‘Cost of Living’ still poignant 21 years after breast cancer

It may seem a little strange, but while still groggy after the first surgery, I asked the doctor to show me the tumor he removed from my body.

I was shown a glass jar with fatty tissue surrounding something that looked like a silly chicken heart. I thought, “I am not going to give that little thing any power over me.” To this day, I never use capital letters when writing the words “breast cancer” and I refuse to think of it as “mine.” It did not belong to me, just ended up in my body, and I gladly gave it back to the universe.

Being blessed with 21 years of cancer-free life, what better way to celebrate than to bring back this extraordinary play, “The Cost of Living,” which includes part of my story from when I was a breast cancer patient in 1992.

Catherine Stadem, co-playwright, chats about the origins of this play.

“Lily Ann Nielsen and I developed ‘The Cost of Living’ in 1992 to honor her sister, Evelyn and (also) Sandy Harper, owner of Cyrano’s theatre in Anchorage,” she says. “Women from the Anchorage breast cancer support group at Providence Hospital volunteered their stories. ... The all-volunteer production ran for four standing-room-only performances at Cyrano’s in September 1992 and raised donated funds for breast cancer support.

“Lily Nielsen is currently in assisted living in California and gave her verbal permission for the script’s rewrite and revival,” adds Stadem, who has kept Nielsen abreast of the play’s progress.

I personally wish that Lily could be here to see the play, having admired her in 1986. At that time, she directed “Anything Goes” for Anchorage Community Theatre and I had a part in the chorus.

The 2013 version of the play, titled “The Cost of Living, Revisited,” includes not only patients’ experiences from the original play, but also experiences of recent Mat-Su breast cancer survivors from the local support group.

The current play director is a very talented theatre artist, Anne Benson-Williams. I was very impressed when I first saw her in the Palmer Art Council’s 2006 production of “Proof” at the Palmer Depot.

Benson-Williams says she “had no idea that getting a second college degree in theatre would bring her life such great passion and work.” Besides teaching full time at Sherrod Elementary, she directs the Palmer Arts Council summer theatre academies for youth every summer. Benson-Williams says this play “allows me to take part in a theatrical production that supports a worthy cause.”

Incredible people have stepped up to make this play happen and the emotions run deep. I am very grateful to my husband, Jerry Edwards, who is the technical assistant to the director and who has coordinated all the backstage setups, including the visuals, lighting, music and props.

The following comments are from the seven actors in this play. I interviewed them about their background and their reasons for auditioning.

• Deb Blanchard, who served 20 years in the U.S. Army and is currently seeking a nursing degree, has performed in Valley Performing Arts productions and with Homeless Actors of Mat-Su dinner theatre productions. She says that being in this play has “helped me learn more about how people face a cancer diagnosis.”

• Bethany Buckingham says that she grew up as an “Army brat” and is currently the curator at the Dorothy Page Museum in Wasilla, where she coordinates the “Brassieres to Nowhere” exhibit and auction for breast cancer awareness. She said she joined the play “to honor my friends and relatives who have faced and survived cancer.”

• Warren Foster, originally from Salt Lake City, has been in numerous plays in Alaska and California. He says that his mother-in-law had breast cancer, and also his own mother had breast cancer, “which might have been a precursor to the bone cancer, which she died from.” Foster adamantly explains that he has “strong reasons to be supportive of this cause.”

• Laura Horning, who home-schools her four children, earned VPA’s Best Actress of the Year award last season. She said she “is looking forward to being involved in helping to raise awareness for this important cause.”

• Cynthia Lee, who has a bachelor’s degree in theatre, has acted for Anchorage Community Theatre, Fairbanks Light Opera, Alaska Repertory Theatre, the VPA and more. She has been in Alaska since 1958 and has lived in Palmer since 1986. Breast cancer was detected early in her two sisters and she said that “both are doing well. I’m honored to be the voice for so many women who’ve suffered and died from this disease.”

• Tammy McCallion spent most of her life in Wasilla and now lives in Anchorage. McCallion has been active in several of the VPA productions through the years. “I’m happy to be a part of this meaningful play,” McCallion said.

• Kelleigh Orthmann, who grew up in Jackson Hole, Wyo., heard the audition call on the radio and said, “I knew that I needed to do this. I wanted the chance to be part of the amazing legacy. ... I wanted the chance to authentically tell my character’s breast cancer story and to help keep breast cancer awareness at the forefront of people’s minds.”

As the producer, I am just happy to be the vehicle that started this play rolling again, but it truly has a life of its own. My prayer is that in another 21 years, there will be absolutely no need for a play such as this and that folks like you and me can live cancer free.

“The Cost of Living, Revisited” will be performed at 7 p.m., Oct. 18 and 19, and 3 p.m., Oct. 20 at the Alaska Club Theatre in the Creekside Plaza, Wasilla. This production is free to the public and seating is limited.

For more information, call 376-5956.

Suzanne Bach Edwards is lives in Wasilla, is a visual artist, a retired college professor and a play producer.