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david lee nelson

A comedy. About cancer.

From award-winning performer David Lee Nelson comes

a new play about finding hope in the most unlikely of places.

In 2017, award winning performer David Lee Nelson received news that would change his life. At 38 years old he was diagnosed with Stage Four Colon Cancer. He kept a blog of his time in chemotherapy – a heartbreakingly funny chronicle of a disease which affects over nine million Americans. This material became the basis for his newest solo play. Stages is not simply a play about sickness: it’s a story of life’s setbacks and surprises, and about searching for hope in the most unlikely of places.

Press

THE GAZETTE

"The topic is grim. The battle isn’t pretty. Nelson pulls no punches...A brilliant writer and a physical performer."

THE GAZETTE

"A man's battle with cancer becomes a battle for meaning. It's okay to laugh and to live."

LITTLE VILLAGE

"His stories offer moments of reflection, fear and humor. This is truly a remarkable show."

LITTLE VILLAGE

"Signature Nelson humor, honed through his time as a stand-up comic, threads through all of his autobiographical solo plays, but the topic of cancer is a particularly poignant one to address in this way, requiring a deep level of honesty and self-awareness."

IOWA CITY PRESS CITIZEN

"It's a comedy with life and death stakes."

THE DAILY IOWAN

"Stages battles tragedy and heart."

THE POST & COURIER

"Stages is flipping hilarious, because he’s hilarious."

CHARLESTON CITY PAPER

"Stages gives the audience a glimpse of a man wrestling with his fate, coming to grips with a death sentence and yet, accepting it with humbling joviality."

MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

OF SOUTH CAROLINA

"Cancer may be the link that holds the script together, but at its heart, it’s all about the people."

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