I Am The One (reprise) :: Next to Normal Off-Broadway

Asa Somers (Doc), Alice Ripley (Diana), Brian d'Arcy James (Dan), Aaron Tveit (Gabe), Jennifer Damiano (Natalie), Adam Chaler-Berat (Henry)
Next to Normal, Secon Stage Arena, March 1, 2008

[@sarahmark7698]

I just love the line where they both say "I am the one who watched while you died." The parallel is amazing and hauntingly beautiful.

[@TonyStark-zz6rr]

"Gabe... Gabriel.." gets me every time. And the difference between "Hey dad, it's me" and "Hi dad..."

[@paulf.252]

I can suspend my disbelief enough to accept ghosts who get older as time passes and can move objects and stuff, but I find it very difficult to believe that anyone says, "Let me go," when hugged by Aaron Tveit like that.

[@alexs.3383]

lmaooo

[@_LynnleeEnnis04]

I know I wouldn’t

[@malloryfallon6394]

i honestly thought you were gonna get all serious with that but then I was like “Well that escalated quickly!” Lmao 😂😂

[@julieporter7805]

Yes but he's his father in that scene and that would be weird.

[@entolg]

"Gabe?. . . Gabriel?" *my heart shatters softly in the distance*

[@hollyk2611]

My heart shatters cataclysmically in the foreground.

[@riley2235]

My heart breaks and i am left there sobbing and clutching my torso literally try to hold myself together

[@yourenotmyrealmom1800]

Okay but no one is talking about Gabe's line "I know you told her that I'm not worth a damn, but you've always known who I am." And honestly that fricking hurts. (Granted the whole show does but we're not talking about that right now)

[@03krypton]

Audience: *sobbing* Me: same

[@TonyStark-zz6rr]

why did I laugh at this.

[@TonyStark-zz6rr]

^ Why did I laugh at this? I don't even remember doing that.

[@Avarixin]

@@TonyStark-zz6rr ^Why did you forget laughing at this?

[@TonyStark-zz6rr]

@@Avarixin Why did I forget laughing at this?

[@Avarixin]

@@TonyStark-zz6rr See you next year

[@emily8431]

brian's choice to slam the book down in anger is really interesting, artistically....he's so sad, so angry, so distraught, so lost, all at once

[@stephpiano2908]

It's the thing that really fucking destroyed me the most in this tbh

[@Alexander.Fernandez-Pons]

This is direction. They all slam the book down.

[@tommytran8880]

@@Alexander.Fernandez-Pons Some do, most don't

[@Alexander.Fernandez-Pons]

@@tommytran8880 While I understand that some may not, or may forget, they are specifically directed to do it that way.

[@jennaz98]

this is definitely the most heartbreaking "gabriel" "hi dad" of them all .... the emotion is so heart wrenching IM CRYING

[@BeforeTheStorm15]

This is one of those quiet songs that hits you somewhere deep. It's not the 'biggest' song of the musical but to me, it's the most powerful. It's tragic yet bitter-sweet and tender too? Gorgeously acted too.

[@i-am-a-fangirlbe_afraid2187]

When they say they watched while the other died just hurts my soul....Gabe hurts because he's watching his dad lose himself and Dan hurts because he lost his son and is only allowing himself to grieve 16 years later.....heart? who needs that?

[@sifuvr2390]

I don't think Gabe is the villain. Really, the only villain is circumstance. Each character is so very flawed, but none is intentionally hurting anyone, imo

[@kl-1447]

@@sifuvr2390 Agreed, I think thats one of the points of the show: they all have understandable flaws that make their characters interesting. And they don't necessarily grow out of those flaws either through the show, but they learn to live with them.

[@francescagrace]

"Gabe. Gabriel." "Hi Dad."

[@DisneyPrincessOlivia]

francesca grace And I'm on the floor, crying my eyes out...

[@somethingnexttonormal]

AND THEN HE JUST FREAKING RUNS AWAY FOREVER LIKE I KNOW THE POINT OF THE AHOW IS THAT THEY HAVE TO LET HIM GO OF HIM BUT SERIOUSLY I WANT HIM TO STAY

[@krisushi1]

It breaks my heart that after Gabes dad acknowledges him, he then runs away.

[@StephanieMazza]

i am the audible sobbing

[@taylorbarrett3767]

Brian d'Arcy James is one of the most underrated Broadway actors

[@michiganpride389]

No truer fact ever uttered

[@zoinks8868]

@@michiganpride389 I wouldn't say he's underrated at all. He's popular in the theater world. He's been the lead role of many Broadway shows (Shrek and something rotten!) And he won 3 toney awards. He just isn't popular with the general public but is well known in theatre.

