Riverdale's Madchen Amick Reveals Why 'Next to Normal' Was a Breakthrough for Alice

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Wednesday's Riverdale Season 5 penultimate episode. Read at your own risk!]

Riverdalefans had plenty to sing about on Wednesday. Since Season 2, everyone's favorite troubled teens have put their musical theatre hats on in the show's annual musical episodes. After Carrie, Heathers, and last year's Hedwig and Angry Inch, Season 5 saw the gang tackle one of their heaviest musicals yet: Next to Normal.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2010 and with three Tony Awards under its belt, Next to Normal is a powerful story of a family struggling with grief and loss, all accompanied by an infectious pop/rock score. Following the (spoiler alert) shocking death of Betty Cooper's sister, Polly, Alice Cooper (Mädchen Amick) is deep in her grief, alone in her house listening to the Next to Normal soundtrack on repeat.

The episode saw not only Alice, but Betty (Lili Reinhart), taking on some of the show's biggest songs like, "I Am the One," as she tries to reach her struggling mother. Elsewhere, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) sings "Superboy and the Invisible Girl" while worrying of disappearing behind her on-again-off-again man, Archie Andrews (KJ Apa). With Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch), Kevin Keller (Casey Cott), and more also singing through the infectious score, the episode saw each of the core characters face their own demons and worries head-on.

Below, Amick breaks down her experience preparing for and shooting the Next to Normal episode, and even teases what's to come as season 5 winds down.

I know fans are super excited every year for the musical episodes of Riverdale, and Next to Normal is such a beloved show. Were you familiar with it before diving in? 
Madchen Amick: Actually, I wasn't. We're always in high anticipation every season asking, "What is going to be the musical?' We start asking each other, "Have you heard anything?" There was a little debate whether we were actually going to do one or not because there was the big Josie and the Pussycats episode, which felt like a musical. But in the end, the musical that Roberto loves so much and his friends actually wrote, it just aligned so well with the storyline that Alice and Betty were going through. 

It's an incredibly intense musical, as is Alice's storyline this season. What is your musical background in general? 
Amick: So I grew up in a musical family. My dad was a musician all of his life, so I grew up with music. I was playing piano at a young age, and basically started playing upright bass from the moment that I could actually reach my little arms around it...I've always loved music, I married a musician and both of my kids are recording artists, but I am absolutely not a singer at all myself! So, it's terrifying whenever I know that musical episode is looming.

Seriously, Next to Normal is so powerful and the emotion lives through the music, which is lovely to hear you play with. It seems like four musical episodes in, you guys are in good hands when preparing.
Amick: It's always terrifying, but I always say yes and I always give it my all...we've got a great team in place, a great studio we record at in Vancouver...you just got to be ready, jump in and do your best! I think it always works out well and the fans are always so supportive.

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I'm telling you, it's the event of each season. You guys have to keep churning them out now!
Amick: I know! You know, when Roberto first did it I was like, "Oh this is going to be an every year thing!" This is frightening!

Next to Normal touches on family, loss, grief, and specifically mental health. I know recently you launched the Don't Mind Me Foundation. Tell me about the foundation and the seemingly divine timing with this episode.
Amick: Yeah, it's one of those things when the universe just gives you little gifts here and there. Mental illness hit my family ten years ago. We're a really tight-knit family...so when it hit our family and it was a struggle that my son went through, this just completely pulled the rug out from underneath us. The system that we were thrown into was so broken that it was a real struggle to find our son help ten years ago, and just recently to find out the system is still broken, if not worse. 

In the last year or two, it just became so maddening that the system isn't getting better and we wanted to do something about it. We decided to start Don't Mind Me and we will be a direct impact organization. A lot of other organizations are breaking the stigma and sharing stories, which is beautiful and so needed, but we wanted to just try to do even more and actually get funding to the people who are in need of treatment, so that we can get accessibility for all.

I think that the work you are doing is very powerful, and what a great opportunity with it lining up with this episode.
Amick: Thank you. It's this beautiful opportunity where on the one hand it feels like, "is this just kismet? Just an amazing coincidence?" But, I think it actually speaks to how prevalent the problem is and how there is an awareness growing of just mental health in general and how it impacts everyone. So to have that be a storyline on Riverdale is on the one hand feels very unique, and a great opportunity and on the other hand just shows you how common it is. Watching my character Alice go through grief and trauma and go through a complete mental health break is really powerful to play and is something to relate to personally.

I know you are all finishing up season 5 and jumping right into 6, can you tell us anything fans can expect as the season winds down?
Amick: The finale closes some things off, and of course, introduces a big new cliffhanger. So expect some goodbyes, some farewells and we'll be sent forward into an exciting new season. So what I can say to fans is, "Buckle up!" As usual.

For more on the Don't Mind Me, head to their official website, here.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW