Heart of a Woman in ‘Left Breast’

A one-breasted, menopausal, Jewish, bisexual, lesbian mom. That’s how Susan Miller jokingly describes herself.

But her life is no laughing matter.

“My Left Breast” is a one-woman play, written by and starring Miller, in which she speaks to her audience of overcoming personal pain. She received an Obie, her second, for the play in the 1994-95 theatrical season.

Miller had a mastectomy 16 years ago and in the performance tells about surviving breast cancer, coming out, falling in love and raising a son.

“The title says there’s humor in the piece and irony, and that’s important,” said Miller, who won her first Obie in 1979 for writing “Nasty Rumors and Final Remarks.”

“It may be about totally serious matters, but I don’t take myself so seriously.”

“My Left Breast” will play Wednesday at the 300-seat Magnin Auditorium at the Skirball Cultural Center in Sherman Oaks.

The production premiered at the 1994 Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Ky., and has visited seven cities, including New York, Toronto and Tucson.

Its local appearance will mark the first theatrical performance at the Skirball--a $65-million cultural center dedicated to Jewish culture and history--since it opened at the crest of the Sepulveda Pass in April.

Nissan is sponsoring the play, in conjunction with breast cancer awareness month. And MediaTank, an L.A. promotion agency dedicated to social issues, is producing it as part of an awareness campaign about women’s health issues.

Miller insists, however, that “My Left Breast” is more about relationships and opportunity than breast cancer. “It’s about loss and connection and things that practically everyone has had an experience with,” Miller said. “I had a lady come up to me after a performance and say how she could totally relate to the part when I take my son to school, for instance.”

Tickets for “My Left Breast” are $50, with proceeds going to Gilda’s Club, a support program that offers free counseling to cancer patients and their families. The nonprofit club, with offices nationwide, is named for comedian Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989.

“A play like this brings awareness about the reality of dealing with cancer and it can be a vehicle for growth,” said Gilda’s Club co-founder Joanna Bull, who saw “My Left Breast” in New York. “It proves that, although it’s difficult, there are survivors and you can handle the situation with amazing humor and insight.”

In the one-hour production, Miller, 52, proudly asserts that she still feels beautiful, sexy and powerful. She avoids self-pity and self-glorification.

“It was no more difficult to write than anything I’ve ever written,” Miller said. “It’s unique only because I’m performing in it and I haven’t in any of the others.”

Miller, who lives in New York, wrote seven plays before taking on “My Left Breast” 2 1/2 years ago. They include “For Dear Life,” which was featured at the 1989 New York Shakespeare Festival, and “Arts and Leisure,” a semifinalist in the 1984 new play contest by the Dramatist Guild and CBS.

Currently, Miller is busy working on several projects. She doesn’t have a date in mind for the final performance of “My Left Breast.”

“If the theater is right and the city is right,” she said, “I’ll just keep doing it.”