In special night at Dr. Phillips Center, 2 shows fight cancer with humor and heart
Jennica McCleary and Brandon Roberts know a thing or two about the fight against breast cancer. McCleary is a survivor; Roberts lost a friend to the disease, which kills about 43,000 Americans each year.
In commemoration of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, observed every October, the two Orlando performers have teamed with the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts for a double bill of shows that pay tribute to the fight — and those who have been lost.
“Awareness: Two Stories, One Powerful Message” will take place Oct. 12 at the downtown Orlando arts center.
Sound like a downer of an evening? Both actors say it won’t be.
“I hopefully leave the audience with some kind of hope in their heart,” says Roberts.
McCleary has a happy ending just by being onstage.
“I like to think I layer the show with the good stuff and end on a high note,” she says. “Spoiler alert: I survive.”
The two one-person shows, each about an hour long, were previously staged at the Orlando Fringe Festival and received highly favorable reviews. McCleary’s autobiographical tale is titled “Artisinal Carcinoma” and explores issues related to her cancer, including mental health and “our broken healthcare system.”
In “My Left T–,” Roberts tells the story of his friend Gwen’s battle by using her own words from a blog she wrote before her death. Roberts narrates the story as Gwen’s faithful dog, Omie.
Roberts met Gwen when both were working at a theater in Virginia.
“Gwen stayed in my life,” Roberts says. “She would come down and visit and got to be really good friends with my friends, too.”
Diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30, she died five years later. The two had hoped to work together again someday — but never got the chance.
“She kept asking me if we could write a play together,” Roberts says. “That kept haunting me.”
His desire to honor his friend led to him using passages from her blog in his show’s script, “so we are writing the play together,” he says.
McCleary also was diagnosed young, at age 37. Because of her age, she had to fight for her concern to be taken seriously, an example of “how out of control things were leading up to my diagnosis.”
The discovery of the cancer in 2018 came just as McCleary’s latest project — a tribute show to the Bette Midler-fronted movie “Hocus Pocus,” titled “Winnie’s Rock Cauldron Cabaret — was taking off.
“I didn’t cry when they told me I had cancer,” she recalls. “I cried when I realized I had contracts signed and sold-out shows and people on my payroll.”
The show, in which McCleary also performed as Midler’s character of Winnie, proved to be a source of strength, helping her power through 17 chemotherapy treatments.
“I have no idea how I made the shows happen… sheer chutzpah,” she says. “‘Rock Cauldon’ became this warrior fight song.”
She performed at the Orlando Fringe Festival just four months after surgery: “It was only a few weeks after I could even lift my arms above my head,” she says.
But McCleary feels fortunate that she was given an optimistic prognosis from the start.
“They said, ‘This is a one-year detour for you,'” she says. “What they don’t tell you is recovery takes years.”
Part of that recovery, for McCleary, included addressing the mental health issues brought on by her diagnosis and subsequent surgery. That journey is included in the show, along with a chance for the audience to ask questions and tips on how to support anyone going through cancer (“Show up!” is Tip No. 1, McCleary says).
But the show also is peppered with laughs and music.
“‘Artisinal Carcinoma’ became another opportunity to share this warped dark sense of humor of mine that got me through,” she says.
And the show’s music consists of songs McCleary encountered during her year of chemotherapy.
Music also plays a role in Roberts’ show. He and Gwen shared a passion for independent bands.
“Music always gets to the heart of things,” he says.
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Partly inspired by his own dogs, Roberts hit upon the idea of following Gwen’s battle through the eyes of her dog Omie because “she loved that dog so much,” he says. “Omie metaphorically chases this cancer.”
The cheeky title of Roberts’ play comes directly from the title of Gwen’s blog.
“That was her sense of humor,” he says. “She approached everything with jokes at the ready. What I’m most proud of is that I think the play captures Gwen’s spirit.”
For McCleary, creating “Artisinal Carcinoma” reminded her of the power of being an artist.
“I think it’s safe to say the show was writing itself from Day 1,” she says. “I just had to take notes.”
‘Awareness: Two Stories, One Powerful Message’
What: Jennica McCleary’s ‘Artisinal Carcinoma’ and Brandon Roberts’ ‘My Left T–‘
When: 8 p.m. Oct. 12
Where: Pugh Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave. in Orlando
Cost: $36 and up ($1 from each ticket donated to Metavivor, a metastatic breast cancer advocacy organization
Info: drphillipscenter.org
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