Musical ‘Breast in Show’ was an opportunity to do something important. With humor, musical conveys real truths about the cancer experience.
You cannot accuse Eileen Mitchard of thinking small. She wants “Breast in Show,” the comedy-infused musical she conceived and nurtured, to entertain audiences — but she also wants it to mobilize the entire nation behind the eradication of breast cancer.
“We have the ability to accomplish this goal, for our daughters and our granddaughters and our sisters and our mothers,” says Mitchard, who collaborated on the musical with playwright Lisa Hayes and composer-lyricist Joan Cushing. “I hope this show will really get people believing that we can — and we must, and we will!”
Her goal might move a little closer to realization when “Breast in Show” opens at Virginia Repertory Theatre’s Willow Lawn Stage on Thursday. The Richmond production — the musical’s second public airing — continues through March 19, presented by Carol Piersol in partnership with Virginia Repertory Theatre. Billy Christopher Maupin directs the approximately 90-minute show, which features six Richmond actors and a three-piece band.