[@jlyfan]

@@zoinks8868 its Tony awards and he sadly hasn't won any

[@casharrington3877]

the way that he says "you've always known who i am" sounds like he's daring dan to say his name. idk just a thought.

[@kl-1447]

He is though in a way. He needs Dan to recognize him and acknowledge him. Dan needs to come to terms with it in his own way, with losing his son and his wife's mental illness.

[@Ndd-sy8dy]

I THINK that Dan has been able to see him this whole time. Like I think Gabe was a spirit rather than Diane's hallucination.

[@tacomeat5689]

Ndd 1031 i think it’s more than Dan could see Gabe, but as his own regrets, like Diana could. While Diana had much worse hallucinations, Dan still had his own mental issues after not acknowledging his grief and dealing with Diana, so this is him finally coming to terms with what happened and accepting that he has his own “Gabe” he has to accept and move past

[@SCBELiEBERSZ]

okay this song literally stabs me in the heart a thousand times but can we also take a moment to talk about Aaron's biceps?

[@i-am-a-fangirlbe_afraid2187]

Yussss

[@cisnt9244]

Yes we can.

[@somethingnexttonormal]

Absolutely

[@shereighties]

I know, right? x3

[@kristenrichardson439]

@@riley2235 oh, me, too!

[@braindeadgoldfish]

This has to be one of the most heart-wrenching scenes in musical theatre. I'm so glad that it is followed by "light." This show would be super depressing if it ended like this.

[@bandosdoitbest]

In the moment where they sing "I am the one who watched while you died" everything made sense and I understood why this won a Pulitzer. This is probably my favorite moment

[@Orholam5]

I wish it ended like this...would leave everyone talking and imagining an end

[@saschahoupt6177]

RFW NO THATS EVIL

[@turtleking7772]

I have listened to this soundtrack so many times, someone explain. Is he a ghost?!

[@ccgp18]

EvilBeagle I would recommend seeing the entire show. Everyone has a different and personal opinion of what Gabe really is. There should be a complete version of the show somewhere here in KZbin (even if it is not with the same actors)

[@vincentowens5645]

Is it just me or does it sound like there are people sobbing softly in the background and sniffling?

[@Jill-ih9dq]

Can you blame them

[@saschahoupt6177]

Vincent Owens oh no that's me you can hear. I'm sobbing so loudly you can hear it through space and time and it sounds like a whole audience.

[@baileybieganek2446]

Vincent Owens no. I think they're all crying...I mean: this part of the story is heartbreaking and beautiful. Also, Brian d'arcy james and aaron tveit are right there in front of them. That could be it too...I think it's both for me!

[@Chrstne81]

I was a total sobbing mess the first time I saw this show!

[@alexdaley7616]

@@Chrstne81 Me, too. In decades of going to the theatre, I've only completely broke down into full-on sobbing twice. The "Goodnight Saigon" scene of Movin' Out and this scene from Next to Normal. (This scene: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZeznH-nfst9a5Y)

[@ericb4821]

This beautiful scene teaches a lesson about life. “Until you name me, you can’t tame me” Gabe warns in the reprise to I’m Alive. In this scene Gabe loving says “I am the one who’ll heal you” and finally Dan touches and says his name and in so doing his fear (Gabe) disappears. This is a beautiful lesson about embracing both what we love and fear.

[@YungsingersrAWSOME]

i think this is the most heartbreaking performance of this song ever. the dad delivers such an emotional performance. it's not rough, it's gentle. How beautiful. And of course Aaron is perf

[@haliannperez4872]

That's okay, I didn't need my heart today. All good. No problem. This is okay. *drowns in a pool of tears*

[@QuikVidGuy]

I can't imagine how fucking heart shattering it was to see this without accidentally learning his name first

[@mickysgrotto]

i never even considered that holy shit

[@heathrawls870]

I like how you can hear sniffles from the audience throughout this. Understandably though, this show is so incredible. I'd love a chance to play Gabe some day

[@vampireknox]

I knew what was coming and I *still* cried damn it

[@sterlingwillis4940]

I think that that was the Gabe's spirit trying to get his family to move on and they couldn't do that until they let go of each of their struggles. Diana and Dan their toxic marriage and their daughter her fears and anxieties. This play really spells it out for you.

[@lisadanielle1959]

NOBODY TOUCH ME RIGHT NOW

[@FunWithSteff]

"Hi dad" my heart shattered

[@Dale-ct5ru]

This song sucker-punched me in the throat and then kissed my forehead gently while I was dying and I loved every second.

