What I liked
One person shows about cancer run the real risk of being well meaning but clumsy didactic journeys of self pity. This did not happen tonight. Under the powerful direction of one person show expert Jessica Lynn Johnson Heather Keller embraced and energized her life force in a 60 minute explication of why we all live with whatever pain we have. This is a play about existence not about self pity; this is a play about why we all must live in laughter, not wallow in defeat. I sat in the front row and when Heather went inside her soul in the very first silent moment I could “see” what she saw inside herself – the very truth of what this journey with breast cancer at such a young age mean to her and as a result of this play what it meant for us all to face our own “cancer” whatever it might be.
What I didn't like
While this is a 60 minute piece that is fully there, I expect that as Heather and Jessica Lynn Johnson continue to journey with this piece they will find the larger, longer version that exists. I can’t wait to see the 90 minute version of Chemo Barbie.
My overall impression
This is NOT a show about cancer but is rather an amazing play about living an authentic life. Heather Keller in what is a dazzling energetic display of the power of living with cancer and dealing with its pain and demands, rocked the packed house this evening leaving us all wanting if nothing else to see this piece again.
