Ripley made her Broadway debut in The Who's Tommy in 1993. Additional Broadway roles include: Betty Schaeffer in Sunset Boulevard (1994), Bathsheba in King David (1997), Fantine in Les Misérables (1998), Molly Ivors in James Joyce's The Dead (2000), and Janet in The Rocky Horror Show (2000). She also performed in a benefit concert performance of Dreamgirls in 2001.
(added 10-21-08)
Updated biography and other info here: http://nexttonormal.org/aliceripley
Alice is currently starring in Next to Normal on Broadway, in her Helen Hayes Award winning role of Diana. Next to Normal was nominated for eleven 2009 Tony Awards, including a personal nomination of Best Actress in a Musical for Alice. Next to Normal has since won the 2010 Pulitzer prize in Drama.
On June 7, 2009 won Alice Ripley won her first Tony award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Diana in Next to Normal.
Light
Alice Ripley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We need some light
First of all, we need some light
You can't sit here in the dark
And all alone, it's a sorry sight
It's just you and me
We'll live, you'll see
Night after night
We'd sit and wait for the morning light
But we've waited far too long
For all that's wrong to be made right
Diana:
Day after day
Wishing all our cares away
Trying to fight the things we feel
But some hurts never heal
Some ghosts are never gone
But we go on
We still go on
And you find some way to survive
And you find out you don't have to be happy at all
To be happy you're alive
Natalie:
Day after day
Give me clouds and rain and gray
Give me pain, if that's what's real
Henry and Natalie:
It's the price we pay to feel
Dan and Diana:
The price of love is loss
Dan:
But still we pay
Dan and Henry:
We love anyway
Gabe:
And when the night has finally gone
And when we see the new day dawn
We'll wonder how we wandered for so long, so blind
The wasted world we thought we knew
The light will make it look brand new
So...
All:
Let it, let it
Let it, let it
Let it shine, shine, shine
Day after day, day after day
We'll find the will to find our way
Knowing that the darkest skies will someday see the sun
Dan:
When our long night is done
Dan, Diana and Natalie:
There will be light
There will be light
All:
When we open up our light
Sons and daughters, husbands, wives
Can fight that fight
There will be light
There will be light
There will be light
There will be light
The song "Light" by Alice Ripley is a moving and inspiring anthem about the importance of hope and perseverance in the face of adversity. The song begins with Natalie stating that they need some light, both literally and metaphorically. The darkness represents the sadness and depression that they feel, and they need something to brighten their lives. She acknowledges that it's a sorry sight to see oneself alone in the dark. Dan pipes in, saying how they used to wait every night for the morning light, but it has been far too long. Diana talks about how they try to fight their feelings, but some hurts never go away, and some ghosts never leave. Yet they still go on, still find some way to survive. Gabriel joins in, saying that when the night is over, they will wonder how they could have wasted so much time in the dark. They will see the light, and everything will be new.
The heart of the song lies in the repeated chorus, "There will be light," which is sung by all the characters together. It's a powerful message of hope and resilience that speaks to anyone who has ever struggled with depression and anxiety, or faced other challenges in life. The song acknowledges the pain and suffering that they feel, yet also acknowledges that they must continue to fight and persevere. They must find the courage to open up and let their light shine, no matter how difficult it may seem. "Light" is a reminder that we all have a light within us, and no matter how dark the world may seem, there is always hope for a brighter tomorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
We need some light
We need something positive in our life
First of all, we need some light
Before anything else, we need something positive in our life
You can't sit here in the dark
You can't be in a negative state forever
And all alone, it's a sorry sight
Being alone in a negative state is not a pleasant sight
It's just you and me
We are in this together
We'll live, you'll see
We'll survive this
Night after night
Repeatedly
We'd sit and wait for the morning light
We hope for positivity with each morning
But we've waited far too long
We've been hoping for positivity for too long
For all that's wrong to be made right
Hoping for a solution to all negative things
Day after day
Repeatedly
Wishing all our cares away
Hoping to rid ourselves of worries
Trying to fight the things we feel
Trying to overcome our negative emotions
But some hurts never heal
Some negative experiences cannot be forgotten
Some ghosts are never gone
Negative experiences will stay with us
But we go on
We continue to live, despite our negative experiences
We still go on
We continue to live, despite our negative experiences
And you find some way to survive
We will find a way to live with our negative experiences
And you find out you don't have to be happy at all
You don't need happiness to survive
To be happy you're alive
Just being alive should make us happy
Give me clouds and rain and gray
I can handle negativity
Give me pain, if that's what's real
I can handle pain if that is the truth
It's the price we pay to feel
Negativity is a part of experiencing emotions
The price of love is loss
Love comes with the risk of losing someone
But still we pay
We still choose to love
We love anyway
We still choose to love
And when the night has finally gone
When the negative time has passed
And when we see the new day dawn
When we see a new positive time coming
We'll wonder how we wandered for so long, so blind
We'll realize how long we lived with negativity
The wasted world we thought we knew
The negative world we thought we knew
The light will make it look brand new
Positivity will change our perspective of the world
Let it, let it
Allow the positivity
Shine, shine, shine
Be positive
Day after day, day after day
Repeatedly
We'll find the will to find our way
We'll find a way through the negativity
Knowing that the darkest skies will someday see the sun
Even the worst situations will eventually get better
When our long night is done
When our negative time is finished
There will be light
There will be positivity in our life
When we open up our light
When we open up to positivity in our life
Sons and daughters, husbands, wives
Everyone will benefit from our positivity
Can fight that fight
We can overcome negativity
There will be light
There will be positivity in our life
There will be light
There will be positivity in our life
There will be light
There will be positivity in our life
There will be light
There will be positivity in our life
Contributed by Callie K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.