[@maybejustonce6979]

Ya know I never thought I would be crying because a dead teenager said 'hi dad' but well here I am

[@ially2011]

The most emotional version of "I am the one (reprise)" that I have ever seen... I can feel the depression, the isolation, the pain, the denial, the acceptance... It's just one of those moments that you can feel that the actors know what the audience should feel... I've seen the version of Kyle... But this one is very good! Very very good! So good, you can hear people sobbing at the background.... I really really appreciate the person who uploaded this.... Thank you so much! #tearsofjoy

[@TheGoose03]

If you listen carefully, you can hear the exact moment my heart snaps in half

[@NotSoSocial]

I can't handle this damn musical and the things it does to my emotions

[@lisafs0902]

I'm not crying, that's just Aaron Tveit with a tight orange t-shirt in my eyes.

[@caroline456]

Aaron Tveit why do you always have to make me cry??

[@3mmdk]

The sobbings are so loud...

[@marianemilene]

i think no one will top aaron tveit as gabriel in this broadway

[@merriamdionisio4591]

Truuu tho

[@jlyfan]

its not a competition

[@jerrylandry7754]

This song messed me up when I did it as an Understudy in community theatre. The whole musical is so emotional and raw but this song just lays it all out there and hits you directly in the heart. The musical was actually incredibly therapeutic for me even playing an extra in the chorus.

[@maryprice6090]

It is comforting to know I am not the only one who cries while watching this.

[@artisanbiscuit4479]

Who's Crazy just comes to a whole another level after this song

[@thelesamisdyingaphobic2033]

aaron: hi dad me: *ugly crying*

[@casharrington3877]

his arms should be dress-coded

[@ilethegleeproject]

"hi dad" OMG i'm so done

[@roryanderson2993]

I Am the One (the reprise and the first one) are my favorite songs in this musical, they are so beautiful

[@gabicastle9217]

The way Gabe grabs his dad 😩😢

[@danielle-idontwantjustnumbers]

this scene never fails to make me sob

[@wondertwins12]

Aaron Tveit's arms are doing things that should be illegal.

[@Nurenja14]

I don't know anything about this story but still I started crying as soon as dad began to sing 😓

[@lisadanielle1959]

"hi dad.." *gross sobbing*

[@mainestar234]

I will never forgive myself for not knowing about/seeing this musical when it was on Broadway. I've been listening to it since 2011/2012, when my brother was listening to the soundtrack and it became one of the things that got me through high school. I didn't really pay much attention to theater, except for the local plays/musicals my brother was in. (I didn't see my first Broadway show until November 2016 when I saw Hamilton right before Chris Jackson left), hoping Dear Evan Hansen will be the next one I get to see on Broadway. Someday there better be an N2N revival.

[@rohanjohn1819]

Emily Peele wanna team up and make one?

[@Olemansummer]

What a cool brother you have!!

[@michaeladkins6]

@@rohanjohn1819 New show in London.

[@alyssa373]

sobbing! i just saw the musical and this was like the most heart wrenching scene. i cried several times throughout the whole thing but this part is where i lost it.

[@dramagirls5717]

Nobody: Aaron Tveit: Naruto runs off stage

[@gomezaddams42]

"Hi dad......." WHY

[@yuiop608]

simply the most moving thing I've ever seen

[@mp95225]

I am the one that watched while you died... gets me every time I watch it :'(

[@TonyStark-zz6rr]

*single tear falls* That's fine. Totally fine. It's not like I needed my heart or anything. *Whole river of tears fall* GABE

[@MissAllisonKaz]

LOOK. AT. HIS. ARMS.

[@MosesAgility236]

One source of that heartbreak is Gabe, who, played by Tveit, is dangerously seductive, a beautifully frightening and nightmarish source of fear and desperation. I think I just... wow lol

[@ially2011]

I think Brian’s “simplicity” of acting as Dan is the reason why this part became heartbreaking... If you know the pain of going through denying you lost someone, up to the point of covering it and trying not to think about it because you know that the pain is too much to bear... but then again, deep inside, you know know for a fact that you still do... but you cannot accept it because the pain is killing you more than before... And then, you found figuring out that no one can free you unless you learn to “accept” it... It doesn’t mean that the pain will go away... but it means that you acknowledge that pain of losing... The pain to not seeing anyone anymore... The pain of abandonment will be replaced with forgiveness... Disclaimer: It’s only applicable to this “Next to Normal” thing okay... not in all situations...

[@malloryfallon6394]

AHHHHHHH THIS SCENE/SONG NEVERRRR FAILS TO MAKE ME CRY

[@MissPureNRGfan]

This made me cry, and I've never seen the musical.

[@briellec7173]

I highly recommend watching the whole thing, you'll be crying even more!

[@_LynnleeEnnis04]

The little sobs in the back ground are a mood-

[@Ineeee]

In the Argentinian version they hug at the end of this song and it's so powerful and amazing

[@CarolinaGreenEyes]

Definite tearjerker. Aaron Tveit has a beautiful voice!

