BeeFAB Productions to Bring TALES OF A STAGE 4 CANCER to iO, Begin. 5/2

By: Apr. 16, 2015
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BeeFAB Productions, a Chicago-based theater company, is bringing its latest show to The iO Theater for a five-week run starting on Saturday, May 2nd, 2015. "Tales of a Stage 4 Cancer" is a collection of satire, comedy, and touching stories about the daily realities of The Big C and the laughs in between.

Judy Fabjance and Kelly Beeman co-wrote and co-star in this "one plus one woman show" based on their life as newlyweds who face the ongoing struggle of breast cancer with crushing strength and bittersweet revelations.

"Anyone who has been affected by cancer in any way will relate to this show," says Fabjance. "We've had doctors and nurses come to our show and after the show tell us that they now have a better understanding of what the patient goes through."

When Fabjance produced her first one-woman show, "Are You There, Judy? It's me, Cancer" in 2011, she was already a three-year survivor after a right mastectomy. Over the next three years she continued to fight, and along the way she married Beeman, who became Fabjance's primary caregiver, as well as step-mom to Fabjance's daughter.

Beeman calls the show a love story. "So many people feel like they are trapped in this depressing, scary story. We want to help them find the humor, find the lighter side, find the release."

Through sketches, songs, and monologues, Beeman and Fabjance tackle everything from restrictive diets to their sex life to the questionable motives of the Big Pink industry.

Their satirical perspective is rooted in their background at The Second City Training Center, where Fabjance started studying in 1992. In 1996 at Second City she co-founded GayCo Productions, an LBGTQ troupe that is still active. Beeman joined GayCo in 2006 and is also a former member of ComedySportz.

Fabjance has been an instructor at Second City since 1999, where she worked and studied with Tina Fey, Steve Carrell, Stephen Colbert, and many other luminaries who have supported Fabjance through fundraisers and donations. In an autographed book provided for a silent auction, Colbert listed his book's actual value as "priceless."

Beeman writes and performs in training sketches for Lambda Legal, Personal Pac, and Motorola, where she also has a day job as a reliability engineer.

"Tales" premiered Last October at Second City's Donny's Skybox theater, and will tour New York and LA in the coming weeks.

The show is directed by Second City faculty member Angie McMahon, with musical direction by Amanda Murphy, who co-wrote and composed "Four Play," which was a BroadwayWorld.com award winner in 2010. Murphy also teaches at Second City, and performs with their touring company.



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