cleaVage was conceived by Dallas plastic surgeon Dr. Ron Friedman after seeing Hamilton in 2019. He realized the fascinating but little-known history of silicone gel implants had never been told in song and thought, I can do that! The opportunity came during his pandemic downtime, when he wrote, orchestrated, and recorded 36 demos that chronicled the unbelievable-but-true story of the women, men, and dog (yes, you read that correctly) responsible for the No. 1 plastic surgery operation performed worldwide.

Laura Goodenow paired up with Ron in March 2022 to offer a woman’s perspective and round it all out with a libretto. Laura gave the show shape, created characters, and suggested new songs in place of others. From there, they worked to ensure the seriousness of breast augmentation was matched with laugh-out-loud humor and heart. Two table readings and a staged reading later, they’re excited about its continued development and can’t wait to share their cleaVage with the world.