News came yesterday that Tom Kitt’s “Next to Normal” will come to Broadway, with much of the same cast as its Off-Broadway run, minus Brian d’Arcy James, who’s now playing Shrek on Broadway.

That means a trip back to the Great White Way for Jennifer Damiano of White Plains (she was the youngest original member of the cast of “Spring Awakening”) — and a Broadway debut for Clarkstown South graduate Adam Chanler-Berat of New City.

Here’s my story from the show’s Off-Broadway run, almost exactly one year ago.

“Next to Normal” will begin previews March 27 for a Broadway opening April 15 at the Longacre Theater, 220 W. 48th St.

There are a couple of interesting aspects to this Broadway opening.

First, the show went from Off-Broadway’s Second Stage to the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., before being tapped for Broadway. Typically, shows start away from New York, come to Off-Broadway and transfer to Broadway.

Second, because the six-person show is quite intimate, producers will close the second balcony of the Longacre Theatre, reducing the 1,100-seat capacity to 820. Unusual for producers to say they don’t want to sell tickets, particularly in this economic environment.

But “Next to Normal” comes to Broadway on a wave of Helen Hayes Award nominations—the D.C. equivalent of the Tony: Outstanding Non-Resident Production, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Non-Resident Production (Alice Ripley), Outstanding Lead Actor in a Non-Resident Production (J. Robert Spencer), and Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Non-Resident Production (Aaron Tveit and Jennifer Damiano).

At Second Stage, “Next to Normal” won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Score and also received the following accolades: Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Featured Actor (Aaron Tveit), and Outstanding Lighting Design (Kevin Adams); Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley) and Outstanding Music; Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical and Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley); and a Drama League nomination for Outstanding Musical, among others.

The Broadway production will feature the entire Arena Stage cast: Alice Ripley, J. Robert Spencer, Aaron Tveit, Jennifer Damiano, Adam Chanler-Berat, and Louis Hobson. Ripley, Tveit, Damiano, and Chanler-Berat were also in the Second Stage Theatre production.