[@alexlees6426]

This show is amazing for so many different reasons but I can't help but think how gut-wrenchingly sad and tragic Dan's story is. He does his best to hold it together until he can't. He is there through it all and pretty much loses everything he holds dear. Played beautifully by Brian and Aaron I must say.

[@ellielindsey7454]

Perfection, perfection, perfection.

[@ellielindsey7454]

I’ve already commented on this video but I can’t help myself: this is the most beautiful moment of theatre I’ve ever seen.

[@Ndd-sy8dy]

This makes me think that Gabe wasn't rly a bad guy who wanted to drive his mom crazy... He was just a lonely ghost suffering from his father's rejection. His dad could see him but didn't want to so he pretended that Gabe doesn't exist. Gabe pretended not to care but he probably did. He didn't rly want to do harm... He just wanted to be acknowledged and accepted

[@uofc57]

I've always found this scene so powerful, but now that I'm a mother, it completely destroys me

[@maemarizmontero1350]

i don't know what got into my mind but im watching this over and over again and I'm crying a pool of tears. This is so depressing if it ended like this.

[@fatherterry1017]

it’s four in the morning. i’m still crying over this musical.

[@bobmorrison8744]

just watched this for the 1st time.....wow

[@shan-ik7qt]

Gabe scares me so much yet he's one of my favorite characters.

[@not.interested.]

Gabe in I Am The One: "hey dad it's me" Me: oh shit Gabe in I Am The One Reprise: "hi dad" Me: *sobbing* oh shit

[@baileybieganek2446]

Lily Nielsen EXACTLY!!!!!

[@SarahSharpe1231]

Came back to this video after the OBC reunion yesterday. (No, sadly, I wasn't able to make it.) But back when I was first discovering and obsessing over this show YEARS ago, I watched this video nonstop. It never ceased to make me sob. So...coming back to it...when those opening notes started playing at 1:03, my stomach LITERALLY started knotting up and causing me actual pain because I KNEW how heartbreaking this performance was and how sad watching it was going to make me. Seven years later and I STILL can't believe it how raw and real Aaron and Brian's performances are. Cannot be beat.

[@hannahcoomer6473]

150 time watching it in a row and still cry a little

[@kirajoy4514]

I’m in love.

[@vincentowens5645]

Those arms doe

[@QuikVidGuy]

oh Dan's burying himself in a blue book, and only closes it when Diana reaches the climax of the song, when her decision becomes the most real and with Gabe by the door instead of emerging from deeper in the house, she's also saying goodbye to him, since she no longer believes he's real

[@nicki446]

For one scene to have this much emotion, feeling, power and even ambiguity of meaning is extraordinary - I think it's such an exquisitely written and performed scene. Still can't watch it without tearing up..

[@MsMaggyW]

I lost my best friend last November, after 12 yrs of friendship, and this song hits home so bad... Makes me cry every. single. time. So beautiful... more emotional than any other Broadway I've ever seen or heard...

[@Belair1962]

“Gabe... Gabriel....” “Hi dad. “

[@madisonkelleher3869]

i really loved brian d'arcy james as this!!

[@maxgrant4210]

I'm crying so much 😭

[@Scholz23]

'Why didm't you go with her?' Every time. Ow

[@MsADiez]

When I tell you I sobbed

[@graciegarrett4294]

so sad bc dan loved Diana and stayed with her but SHE was the one that left :(((

[@Mariokemon]

she knows staying is only going to bring pain to herself, dan, and natalie.

[@melodyho0506]

Even 'damn' sounds so rite in Aaron's mouth~

[@vincentowens5645]

FUCK EVERYTHING OH GOD

[@KellieWams]

Why am I crying? Oh my gosh this is incredible.

[@animationmusicals]

the ''hi dad'' is too cute and sad im crying

[@nixiepixie47]

oops well there goes my heart

[@trinity2333]

aaron always has to be still in musicals

[@caroline456]

IM NOT CRYING YOURE CRYING

[@michaeladkins6]

I just discovered this show in August 2023 through the new London show. Im obsessed with it. You have to trust me that Im not a crier. I have watched this scene 30 times. It hits me every time.

[@laurynkaminski4217]

Agreed with all, a def tearjerker. And that's not always easy for me. This musical hits home for me in some ways, the acting is beyond phenomenal, the score is excellent, and the emotion is completely there. I want to see it made into a movie, pronto.

[@reannastylinson]

aARON STOP YOURE GIVING ME HEART PAINS

[@emilyjoy4401]

I'm not crying. You're crying

[@ingvildkvakestad]

I am not crying You Are, but Honestly who is cutting onions and using soap as a weapon

[@CrazyCatMan13]

"hi dad..." breaks me every time.

[@starlight6196]

oh my fucking god it hURTS IT HURTS DEAR GOD IT HURTS