Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate the influential women in our history and everyday lives. But these women, like all of us, can struggle and get tired under the pressure of life’s difficulties.
That’s the message in hit Broadway musical 'Next To Normal' that’s now in Miami.
In an era where mental health issues continue to be pushed to the forefront, the show continues those conversations for mothers and wives to show that struggles with mental health are normal.
Next to Normal hit the Broadway stage back in 2009. It has since toured across the United States and is now here in Miami, with the South Florida-born nonprofit theater company Zoetic Stage.
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The rock musical centers around Diana Goodman, a mom and wife who is struggling with bipolar disorder and delusional episodes while maintaining a suburban nuclear family. Local actress Jeni Hacker, who is a mom herself, stars as Diana.
"I know what it’s like as a mom to want to be there for your kids in a full time way, but maybe with a part time facility," she said.
The show brings themes of loss, trauma, and grief.
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"While it’s called Next to Normal, it normalized the struggles we go through where women might think they’re going through them alone or it’s specific to them," she said. "But truly, I think a lot of people go through the struggles Diana is going through in the show."
Licensed clinical social worker and therapist Victoria Gray told NBC 6 she is grateful the arts are being used to shatter misconceptions about mental illness: stereotyping mental illnesses as rare, or that it means something negative about a person.
"Women’s mental health is critically important to not just women but to families, communities, and society," she said. "In fact what we know from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention is that more than 50% of Americans across their lifetime will be diagnosed with a mental illness."
Her message is the same as the show’s, it’s okay to not be okay. Gray says between careers, parenting and relationships, the societal pressure of success can be like a unique heaviness on women.
So how can society help?
"It’s hard to be a mom and working and find a place in the many places we inhabit as a woman," Jeni said. "It’s a lot of pressure that society puts on us but also what we put on ourselves. We want to be really great at work and home but don’t cut ourselves enough slack."
'Next to Normal' runs until April 9 at the Adrianne Arsht Center.
If you’re struggling with mental health issues or even need someone to talk to, you can call the national Mental Health Crisis Lifeline at 988.
