“It started out being a musical about ideas and it became a musical about people. And I think that’s an important lesson for me in all writing is that people are more interesting than ideas when it comes to drama...The other thing we learned is that when you’re young, it’s very easy to be snarky and ironic and there’s a lot of great material to be derived out of those modes of thinking. And as you get a little bit older you realize that snark and irony and sarcasm are actually pretty easy. They’re defensive poses. It’s much more challenging and dangerous to put something sincere and real out in the world.”
Brian Yorkey, Lyricist of hit musical "Next to Normal"