'Next to Normal' Cast Takes Shape

Media Release 3/2/12

After five days of exhaustive auditions the production team for the Adelaide premiere of Next To Normal are pleased to announce one half of their exciting cast.

The coveted role of Diana will be played by music theatre and cabaret performer Rosie Hosking.

Hosking’s professional credits include Phantom Of The Opera (original Australian production), The Venetian Twins (Sydney Opera House), South Pacific (Festival Theatre) and Sunday In The Park With George (NIDA), as well as extensive performance around Australia as a concert artist.

Her on stage husband (Dan) will be played by Adelaide Critic’s Circle Award nominee Paul Talbot, whose critically acclaimed onstage credits include Jamie in Six Foot Something’s award-winning production of The Last Five Years and the award-nominated Elegies: A Song Cycle (a collaboration between Six Foot Something and SINGular Productions) as well as corporate performances.

Diana and Dan’s daughter will be played by sensational newcomer Emma Bargery, who thoroughly impressed the production team with her powerhouse vocals and sensitive acting.

“We were privileged to have seen so many of Adelaide’s finest performers during the course of our first round of auditions, and at one point we all kind of wished we’d been producing a show with much more epic casting, like Les Misérables!”, said Co-Producer Kate Warren.

“The professionalism and detailed preparation of all our auditionees was simply overwhelming.”

Auditions and callbacks for the remaining three roles will continue over the next fortnight as the production team search for the perfect local cast.

Joining the Next To Normal production team is award-winning sound designer Matthew Curtis and critically acclaimed lighting designer Daniel Barber.

The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning rock musical will premiere in Adelaide on May 10, 2012 at the State Opera Studio.

The production, which explores mental illness in a suburban family context, will be a collaboration between award-winning theatre company Six Foot Something Productions and film and theatre production house The Factory.