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Steubenville native writes ‘groundbreaking production’

COLUMBUS — Shadowbox Live in Columbus, the largest resident ensemble theater company in America, is presenting a limited run of its groundbreaking production, “F#(k Cancer: The Musical,” penned by Steubenville native Jimmy Mak, the show’s head writer.

It opens tonight and continues through Jan. 26.

Shadowbox Live produces more than 300 shows per year and is celebrating 30 years producing original and “groundbreaking performances,” sketch comedy, rock ‘n’ roll, original rock operas, traditional musicals, drama, dance theater and new media.

Mak is the stage name for Jimmy Makofsky, a 1989 graduate of Steubenville High School who moved to Columbus that year. He graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in English. He resides with his wife and two daughters in Gahanna.

Mak is a comedy writer and playwright whose plays have been performed in New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, and his comedy sketches have been seen by hundreds of thousands of fans. He joined Shadowbox Live in February of 1996 as the head writer.

“F#(k Cancer: The Musical” is Shadowbox Live’s latest passion project — “a dark comedy-musical that delivers a raw, funny and frank look at the battles we face with our greatest common enemy,” a news release notes. “Inspired by the real stories of cancer victims and survivors, this show will be an unapologetic celebration of the triumph, loss and hope we find in each other during the darkest and most challenging chapters of our lives.”

Mak is a 22-year veteran of the company, having written some of Shadowbox’s most critically acclaimed productions (“Back to the Garden,” “Underland” and “Broken Whispers”) as well as developed and led Shadowbox Live’s team of in-house comedy writers for more than a decade. His work has been produced on stages in Los Angeles, New York and Hong Kong, and he is the author of “Daddies Don’t Breakdance,” a collection of semi-autobiographical comedic short stories. For this show, Mak reached out to the Shadowbox Live patrons to gather stories from cancer survivors, caretakers and the families of those who have been lost to gather inspiration and infuse the spirit of those stories into his work.

The lyrics and music are the brainchild of international recording artist Ed Hamell.

“This New York-based folk-punk singer/songwriter has earned critical and audience acclaim for his aggressively fun music, razor-sharp wit and high-energy performances as the one-man rock show, ‘Hamell On Trial,'” according to the release. “Dubbed as ‘bald, bold, and superbad’ by Rolling Stone magazine, Hamell’s passionate, socially conscious style — coupled with Shadowbox Live’s relentless irreverence — will bring dynamic support to the emotionally charged story of the play.”

“F#(k Cancer: The Musical” was birthed in 2017, when Stev Guyer, Shadowbox founder and then artistic director, scribbled the title on a piece of paper during a meeting with the company’s creative team. Guyer was battling an aggressive form of brain cancer, and he and the team were meeting the challenge in their usual fashion — “head-on and with a wicked sense of humor.”

“As the conversation about a cancer-themed musical continued, the team began to realize that laughter is one of our most powerful coping mechanisms. Moreover, it is a tool that many people feel they are alone in using to deal with the darkness in our lives. ‘F#(k Cancer: The Musical’ was created to lift that veil between those affected by cancer and the world around them and to remind us to lean on and smile with one another,” the release continues.

“Sadly, Stev lost his battle before the start of the show’s production. The show opened June 14, 2018, and received amazing accolades and quickly generated interest nationally from the theatrical and cancer research/support communities.”

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