapp, who played Mark Cohen in the Broadway and movie versions of “Rent,” plays Elizabeth’s friend Lucas in “If/Then.” Overland Park native Janine DiVita plays her friend Anne.

Kitt said the musical is “a love letter to New York,” but Yorkey said Starlight’s outdoor theater will help audiences imagine that it’s set elsewhere — say Kansas City.

(Coincidentally, Musical Theater Heritage will present “Next to Normal,” by Yorkey and Kitt, Aug. 4-21. See musicaltheaterheritage.com.)

This story was originally published July 24, 2016 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Broadway collaborators bring the pain to musical theater."