‘Let’s Talk:’ Musical Theater Meets Mental Health

For decades, musical theater has helped shine light on pressing social issues like racial inequality, civil rights and even climate change. Now, a jukebox musical Let’s Talk takes on the stigma surrounding mental illness. Written and produced by Mrinalini Sekhsaria Somani, a singer with her own rock band, who is working towards her masters in musical production, and directed by her musically gifted 16-year-old sister Vaidehi, the theatrical performance employs song and dance to convey the importance of mental health care. The show will run over two evenings this week at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai. Proceeds from the show will be directed towards Salaam Bombay Foundation, an NGO that works in the area of education of underprivileged youth, as well as helping them pursue careers in creative disciplines.  

Set in a therapist’s office, the story is centered on an American therapist who is in the middle of moving back home after setting up her practice and working for a decade in India. As she closes cases with her clients, the audience is privy to therapy sessions that unpack a range of issues including grief, alcoholism, body issues and anxiety. “The whole point of the show is that I want it to be relatable. The message behind this show is that therapy is for everyone, and I hope that it kickstarts the conversation around mental health which is still not openly talked about or as accessible as it should be in India,” says Somani.

The show features arrangements of pop songs like “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen, “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye, “I Was Here” by Beyonce, and much-loved rock tracks by My Chemical Romance, Joan Jett, Keane, and Young the Giant. “These are songs that people across generations can relate to. I was keen to include impactful songs that are popular yet not overdone,” Somani tells us ahead of the show on August 16th and 17th. The way the context of these songs has been woven into the plot is particularly interesting, too. A therapy session with two sisters and their over-protective parents is set to Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”

For the past year, Somani worked closely with Ben Gudgeon, head of the Yehudi Menuhin School, as musical advisor. With Jeff Goldberg, founder of the eponymous method acting institute, she found the perfect script advisor. The stellar band comprises drummer Yohan Marshall who was also roped in to direct the musical score. The cast comprises young talent from Mumbai and New York. In the lead role of the therapist is the 20-year-old New York-based Talia Mayo, Somani’s peer at Vassar College – New York. Then, there’s singer and dubbing artist Kelly D’lima as the therapist’s assistant. Other performers include the 17-year-old musician, dancer, and actress Shriya Rao; the versatile radio jockey-turned-singer and actor Praveer Barot; Rayaan Khatib, co-producer of Micro Theatre; singer-songwriter Anoushka Sivasankar and other young musicians like Kimaya Mehta, Aneesha Karwanyun, and Shloka Subramaniam.

Somani, 22, recently graduated from Vassar – New York with a Bachelors in media studies and will soon leave for her Masters in producing musical theatre at Goldsmiths in London. She has worked closely with the Salaam Bombay Foundation for the past decade including the WE series of charity concerts back when she was just 12. Featuring a line-up of some of the best musicians from India, and dancers training at the foundation’s Academy of the Arts, these concerts took place at the Royal Opera House and the NCPA’s Jamshed Bhabha Theatre. Somani’s commitment to the cause prompted her to go virtual during the pandemic. For the musical’s dancers—alums of the foundation who now perform professionally—life will come full circle when they take to the stage this week. Choreographed by the celebrated Norden Sherpa who has worked with Somani over the past ten years, the musical promises to be a powerful and engaging experience.

“There’s not a lot of western style musical theatre in India and I felt that a jukebox musical would be a good introduction because people might relate to the familiar music in a context that’s not so familiar. I feel that’s an interesting contrast. Nothing feels like too much of a caricature in this show. It’s intended to be relatable and real. It’s supposed to start a conversation. It’s also an attempt to portray the fact that we can showcase a production at the same exceptional level we see in the West. I wanted it to be an intimate production, and the Experimental Theatre at the NCPA is the right space for this,” says Somani. From fundraising to showcasing young talent, while shining the spotlight on mental health, Let’s Talk promises to be a musical with a difference.