While cancer has no permanent cure, there’s a substitute to mediate the emotional damage it can bring: laughter. On February 28, the Tivoli Theatre hosted their sixth annual Comedy Cancer performance, headlined by Hollywood star Chelsea Handler. Comedy for Cancer is a comedy show hosted by the non-profit organization, The H Foundation, to provide money to boost cancer research. Founded by John Rot, previously an owner of a Classic Cinemas theatre, the organization was founded after his work associate Pam Herms had been diagnosed with cancer.
“As a small business we wanted to be able to do something so I sat down with a few friends and realized they had all been touched by cancer too,” Rot said. “We decided the one thing we knew how to do is throw a party, so we did an event modeled after the typical black ties except that’s not really who we are. We’re about having fun so we did a Hawaiian, Caribbean theme.”
Rot’s work partners banded together to organize an event raising money for Herms’s treatment. Initially, the event aimed to have 300 attendees and raise $20,000, but ended up with 700 attendees who raised over $100,000. The money wasn’t able to save Herms, but the research done with the money aided others in the years to come.
“Not knowing I had cancer and still feeling great, it was kind of a shock and I first thought ‘I can’t believe it happened to me. It’s impossible,’” cancer survivor Rocky Aiyah described. “I did my homework, I researched, talked to the best doctors, and ended up at MD Anderson and five years later, I’m cancer free.”
Ever since Aiyah’s recovery, he and his brother Zeze help facilitate events such as this by providing jumbo-sized tents for outdoor concessions. The event had been catered by over a dozen restaurants, all of which had workers touched by cancer. Mojo’s Gumbo, a Cajun style restaurant catering this night, had co-owner Jamie Latell telling her stories with the H Foundation while handing out hot gumbo.
“Nothing makes people happier than food. The food is love and hope. Like in Princess and the Frog, ‘there’s no faster way to someone’s heart than through the stomach,’” Latell said. “Casey, a friend of mine who’s on the board here, had a personal story that touched my heart, so there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her and this cause and what they do is beautiful.”
After beginning the H Foundation, Rot resigned his position with Classic Cinemas and turned over Greens Theatre to Chris Johnson, co-owner of Classic Cinemas and owner of the Tivoli. Johnson has been honored to help Rot in hosting many of the H Foundation’s endeavors.
“It’s great for the H Foundation to bring awareness, especially in this kind of event, because there’s a lot of Chelsea Handler fans that have no idea what the H Foundation is,” Johnson said. “The reality of it is, you know, specialty events like this are what this venue is for. It’s just a community pillar and we just happened to be a part of it.”
Handler headlining the event allowed the audience to be full of new faces. Not only the H Foundation’s regular supporters, but fans of Handler’s Hollywood work. Even if many were only in attendance for a comedy show with Handler, they saw an unseen, compassionate side of the boisterous actress when she detailed of her connection to the cause. Handler’s personal anecdotes invited her fans to be a part of the H Foundations for years to come.
“I have this image of my mom and she’s always with me. I don’t feel separated from my mother because she passed away from cancer, I actually feel closer to her.”
Similarly, both of the preceding comedians opening for Handler, while providing laughter for a serious cause, made sure to cut the comedy to highlight the seriousness and importance of the event. One in particular, Brian Hicks, has had a constant familial battle with cancer after his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis nine years ago.
“She’s such a strong woman. She’s a two-time cancer survivor,” Hicks detailed. “Even if I’m the professional comedian, she’s truly the funniest one in the household.”
At the end of the night, the Tivoli’s show raised $101,300. This money, along with whatever the H Foundation will continue to raise, will be donated to the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University to help promote cancer research in hopes to find a cure as universal as laughter.
