The Show Must Go On

Wow!

Maria Friedman, the star of the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, "The Woman in White," stood at the center of the stage of the Marquis Theater on Thursday night, accepting a sustained standing ovation for her performance as the show's plucky Victorian heroine.

While the applause was no doubt for her performance, the fact that she was onstage at all was more remarkable. Just 10 days before, breast cancer had been diagnosed in Ms. Friedman, 45. Since then she had undergone surgery to remove a malignant lump the size of a marble from her left breast.