Breast Wishes is an Australian musical comedy

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 produced by Anne Looby

Anne Looby

Anne Looby is an Australian actress best known for her role as Anna Lacey in the television series A Country Practice and her recurring appearances in All Saints as Julia Archer....

, Simone Parrott and Neil Gooding with music and lyrics by Bruce Brown and a book by an ensemble of Australian writers: Merridy Eastman, Jonathan Gavin, Richard Glover

Richard Glover (radio presenter)

Richard Glover is an Australian talk radio presenter, journalist and author.Glover graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts degree with first class honours. He lives with the playwright Debra Oswald and they have two sons...

, Wendy Harmer

Wendy Harmer

Wendy Harmer is an Australian author, writer, radio show host, and comedienne.-Early life and career:...

, Sheridan Jobbins

Sheridan Jobbins

Sheridan Jobbins is an Australian journalist, television presenter and screenwriter.-Life and career:Jobbins was born in Melbourne, Australia. She was educated at Ascham School Edgecliff...

, James Millar

James Millar (Australian actor)

James Millar is an award-winning Australian actor, singer and writer. He is the author of the musical drama The Hatpin which premiered in Sydney on 27 February 2008 and the critically acclaimed Song Cycle "LOVEBiTES".-WAAPA:James Millar studied writing at the University of Technology, Sydney and...

 and Debra Oswald

Debra Oswald

Debra Oswald is an Australian writer for film, television, stage, radio and children's fiction. In 2008 her Stories in the Dark won Best Play in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. She is creator and head writer of the Channel 10 drama series Offspring, for which she won the 2011 NSW Premier's...

. It is a funny, tender and fully clothed look at breasts and those who support them.

Background

In January 2005, Anne Looby's sister, Amanda, was diagnosed with breast cancer

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

. Wanting to help her in a meaningful way, Anne began work on a show to raise awareness and funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. From the beginning the show has engendered tremendous goodwill, with extensive workshops including the advice and talent of people such as Queenie van de Zandt

Queenie van de Zandt

Queenie van de Zandt is an Australian theatre actress, singer, comedienne and writer.-Biography:Born in Canberra to Dutch immigrants, van de Zandt attended St. Matthews Primary School and St Francis Xavier High School before graduating in the top 2% of her state at Daramalan College...

, Annie McCubbin and others; the ultimate outcome is Breast Wishes.

Productions

Following several developmental workshops in 2006 and 2007, Breast Wishes premièred as a concert performance at The Sydney Theatre on 31 October 2008 as the closing event of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure...

. In 2009 the musical opened at Everest Theatre Seymour Centre

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

, Sydney, where it was part of the events for International Women's Day

International Women's Day

International Women's Day , originally called International Working Women’s Day, is marked on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and...

 2009. It then embarked on a national tour, playing in the Riverside Theatre Parramatta

Riverside Theatre Parramatta

Riverside Theatres is a multi venue performing arts centre located in the CBD of Parramatta in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.Regular companies and productions that perform there include:*The Premier State Ballet...

, , the Playhouse Canberra

Canberra Theatre

The Canberra Theatre Centre is the Australian Capital Territory’s central performing arts venue and Australia’s first performing arts centre, the first Australian Government initiated performing arts centre to be completed, that opened on Thursday 24 June 1965 with a gala performance by the...

 and the Twelfth Night Theatre

Twelfth Night Theatre

thumb|250px|Twelfth Night TheatreThe Twelfth Night Theatre is an established Australian entertainment venue located in Bowen Hills, in Brisbane, Queensland. Australian actors such as Rowena Wallace, Sigrid Thornton, Judith McGrath, Jon English, June Salter, Penny Downie, Carol Burns, Kate Wilson,...

, Brisbane.

Breast Wishes is an official fund raising supporter of the National Breast Cancer Foundation

National Breast Cancer Foundation

The National Breast Cancer Foundation is the leading community-funded national organisation in Australia, supporting and promoting research for the prevention and cure of breast cancer....

.

Cast

The cast for the premier season at the Seymour Centre in April 2009 and touring nationally in 2009:

• Helen/Irene — Valerie Bader
• David — David Harris
• Carol — Anne Looby
  Anne Looby
  Anne Looby is an Australian actress best known for her role as Anna Lacey in the television series A Country Practice and her recurring appearances in All Saints as Julia Archer....
  
  
• Lyn — Chelsea Plumley
• Sal — Gretel Scarlett

Production credits

• Director — Jason Langley
• Musical Director — Michael Tyack
• Choreographer — Nathan Wright
• Production Designer — Imogen Ross
• Lighting Designer — Trudy Dalgleish
• Technical Director — Josh Lemon
• Dramaturge — James Millar
  James Millar (Australian actor)
  James Millar is an award-winning Australian actor, singer and writer. He is the author of the musical drama The Hatpin which premiered in Sydney on 27 February 2008 and the critically acclaimed Song Cycle "LOVEBiTES".-WAAPA:James Millar studied writing at the University of Technology, Sydney and...
  
  
• Sound Designer — Michael Waters
• Producers — Anne Looby, Simone Parrott, Neil Gooding

Musical numbers

• Let's Not Talk … (About Vaginas) (Lyn, Carol, Helen, Sal)
• Ain't Got Nothin' (Carl, Sal)
• Le bien-être (Irene)
• Boobies in the Eye of the Beholder (Lyn, Carol, Helen, Sal, David)
• Mills and Boon and Me (Sal)
• It's All About Them (David)
• It's All About Them — Reprise (Lyn, Carol, Sal)
• We're Free (Helen, Lyn, Carol, Sal)
• The Breast that Money Can Buy (Plastic surgeon and nurses)
• Get Checked (Jingle girls)
• Breast Wishes (Lyn, Carol, Sal)
• Dear Puppies (Lyn)
• Le bien-être — Reprise (Irene)
• There's a Moment You Know (Lyn, David, Carol, Helen, Sal)
• Let's Not Talk … — Reprise (Company)
• Get Checked (Playout)

External links

• Breast Wishes official website
• Review at Australian Stage Online, 17 April 2009
• Photo gallery at the Inner West Courier