Today we’d like to introduce you to Ron Friedman.
Hi Ron, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started playing piano at age eightand writing music at age ten. In high school, I realized that I didn’t want to be a starving artist, so I went on to college, medical school, and training in plastic surgery (you haven’t heard of starving plastic surgeons). But my first love was always music. I started recorded my songs on eight track in the 1970s and gradually moved on to CDs in the 2000s. I performed on television (FOX-4 Good Day Show), as an introduction to Rudy Giuiliani (back when Rudy was sane), and for a crowd of several thousand. I raised $10,000 for the American Red Cross with my CD, Illusions. But people didn’t really take my music seriously until I started writing about…breasts.
cleaVage is a comedic musical inspired by the trailblazing Houston surgeons and brave patients who shaped the spectacular rise, equally spectacular fall, and rebound of silicone gel breast implants. cleaVage is the “real” story behind fake breasts. cleaVage will be bouncing to the stage next week for a three-week run at Lakeside Community Theatre in The Colony. All eight shows are SOLD OUT. cleaVage has enjoyed media coverage from Texas Monthly, D Magazine, NPR (The Texas Standard), Local Profile, Broadwayworld.com, Dallas Morning News, KERA art+seek, CultureMap Dallas, The Texas Jewish Post, Dallasinnovates.com, WBAP 820 radio, and KLIF 570 radio.
cleaVage is not just about breast augmentation. It is also about breast reconstruction for women with breast cancer. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and it is no coincidence that we are kicking it off with an October 2 preview benefit performance for Women Rock, a breast cancer survivors group based in Sherman. All merchandise sales for the eight performances will go directly to Women Rock.
I believe that as a plastic surgeon who has been placing breast implants for thirty years, I am in a position to truly understand and communicate the history of silicone gel and saline implants and the risks and benefits of breast augmentation and reconstruction. Far from being an advertisement for plastic surgery, cleaVage covers capsular contracture (hardening of the implants), implants ruptures and deflations, breast implant illness, and the various lawsuits culminating in the bankruptcy of Dow Corning. The idea is to educate people while they think they’re just being entertained with silly boob jokes. cleaVage is an origin story, a love story, an underdog story–and even a dog story (yes, the first patient was a stray dog named Esmeralda).
We anticipate the attendance of multiple artistic directors from DFW theaters at the upcoming October performances. If all goes well, our plan for the future is even bigger cleaVage!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I started writing cleaVage in 2019, I thought I would just submit it to Broadway, and every producer would clamor to bring it to stage. Perhaps I was just a little naive.
By 2022, it became clear that I couldn’t do it alone. I shopped for female cowriters at a virtual musical conference (you know, COVID) and found Laura Goodenow, a gifted librettist (writer of spoken words). Together we reshaped our cleaVage into its current form.
Of course, writing a musical isn’t enough; someone has to perform it. We were lucky enough to find Rebecca Lowrey of MusicalWriters who “developed cleaVage” (pun intended) from two table reads to a staged reading and now to our “first set” of full performances.
It’s been six years, and we are finally gaining traction. I know that we will face more struggles, but the future is looking bright.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Yes, it’s a little odd. I’m the only plastic surgeon to ever write a musical about plastic surgery. And, you probably guessed it, I specialize in breast and body contouring. We have been named a D Best Plastic Surgeon 19 times and a Texas SuperDoctor numerous times. We also have nearly 500 google reviews with a 5.0 rating (you can check it out yourself), which is currently the best in DFW.
My wife, Jin, who is a former Parkland ICU nurse, and I started our practice in 1996 at Presbyterian Hospital of Plano. This year we are celebrating 32 years of marriage–and 30 years in practice.
I take pride in personally performing every consultation, taking every photo, placing every stitch, and even doing evey Botox injection. I’m too much of a control freak to let anyone else work on our patients. This is truly personalized service, and we are proud that some patients have been seeing us for decades and continue sending their families and friends.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Since we are talking about a musical, the unsung hero is my wife, Jin, my wife and soulmate of 32 years. She is intelligent, beautiful, and genuinely cares about people. She has tolerated my endless puns for far too long–and she always supports my cleaVage.
Contact Info:
- Website: cleavagemusical.com and plasticsurgerydallas.com
- Instagram: @cleavagemusical, @drronaldfriedman
- Facebook: ronaldmfriedmanmd
Image Credits
Image of Dr. Friedman: Joshua Pak
Images of cleaVage actors: Richard Winn/Lexi Nieto
