Dear Editors, Publishers, Media at Large,

As a survivor of acute myeloid leukemia, I am begging you: PLEASE STOP PUBLISHING ANYTHING TO DO WITH BELLE GIBSON. I don't need to hear from her mother. I don't need to hear from her neighbours. I don't need to hear from her primary school teacher. I definitely don't need to hear from Belle herself. I don't care what happened to her app, her book, or her empire. I don't even want/need to know if she has finally been charged or even trialled for her crimes. 

Before cancer, I was a fit and healthy young woman. I was a vegetarian. I ate mostly organic food. I exercised. I meditated. I chose to be positive. I never smoked. I rarely drank. And I still got cancer. 

After cancer, I have struggled with chemo, radiation, hair loss, nail loss, weight loss, energy loss, serious depression, anger, and a whole myriad of side effects that come from treatment and the god awful hell that is living with a terrible illness. I am not able to work. I am fortunate to have had access to wonderful health care, and the support of friends and family who have supported me, and my husband, through this terrible nightmare.

Every time you publish a story about Belle Gibson, and how she used a terrible disease to prey on people's trust and steal money, you are punishing people who actually have to live with cancer. You are destroying people's trust. You are making it harder for those of us who rely on the generosity and kindness of others to make it through. 

Belle Gibson clearly needs help. She needs therapy with experienced professionals who can help her deal with her issues. She does not need to be in the public eye. Cancer survivors, their carers, and people who have lost loved ones to cancer do not need to read about her, see her, or be subjected to her continual lies. We have enough to deal with without being reminded that there are people out there using our illness for profit. 

Please stop publishing stories about Belle Gibson. Instead, publish stories about practical ways to help people with cancer (HuffPost had a great one), encourage blood/platelet donation (US, Australia, UK), or tell people how they can donate hair (US, Australia, UK). If you want the personal angle, tell us stories of hope, survival, and the true and factual stories of people living with cancer. But no more Belle. We've had enough. 

Sincerely,
An Actual Cancer Survivor 

I had the weirdest dream
I had finally moved to New York
But I was in Connecticut with 
Two bug bites on my legs that had  
Turned into huge infections
I was diagnosed with cancer
Acute Myeloid Leukemia 

Patti LuPone sent me an email 
They filled my body with chemo drugs and
All my hair fell out 
My legs looked like something out of an alien movie 
They stood me in a large room, strapped me to a frame
And radiated my entire body 
They wiped out my immune system 
Took some of my sister’s cells
And injected them into me 

I wasn’t allowed to go to the theatre 
Wasn’t allowed to eat take out
All my energy was gone 
I felt nauseous 
I felt tired
I threw up
I felt depressed
I felt angry
I felt like giving up
Every week they tested my blood
They injected a needle into the back of my hip and drew out the marrow
Be a patient patient. 

We never know what’s next
We could fall in love
We could meet our idols 
We could get cancer 
How do we exist on the precipice between joy and despair? 

We live on a rock covered in water 
Just so far from a flaming ball of gas
Surrounded by other rocks 
That expands to infinity and… 
The miracle is that after a several millennia 
We still don’t really know what it’s all about
We have some theories
But we don’t really know 
What is this dream?

Months passed 
No more cancer
Remission
Healing slowly
And then it was a year later

I am living in New York
My hair is back, curly
My strength is returning
I don’t feel nauseous
I do often feel tired
I often feel depressed
I often feel angry 
I still sometimes feel like giving up 
I try to balance on the precipice between joy and despair 

I am married to the most wonderful person
He is patient and kind and loving 
And through him I have a wonderful, patient, kind, and loving family 
Day by day I’m feeling better 
I am allowed to go to the theatre again
I met Patti LuPone in person
She told me to be well 
Alright, Patti. If you say so… 

This past twelve months
Has been a rollercoaster
It has been hell
It has bought me closer to my American family 
It has made me stronger. 
It has made me weaker. 
It has made me 
Different. 

