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 by creating characters, writing scenes and suggesting 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.