You have two chances left to see the show on Monday, March 18 and Tuesday, March 19 at Virginia Repertory Theatre’s Willow Lawn location, 1601 Willow Lawn Drive.

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You might not expect to meet comedy in a chemotherapy ward. But irreverent humor bubbles up often in “Breast in Show,” a breast cancer-themed musical whose characters spend a good deal of time in a hospital’s chemo treatment zone.

For instance, at one point in director Billy Christopher Maupin’s lively production of the musical — at Virginia Repertory Theatre’s Willow Lawn Stage — a group of gutsy cancer-patient characters interacts with a zany wig vendor, played by Andrew Hamm.

Submitting stoically to their IV drips, the patients — who have lost their hair during treatment — look on bemusedly as the exuberant vendor pulls headdresses out of a pink trunk: red, curly locks worthy of a femme fatale; a clutch of ebullient dreadlocks; and more.

“Try a hairpiece that hangs! /Add a hat! Add some bangs!/ Or a turban!” the vendor sings, pulling a silky turban over his own head and striking a regal pose.

Humor can be a survival strategy for the sick and beleaguered, so it’s apt that levity should abound in “Breast in Show,” an earnest, smartly constructed 80 minutes of theater created by book writer Lisa Hayes and composer/lyricist Joan Cushing, based on a concept by Eileen Mitchard.

Presented in Richmond by Carol Piersol, in partnership with Virginia Rep, the musical depicts — in short, snappy scenes and longer songs — the diagnosis, treatment and (mostly) recovery of various breast cancer patients: a workaholic lawyer named Wendy (Lauren Leinhaas-Cook), a fragile young mother named Chelsea (Brittany D. Simmons), a wisecracking man named Pete (Russell Rowland) and others.

Hanging out in the chemo ward, these characters support one another by telling jokes; their brave quips harmonize with Cushing’s witty, cabaret-style musical numbers, which include a torch song for a deadly cancer cell (Chloe Williams, in a sultry black dress and red feather boa); an aria for pompous doctors who warble incomprehensible medical jargon; and a ballad for an elderly woman who has a crush on her oncologist. (Jeanie Rule is droll as the amorous patient, who looks rapt as the doctor, played by Rowland, probes her mouth with a tongue depressor.)

Not that “Breast in Show” is all laughs: Exchanging humor for poignancy, the production periodically spotlights characters in moments of vulnerability.

In a couple of touching mini-monologues, for instance, Wendy’s husband (Hamm, speaking quietly in a pool of dim light) talks about how lonely he feels as he tries to be a pillar of courage for his spouse.

Lynne M. Hartman designed the relatively sophisticated lighting, which jazzes up the minimal set. Maupin and Nikki Wragg designed the character-appropriate costumes.

Maupin and choreographer Jennifer Hammond do an admirable job keeping the scenes fluid. (There are some clever almost-dance numbers featuring the hospital chairs and IV drips, for instance.)

On opening night, the singing and acting were occasionally hesitant, but the production will probably gain poise in subsequent performances. The three-piece band is already launching into Cushing’s score with gusto.

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The humor of breast cancer sounds like the ultimate oxymoron, but the musical Breast in Show masterfully blends comedy with tragedy as it examines six very different people’s struggles with the way-too-prevalent disease.

Playing to a nearly full house at Willow Lawn, talented actors donned multiple roles as they guided the audience through the harrowing, yet sometimes humorous journey of breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and life (or not) thereafter.

Its high-energy musical numbers sometimes garnered laughter, other times silence, and a few time times tears. In between, skilled one-liners zinged the patrons in unexpected ways: “Time, all I need is time” … “My oncologist is the man I adore!” … “How I long for a chance to play at NORMAL” … “Cancer arrived like a thief”… and from a co-survivor (one character’s spouse), “I know she’s sick, but why do I feel I’m dying?”

The stretches of humor helped ease pain, tackle stress, and balance perspectives. The Chemo Café’s poison cocktails; the deadliest-cell-in-town dance; the oncologist’s blah, blah, blah diagnosis no one can understand; and Freddie’s trunk of life-changing cranial prostheses, i.e. wigs, provided comic relief when needed most.

There were no misrepresentations, probably because the show was inspired by actual medical interviews with patients, medical personnel, and families. True to the disease, the actors represented women of different ages – as well as a male breast cancer victim – and not all survived. And though each prognosis and circumstance differed, every breast cancer patient was deemed a warrior: a determined fighter strengthened by hope!

Produced by Carol Piersol, the 90-minute show is part of the annual Acts of Faith Festival and is in partnership with the Virginia Repertory Theatre, Willow Lawn Stage.

Breast in Show continues with performances on various dates through March 19. Tickets are $25 per person; $20 per person for groups of 10 minimum; and $10 per student (with valid ID). Additional details are available at www.Va-Rep.org/bis.html or (804) 282-2620.

Starring Andrew Hamm, Brittany D. Simmons, Chloe Williams, Jeanie Rule, Lauren Leinhaas-Cook, and Russell Rowland. | Book by Lisa Hayes | Music and Lyrics by Joan Cushing | Conceived by Eileen Mitchard | Directed by Billy Christopher Maupin |Music Direction by Kim Fox | Choreography by Jennifer Hammond

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“Breast cancer has always been my cause. I think it’s one of the worst things that can happen to a woman … from possibly losing a body part to beauty and self esteem issues,” Mitchard said, adding that she has known many who have both survived and lost their battles with breast cancer. “I wanted to work toward creating awareness through a grassroots movement, so that we’re not satisfied with accepting this disease as something we have to endure.”

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Musical about breast cancer hopes to inspire through laughter

Following the lives of four different people diagnosed with breast cancer, the musical strikes a balance between the serious and the hilarious, all in the name of a good cause.

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You can cry over breast cancer—or you can laugh. Composer, lyricist and playwright Joan Cushing does both—as well as pens some new tunes—in the first original musical about saving the ta-tas, Breast In Show.

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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.

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