Thursday is the anniversary of being told I had cancer. 
Yesterday I wore shorts in public for the first time since diagnosis 
It was just too bloody hot 
I’ve become proud of my scars 
Those damn things saved my life 

This whole dream
Is difficult to fathom
But such is the stuff of life
And while I am here
I will endeavor to remain
Awake. 

After a year of not being able to go to theatre, I've seen 9 shows in the past month. It makes my heart Very Happy to finally feel like I actually live in the theatre capital of the world! Below is a summary of what I've seen so far. 

The musical of one of my all time favorite movies with a score and book by two of my favorite composers, Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich. My first time at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, and my first show since stupid effing cancer, did not disappoint. 

I have no doubt this show will go to Broadway, where I hope it will be a huge hit. I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed for a cast recording. 

You can read more here. 

A musical about three sailors on leave for one day in NYC. With a sumptuous score by Bernstein and endearing book and lyrics by Comden and Green, On the Town is a bona fide classic.

The number one reason to see this show: the dancing!!! Oh, the glorious, wonderful, beautiful dancing!!! I’m itching to see American in Paris now, because if the dancing/choreography is better in that (based on Tony Award for Best Choreography) I think I will die and go to heaven. 

The entire ensemble were just gorgeous. The ballet in the second act was like watching an MGM musical performed live. I cried several times it was so damn beautiful. 

Everything about this show is gorgeous. The lighting, the costumes, the orchestrations, the singing. I loved it. Definitely want to see it again. 

I had been anxious about seeing Kinky Boots for the stupid reason that it “stole” the Tony for Best Musical from Matilda. There is no way Cyndi Lauper deserved Best Original Score over Tim Minchin (compare the lyrics “Let me hear you say “yeah”/Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” to “My mummy says I'm a miracle/ One look at my face, and it's plain to see./ Ever since the day doc chopped the umbilical cord,/It's been clear there's no peer for a miracle like me!”) but now that I've seen the show, I understand why Kinky Boots won the big coveted prize. 

Set in England, Kinky Boots is based on the true story of a man who inherits a shoe factory and revives its failing fortunes by manufacturing heels for men. It's a great story about facing adversity, embracing who we are, and ultimately finding acceptance. This production is fun and genuinely touching, and it was wonderful to see Billy Porter playing his Tony Award winning role.  

After the show, my friend Annie and I were lucky enough to be treated to a backstage tour with original cast member Adinah Alexander. It was fun to walk on the stage, and head behind the scenes to see all the gorgeous costumes up close! 

A special event at BAM featuring the original Broadway cast of Into the Woods, along with composer Stephen Sondheim and book writer James Lapine. Mo Rocca interviewed everyone in light-hearted conversational manner, and the cast sang their signature songs. It was all done for the fans, and it was glorious. The highlight for me was absolutely Bernadette Peters. It was quite an experience to see a Broadway legend in action, and I swear she has not aged a single bit. How does she do it?! 

I don’t think this kind of event would have been possible if the original production hadn’t been filmed and made available on VHS/DVD. I was three-years-old and living in Sydney when Into the Woods premiered on Broadway. It closed when I was five, a full nineteen years before I even went to New York for the first time. The filmed production gave me access to the show. 

Filmed live theatre is the future (as a complement to live theatre, not a replacement), and this event was proof of its power of giving ephemeral shows a much longer lifespan and wider audience. Dear producers: please stop being afraid of filming of your shows, and make them available. The end. 

You can read a more detailed description here. 

A short engagement at New York City Center as part of the Encores! program, A New Brain is a one act semi-autobiographical musical about composer William Finn’s encounter with AVM (a brain clot). Although I have listened to the recording countless times since I first encountered the show at uni, I have never actually seen a production. 

