Helena Faustine NetID: helenaf3 Section AY1 Essay/Critical Writing II Broadway has a history of involving characters suffering from mental illnesses: Mama Rose’s manic episode in ‘Gypsy’, Chris’ symptoms of PTSD on ‘Miss Saigon’, and Javert’s suicide – a major plot point in ‘Les Misérables’. As of late, mental illnesses have taken center stage on Broadway musical with 2016 hit ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ covering social anxiety disorder, and Pulitzer Prizewinning ‘Next to Normal’ discussing bipolar disorder. Musicals covering mental illnesses strive to combat stigmatized portrayals of those suffering from mental illnesses by humanizing them. Shows as ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ and ‘Next to Normal’ has successfully raised awareness and instigated talks addressing mental health; these shows have possibly saved the lives of many. Riding the trend-wagon of mental health as a theme of Broadway musicals, I propose a musical that discusses Broadway’s show-biz counterpart: Hollywood’s reality TV – starring celebrities that society either idolizes or despises. Rather than focusing on the clearly overdramatized, televised reality they live, the show will concentrate on the causal correlation of fame and mental health. Areas of psychological concern may include narcissism, mistrust, isolation and fear of losing fame. The show aims to humanize figures whose lives are marketed and monetized with grandiose and often facetious details. The musical production will transcend archetypical expectations that society puts on celebrities. I envision the show to have an allure comparable to an anti-hero show – where crime fighters conspicuously lack heroic qualities. Analogously, the show will feature parodies of real celebrities who don’t exhibit the superficiality portrayed on television, and who’s lives are less than ideal. In other words, the show highlights what goes on behind the screen: the chronic selfconsciousness that goes concurrently with the glitz and glamour. The show’s theme has inherent audience appeal as it addresses fame – a condition considered attractive and appealing, through the looking glass of celebrities who indicate that it is unpleasant and frustrating. Although financial factors should not be a primary concern, a theme with high audience appeal allows for longer runs and more sponsors. Audiences may find this appealing as there are numerous celebrities who have spoken out on their mental health struggles, as well as those who have harmed themselves through self-abuse. Society is aware and consciously sympathizes with a famous person’s perceptible lack of privacy in Helena Faustine NetID: helenaf3 Section AY1 life but cannot comprehend the depth of emotional trauma as a consequence of experience with fame. The production – with help of music and the ambience it creates, demonstrates the inner workings of these entities, allowing audience members to not only sympathize, but empathize. It is a rarity to find an honest and open reflection of fame. It could be interesting to see an interpretation of the subject from performers who have experienced their share of publicity as well. The idea for this musical production comes from the 2019 series ‘The Boys’ on amazon prime that features a group of superheroes as “exemplars of American privilege, patriarchy, and fraudulent celebrity culture.” (Hale 2019) The audience see the glorious superhero façade replaced by stalkers, serial liars, and sex offenders with low self-esteems and glutton for praise and validation. The Broadway show covering celebrities will not not follow the same dark and crime-ridden path, opting instead to portray the usually silent battle of mental illnesses in everyday life. The easiest way to be inclusive of multiple mental health issues is to follow a motley group of dysfunctional celebrities working on a project together. Taking into account the time constraints of a musical production, main characters with sub-plots should be limited to three at most. One of the characters introduced may suffer from alcoholism and drug abuse in an attempt to resolve the discrepancy between their real and ideal selves. This character would explore isolation as a means of escaping aversive self-consciousness. Another character may take on the overly altruistic, self-sacrificing persona. Unknowingly, such symptoms are aligned with narcissistic personality disorder (NPI). The entity experiences existential guilt for living privileged lives and earning accolades that they don’t deserve, causing them to overcompensate by attempting to be a “helpful” costar. This is an interesting and novel take on NPI – a mental health disability mistakenly associated with obnoxious vanity and greed. The options of mental disabilities to discuss or endless, the musical production could even tackle postpartum depression and how publicity exacerbates it. Additionally, most Broadway shows emphasize on bridging the gap between audience and performers with inviting sets. It would be interesting to see a set design that partitions the show from the audience to emphasize on how becoming a celebrity conveys entrance to an exclusive social group. This aligns with increased self-attentiveness in more exclusive and relatively smaller groups. Helena Faustine NetID: helenaf3 Section AY1 The notion that celebrities with glorified lives needs help getting their life together resonates and peaks audiences’ curiosity. Overall, the theme addresses widespread mental health issues that would allow audiences to comprehend the emotional trauma that famous figures go through. Often perceived as undeserving of their accolades from lack of talent, celebrities may gain positive appreciation for such exposure in music theater. Citations: 1. Cindric , Kieron. “How Musical Theatre Exposes the Truth on Mental Illness.” Playbill, 8 July 2016, How Musical Theatre Exposes the Truth on Mental Illness. 2. Hale, Mike. “Review: ‘The Boys’ Deconstructs the Superhero, With a Light Touch.” New York Times, 26 July 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/arts/television/review-the-boys-amazonprime.html. 3. Morandi, Jessica N. “'The Suicide Musicals': Combating the Stigma of Mental Illness.” The Harvard Crimson , 6 Nov. 2018, https://www.thecrimson.com/column/the-might-ofmusicals/article/2018/11/6/TheSuicideMusicals/. 4. Schaller, Mark. “The Psychological Consequences of Fame: Three Tests of the SelfConsciousness Hypothesis.” Journal of Personality, vol. 65, no. 2, 1997, pp. 291– 309., doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1997.tb00956.x.
