vocal director note

How lucky I feel to be here, and how thrilled I am for our audience to see this work we've put together. I was both excited and terrified to tackle nexttonormalbecause of how close it hits to home, but this made me want to share this story all the more –a story of home, family, mental health, our capacity to love and accept love.

The cast made this process a joy. All twelve individuals brought a unique and beautiful sound to our collective song, and I'm deeply proud of the dedication I saw in the rehearsal room, day after day.

Incredibly thankful to explore storytelling through song with my best friends, old and new. Further thanks to:

Chloe, a long-time peer idol of mine and now one of my best friends. I'm in awe of her and the way she's crafted this telling with empathy and fearlessness;

Trip, Emily, Aarushi, the greatest team: each brilliant vocalists and teachers who poured their hearts into it all, from conveying the heart of our characters to nailing crunchy harmonies;

Nathan, my incomparably wonderful partner in music-making here and the coolest person ever; the entire n2n family for embracing me with a warmer hug than I could have imagined. I'm home here.

– Jin-Hee Lee