Cancer Survivor Raises $36K with Beatles Parody Shows

When Rita Taylor survived cancer for the second time, she decided laughter and Beatles songs were the best weapons against fear.

The 40-year Portland, Tennessee resident now leads The Divas, a group of self-described non-professional performers who belt out health-themed parodies on stage. Picture this: four women holding toilet plungers like horn instruments, singing "My colon's healthy! I love regularity!" in matching costumes from Goodwill.

Taylor knows the mission is serious, even if the show isn't. She remembers every detail from her first cancer diagnosis at age 30, when she didn't know a single survivor. Forty years later, she's made it her life's work to make sure no one feels that alone again.

"If you have a lecture, nobody would come," Taylor explains with a laugh. "If women get up on stage and sing and dance to it, they'll come, and they'll remember it too."

The strategy works brilliantly. Last year's show raised over $36,000 for the American Cancer Society. This year's Beatles-themed "Divas on Abbey Road" aims for $40,000 when it hits Temple Theatre on April 10, 11, and 12.

Taylor chose the Beatles specifically because their uplifting songs helped people through hard times. She figured cancer prevention messages set to "Come Together" and "All You Need Is Love" might do the same.

The Ripple Effect

What started 11 years ago as one woman's creative fundraising idea has become an annual tradition that reaches far beyond ticket sales. The shows teach audiences when to get screened and what tests matter, all wrapped in joy instead of fear.

Fellow Diva Ashley Berry says the approach helps people remember crucial health information they might otherwise ignore. When you're laughing at women in silver outfits singing about colonoscopies, you're also learning when to schedule your own.

The performers aren't cancer survivors themselves, but they rally around Taylor's vision year after year. Diva Becky Jennings calls Rita "a doer" who makes things happen no matter what.

For Taylor, every year she gets older feels like victory. "Everybody says they dread getting older. I want to get older," she says. "It's like one more year to knock cancer out. It's a gift."

The shows prove that hope doesn't have to be serious to be powerful.