Starring Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening, Glee, Frozen) and Ana Gasteyer (The Good Wife, Wicked, SNL), I knew this was going to be a special event, and it did not disappoint. The production was wonderful, with a top notch ensemble, clever staging, and gorgeous rich vocal arrangements by Jason Robert Brown.

The only downside? The tween-age kids sitting two rows down from me who spent the entire show playing on their phones. One kid even had headphones in. I was in the middle of my row and couldn’t get up to say something to the (absent) ushers. It was incredibly distracting. I complained afterwards, but the house manager just shrugged. 

I’m all for kids going to the theatre. I believe it’s incredibly important. I felt sorry for the kids — they were bored, and whoever was in charge had clearly made the wrong choice in choosing the show. But grown-ups should be teaching their kids about what behavior is appropriate in the theatre. My memory of Ana Gasteyer singing “Music Still Plays On” should not be intertwined with Candy Crush.

Seth Rudetsky is a Broadway music director, pianist, author, and radio host. I am a huge fan of his "deconstructions" and know that any event that Seth is a part of is going to have huge star power and plenty of sassy belting. 

Voice for the Voiceless was a special one-night-only benefit to raise funds and awareness for You Gotta Believe. Seth and his husband James recently completed training to be foster parents, and learnt that thousands of young adults age out of the foster care system without being adopted. These young adults face substantially higher rates of homelessness, health issues, and unemployment and one of the few resources in place to help them, You Gotta Believe, has just had the bulk of its funding cut. 

Organized in a mere six weeks, Seth and James rallied some of Broadway and televisions biggest stars to the cause  — Tina Fey, Jane Krakowski, Tituss Burgess, Megan Hilty, Darren Criss, and Eden Espinoza to name just a few. Seth hosted, conducted, and played keys, all while serving up his usual fast paced and witty repartee. The performances, a diverse range of Broadway and pop songs, were wonderful, and the 14 piece band was surprisingly tight. 

The highlight of the evening though, were the stories of young adults who had found their "forever homes" thanks to You Gotta Believe. Even more touching were the stories of young adults who were yet to be adopted. The event raised over $500,000. Read more here. 

One of my Buck’s Rock buddies kept posting about how amazing this show was, until she wrote “If any of you poor jerks haven't seen Hand to God yet, just go do it. Find a way. Because you don't know how badly you need this play in your life until you see it.” With a recommendation like that, I felt obligated. 

A play about a family in Texas and their encounter with the devil, Hand to God is clever, funny, and incredibly poignant. The story is sad, touching, and played with incredible humor by a talented cast. Steven Boyer is a stand-out, and his puppet skills are awesome to behold. Beowulf Boritt’s scenic design is brilliant, and one of those clever sets that has the ability to transform right before your eyes. 

A musical about a failed producer trying to woo back his starlet, and former love, whilst traveling aboard the 20th Century train between Chicago and New York. The Roundabout’s production is a great star vehicle for Kristin Chenoweth, and Larry Hochman’s orchestrations and vocal arrangements are delicious, but this is not Coleman and Comden and Green’s best musical. 

Unlike On the Town, which has a lovely heart, there is no substance to On the 20th Century. The overture is gorgeous, and the opening number featuring four tapping porters is thrilling, but it all goes downhill from there. The pacing is strange, the ensemble aren’t utilized enough, and act one ends without any sort of climax. The best numbers are the flashbacks not set on the train, but, unfortunately, we spend three-quarters of the show aboard the locomotive.

Worth it to see Kristin Chenoweth be Kristin Chenoweth. 

10 out of 12 (a play about tech rehearsal. A fellow Buck’s Rocker worked on it, I can’t wait) 

Shows for Days (starring Patti LuPone. I don’t care what it’s about. Patti could be reading a phone book and I would still love it. It’s Patti. She can do anything.) 

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (starring Taye Diggs. Be still my beating teenage heart.) 

The King and I (Kelli O’Hara singing Rogers and Hammerstein!)