The Ellie Fund, a local breast cancer nonprofit organization that provides valuable support services to Massachusetts’s women and families, will benefit from a staged reading of the new comedy – The MOMologues: Pink Ribbon Overdose at the Hard Rock Café Boston on October 27. Featuring a cast of high profile Boston-area women who have all been touched by breast cancer, the show was created by Scituate writer-survivors Lisa Rafferty, Jane McGovern and Pam Ahl, whose mission was to “find the funny” in the breast cancer experience. The creators hope the show helps with the healing of their fellow survivors, friends and loved ones.
The cast stars WCVB-TV5’s Newswomen Bianca de la Garza, Susan Wornick, and Karen Holmes Ward, film actress Erica McDermott (‘The Fighter’) and Ellie Fund Executive Director Julie Nations in the production that mines the experience of breast cancer for laughs. All of the cast members have been touched by breast cancer through the experiences of family members and other loved ones.
Boston area audiences know the work of writer-director Lisa Rafferty through her comedies about motherhood: The MOMologues and MOMologues2: Off to School, written with fellow moms Sheila Eppolito and Stefanie Cloutier. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2007, Rafferty’s friends and family frequently asked if she would write a comedy about the experience. She was happy to oblige once she found willing collaborators who had gone through treatment and knew that looking for laughs in unlikely places helped enormously. The three women – Rafferty, McGovern and Ahl – each had a different breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, which enabled them to capture the fact that not all breast cancers are alike. A common thread, however, was that the ability to find comedy – in the moment or in hindsight – helped get them through it.
The MOMologues: Pink Ribbon Overdose will benefit the Ellie Fund on Wednesday, October 27 at 6:00 p.m. at the Hard Rock Café Boston. Tickets are $30 in advance ($40 at the door, if available) for the performance, complimentary hors d’oeuvres and desserts, live auction featuring three international designer fashions and a deluxe spa getaway, and a “Pop Up Boutique” by well-known women’s clothing retailer Lyn Evans/Potpourri Designs.
In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 100% of ticket and auction proceeds, and 15% of boutique sales will be donated to the Ellie Fund to provide transportation, childcare, housekeeping, groceries and meals free of charge to more than 500 breast cancer patients and families across Massachusetts this year.
For tickets and more information, go to www.elliefund.org/pinkribbon or www.MOMologues.com.
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