Breast in Show

We first meet Maya outside the Ostrich Lounge, the intimate speakeasy where she semi-regularly produces her burlesque show, Varietease. She is dismayed by the small audience turnout, and it takes a pep talk from her stage manager/co-producer/best friend Kelly to get her inside to perform. After her performance, Maya returns to the dressing room, sweaty but smiling. As she re-dresses and smooths her hand over her bra, she is briefly distracted - a lump. Maya goes to Planned Parenthood to get the lump checked out. The Nurse Practitioner believes it’s a harmless fibroadenoma, but due to Maya’s family history, she refers her for an ultrasound and mammogram. The barrage of scans leads to a biopsy, which ultimately leads to the worst possible news: it’s cancer. At her first chemotherapy infusion, Maya meets Flo, an 80-year-old Stage IV breast cancer patient. Flo is tiny, sassy, and tough as nails. They become fast friends, with Flo suggesting that Maya should join the Bosom Buddies, a support group for breast cancer patients and survivors - it would be good to have people who know what she’s going through. It takes some convincing, but Maya ultimately decides to try out the Bosom Buddies. Here she meets Gloria, the tightly wound and pink-ribbon-bedecked de facto leader, as well as the rest of the group of older women. Gloria mentions that the group needs a new physical activity to do together, as their monthly step aerobics class has been cancelled. Maya returns to the infusion center, this time with Kelly in tow. Flo joins them for her infusion, and Kelly plays a playlist she created for the day. Maya lip syncs and bops along to the music, eventually dancing and grinding on her IV pole as if it was a stripper pole. Flo applauds enthusiastically, expressing that she wishes she could dance like that. This gives Maya an idea - what if she really did teach her? She recalls Gloria asking for physical activities, and proposes a burlesque workshop. At the next support group meeting, the women are hesitant about the idea at first - especially Gloria, who finds the entire idea completely inappropriate. Maya wins most of the group over, and after taking a vote, they agree to give it a shot despite Gloria’s misgivings. The first day of the workshop is a success, though Gloria does not attend. They learn choreography, look at nipple pasties, and go over the concept of stage names and personas. At the end of class, Maya asks if anyone would be interested in another workshop the following week - it’s a resounding “yes”. Flo receives some bad news - her cancer is no longer responding to the treatment, and she doesn’t have much time left. She calls Maya, who comes over right away to support her. Flo expresses that she wishes she could have her ashes shot into outer space - “I could be a shooting star!” - but it’s just too expensive. Maya has the idea to use the next Varietease show as a fundraiser for Flo’s funeral costs, featuring a number from the Bosom Buddies. There’s a great turnout for the fundraiser, but Travis is unhappy when he sees that a group of older women will be performing. He makes his demands clear: the Bosom Buddies will not perform on his stage. Kelly comes over to make sure everything is okay, but when Maya says the show won’t go on without the Bosom Buddies, she hesitates. After all, the audience has already paid for a show - Varietease needs to do something. Maya packs up and leaves with the Bosom Buddies, stunned by the lack of support from Kelly. Ashamed of how things played out at the Ostrich, Maya isolates herself, avoiding the Bosom Buddies for several months and going through her mastectomy all alone. Word gets to her that Flo is doing poorly, though, which brings her back to a support group meeting. Here, she proposes that they move forward with a fundraiser show - but this time they do it all themselves. Gloria is outraged that Maya has come back with this idea, and accuses her of making everything about herself before storming off. The women find a venue on the outskirts of town, and all seems to be going according to plan - until the day before the show, when they are met by a police officer. It turns out that the bar falls just outside city limits, and is therefore under different zoning laws, where nudity is not permitted at establishments that serve alcohol. But who alerted the police? A flash of pink - it’s Gloria, trying to sneak away from the scene. Maya confronts her, and the women hash out their differences. Gloria has been feeling left out ever since Maya introduced burlesque to the Bosom Buddies, and Maya offers her a role in the show that doesn’t involve stripping - stage management. Eventually they do find a last-minute venue - the retirement community where Flo lives. Kelly and Fifi come to the rescue with decorations stolen from the Ostrich, and all is forgiven between the friends. The show is a massive success, raising over $1500 for Flo’s funeral costs. Months later, Maya and the Bosom Buddies sit on an isolated hilltop, gazing at the night sky. A shooting star blinks past - Flo’s ashes, reentering the atmosphere.