Jessica Hendy Presents WALKING WITH BUBBLES, New Show On Motherhood, Mental Illness, Homelessness And Hope

Jessica Hendy, (CATS, AIDA, AMOUR) is bringing her own story to the stage in Walking with Bubbles, a new play with music about the journey of a single mother navigating her life after her husband suffers a shocking mental health crisis that leads to his homelessness. The interwoven score, written by Jonathan Larson Grant 2021 finalist, Brianna Barnes, beautifully pairs the female driven perspective of WAITRESS with the anthemic inspiration of DEAR EVAN HANSEN, led by warm guitars and ear-worm melodies.

A one-act work in development over the last five years, Hendy's intimate first-person narrative invites audiences into her seemingly perfect New York City life from center stage as a Broadway leading lady with a perfect marriage until her husband begins to suffer an inexplicable mental decline. Grappling with divorce, guilt and empathy around her ex's homelessness and struggles, she is left with her young son, Beckett, whose nickname is Bubbles, to navigate a seemingly impossible new landscape with few resources other than an irrepressible sense of humor and a mother's unwavering determination. The first of its kind in the musical theater genre, Walking with Bubbles presents a way forward through chaos with memorable song and conversational dialogue, offering hard-won wisdom by bravely dramatizing missteps, embarrassments, and failures where audiences arrive as strangers and leave feeling like old friends forged through emotion, honesty, and an unmatched authenticity.

"It's scary to be so vulnerable in sharing the private issues I've faced in my personal life and within my family, but it's also an important part of healing," explains writer and performer Jessica Hendy. "Brianna and I have come together to bring the taboo topic of mental health into the spotlight," she adds. "It impacts so many people but is seldom talked about. So, let's talk, let's share, and let's grow so that we can be better for ourselves and for those around us."

In April, Hendy brought her team back to her hometown of Cincinnati at the pair's alma mater of University of Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music for an intensive workshop alongside the project's director Richard Hess. Walking with Bubbles will celebrate their first industry reading on May 19.

REPERTORY NOTES

Director credit: Richard Hess

Writing credit: Book by Jessica Hendy

Music credit: Music and Lyrics by Brianna Barnes

Walking with Bubbles is a one act play with music with an original score by Brianna Barnes, based on an extraordinary true story, and performed solo by the woman who lived it. Jessica is a woman living her dream - a career in the big city and a perfect marriage - when her husband begins to suffer an inexplicable mental decline that slides into a terrifying psychotic break with reality. She is left with her young son, Beckett, nicknamed Bubbles, to navigate a seemingly impossible new landscape with few resources other than an irrepressible sense of humor and a mother's determination. Walking with Bubbles is the surprising and emotional true story of a woman's resilience and her journey to a new beginning.