WALKING WITH BUBBLES Off-Broadway Extends Performances Through Summer

Jessica Hendy’s powerful new autobiographical musical, originally slated to close June 18th, will be extending performances through September 10th, with a new summer schedule.  The autobiographical one-woman musical recently won the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Solo Performance and has been praised for its unforgettable story, soaring music and vocals, and honest bravery.  The musical will perform Sundays at 3:00 and 7:30 pm and Mondays at 7:00 pm.

In Walking With Bubbles we meet ‘Jessica’, a single mom and Broadway actress, and her son ‘Bubbles’. As they anxiously wait for their playdate in Central Park they are approached by a homeless man – meet Bubbles’ father.  What follows is their very true story.  Jessica Hendy’s first-person narrative invites audiences into her seemingly perfect New York City life from center stage on Broadway into the depths of her husband’s volatile mental illness.  Walking With Bubbles explores how far a mother will go to protect her son, her loved ones, and ultimately herself. 

Presented by Tom D’Angora and Michael D’Angora (Harmony, A Musical About Star Wars, NEWSical), the Walking With Bubbles creative team features music and lyrics by Brianna Kothari Barnes (2021 Jonathan Larson Grant finalist), lighting design by Aiden Bezark, set design by Mark Halpin, piano accompaniment by Alexandra Crosby, music supervision by Jacob Yates, with Liz Beatty serving as the production’s stage manager.  Walking With Bubbles is directed by Richard Hess (CCM).  The production is co-produced with Scott Coulter and Dave Gaebler, Vibecke Dahle Dellapolla, Jill Wilkinson in association with Erica Huss and Dame Productions and Linda Mountain.

"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 this taboo topic into the spotlight," she adds. "It impacts so many people but is seldom talked about."

Producer Michael D’Angora states that he fell in love with the show “ten minutes in, Jessica drops a bombshell that keeps you on the edge of your seat and your heart in your throat.”  Tom D’Angora is thrilled that “audiences will get to share in this cathartic experience.  Jessica brings a universal humanity to her story that allows us all to walk a mile in her shoes and leave the theater with more compassion and understanding of a major issue that we are all touched by.”

Prior to opening Off-Broadway in April and receiving the Off-Broadway Alliance Award, Walking With Bubbles had its theatrical debut in March of 2021 in Brooklyn, NY, at the Irondale Theatre’s “On Woman” festival. Beginning as a one-act play with music, Walking With Bubbles was the festival’s grand finale production and received critical acclaim. Wanting to elevate the storytelling, Jessica partnered with Brianna Kothari Barnes, to create an original score for her script. Enter: Walking With Bubbles,  a new musical. In April of 2022, Brianna and Jessica traveled to Ohio for a week-long incubation workshop at their Alma-Mater, CCM, with director Richard Hess.  This was in preparation for the first New York City industry reading which happened on May 19th, 2022, at Open Jar Studios. From that reading, Tom and Michael D’Angora were inspired to help Jessica and Brianna get the show to the next stage of development and the team was asked to bring Walking With Bubbles to the Forestburgh Playhouse for their “In The Works ~ In The Woods” festival, headed by artistic director Matt Lenz. 

Walking With Bubbles will be performed at the AMT Theater located at 354 W 45th Street between 8-9th Ave.  To purchase wheelchair-accessible seating please contact the box office directly at 646-543-4385.  Walking With Bubbles is a 100-minute musical and will play Sundays at 3 pm and 7:30 pm and Mondays at 7 pm.