Review: New Musical LIFE IN BOOBS Lovingly Satirizes the Lifelong Trials and Tribulations of Being a Woman with Curves

With Book & Lyrics by Casey Christensen, composed by celebrity vocal coach Rachael Lawrence, and conceived by Jennifer Goodman, the new comedic musical LIFE IN BOOBS honors the milestones in women's lives while highlighting the true trials and tribulations of boobs everywhere. With original songs, comedic vignettes and dramatic monologues, the upstairs Studio Theater at Second City Hollywood rocks with an hour of laughter and insightful observations.

"This is a show for everyone from 21 to 120 years old and each person will drive home singing their own anthem. Women from all walks of life will relate to these true stories and we look forward to bringing more attention to this important project," said Christensen. "We hope to empower the audience to have conversations about body positivity, adolescence, sex, motherhood, illness, and the power of being female."

LIFE IN BOOBS came into fruition when actress Goodman realized there weren't any notable shows that focused on the lifelong journey your chest takes. Goodman and Christensen met by chance when Goodman was in the audience of Christensen's show Hot Pants, Cold Feet at the Comedy Central Stage. Goodman approached Christensen with the idea but admitted that she wasn't a writer. The musical was ten years in the making and recently pushed to the forefront after Christensen was diagnosed with Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Determined to accomplish all of her dreams before full loss of hearing, Christensen locked down Rachael Lawrence to be the all-star composer and went on her way to book the cast.

Along with Christensen and Goodman, the current cast members include Sherry Cola, Brooke Eyler, Sara Montgomery, Naomi Murden, Leslie Rubino, and Kyla Page Williams, all of whom represent an assortment of body types, attitudes, age and life experience. The dynamic story they share through comedy skits and songs deals with the journeys many women face from admiring their mother's chests ("One day I'll be like Mommy or Barbie!"), to training bras and cup sizes, dating while dealing with wandering eyes ("Cleavage'), to pumping at work and breastfeeding in public ("Don't Blame Me, My Baby is Hungry"), to facing breast cancer.

The energetic songs incorporate humorous pieces like "Life in Boobs," "Wife Beater Tank Top," and "Suck It, Cancer" to the inspirational "I'm Diane" which will tug at your heartstrings and inspire you to accept yourself exactly the way you are.

Musical director Louie Avila accompanies on keyboards, with his lively rifts adding the right touch of emotion during each song. Effectively hysterical small stage choreography by Sara Lowe adds a lot of cute and very expressive movement to the evening as well as a ton of laughs.

LIFE IN BOOBS runs Saturday evenings at 10pm through December 14th at Second City Hollywood, located at 6560 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90028. Tickets are $12 at secondcity.com or (323) 464-8542. Tickets sold at the door based on availability. The Second City Hollywood will also be donating a percentage of the show's ticket sales to Susan G. Komen Los Angeles, a group fighting hard to end breast cancer in its tracks.

The Second City is the leading brand in improv-based sketch comedy, with several shows concurrently at the Hollywood location on weekend evenings. Check the website secondcity.com for a complete performance schedule. Please note it is necessary to climb a steep staircase to reach the performance space which is not handicap accessible. There is no nudity during LIFE IN BOOBS, but due to adult subject matter, please leave the kids at home!

Photo credit: Darrett Sanders

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