Caitlin Kinnuenen sings Natalie

Caitlin Kinnuenen sings Natalie Like the characters in Rent, this family of misfits tries to survive despair by sticking together while going off in all kinds of dysfunctional directions to cope, caught in a maze and trying to find their way in the dark. To this end, at some point the perky petite blond and long suffering housewife has an epiphany, stands up and says go fuck yourself. Alice Ripley through her character’s rising to the occasion makes you feel how heavy her heart is and you feel compassion if not empathy for her. Her voice gets low and raw like her emotions yet rises to the rafters, strong and clear.

The tri-level set looks industrial, kind of ghetto Rentish, more like a warehouse with chain link fencing than a cross section of a two-story house, a recital hall or a psychotherapist office. The musicians play live on-stage on the upper two levels. There’s the Next to Normal Band and some local musicians but it’s mostly strings except for drums and percussion. Piano, guitars, bass, violin, cello.

This cast sings clarion clear and bright for two hours so the soundtrack sounds great on the merits besides feeling cathartic. Asa Somers sings Dan, the overly loyal and steadfast husband who means well but sells out his wife to the therapist; Curt Hansen sings the eternal Gabe, the son; Preston Sadleir sings Henry, the happy affable, good-natured, goofy and wry musician boyfriend of Diana’s high school age daughter. Caitlin Kinnuenen sings Natalie, the Mozart loving and hapless daughter who is getting robbed of her innocence and girlhood by her mother’s illness.