Menopause The Musical - Menopause The Musical

Menopause The Musical debuted March 28, 2001 in Orlando, Florida, in a 76-seat theatre that once housed a perfume shop. The original cast members were Shelly Browne as the Power (later Professional) Woman, Patti McGuire as the Iowa Housewife, Pammie O'Bannon as the Earth Mother and Wesley Williams as the Soap Star. The show was directed by Kathleen Lindsey.

The cast of four women shopping for lingerie at a Bloomingdale's sale sing 25 songs about chocolate cravings, hot flashes, loss of memory, nocturnal sweats, and sexual predicaments. The lyrics parody popular music from the baby boomer era, with notable numbers "Stayin' Awake" and "Puff, My God I'm Draggin'."

Written by Jeanie Linders, the show appealed to menopausal women, a market sometimes neglected by mainstream fare, who helped the show blow the lid off the "silent passage" by flocking to the show in large numbers, often taking advantage of group sales promotions. The show's ensuing success Off-Broadway led to a number of productions across the country presented by theatrical producers GFour Productions in such cities as Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles Boston, Denver, and Las Vegas, where it is currently housed at the Harrah's Las Vegas

Within a few years, international productions became commonplace, with shows in Australia, Canada, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, the United Kingdom, South Africa, South Korea, and Spain. Local references in the show are customized to the location of the performance; for example, the 'Iowa Housewife' became 'Dubbo Housewife' in Australia and 'Waikato housewife' in New Zealand; America's Bloomingdale's became Smith & Caugheys in New Zealand and Marks & Spencer in London.

The show's official website claims that eleven million people have seen the show. A significant percentage of its audience consists of members of the Red Hat Society.

Charitable Efforts

Menopause The Musical® serves as an ambassador of good will, not only to lift spirits through entertainment and comedy but also with its philanthropic achievements. In addition to raising awareness of menopausal health related issues, a national tour was presented to raise funds and awareness for the fight against ovarian cancer.

Most recently, Menopause The Musical®'s producing company, GFour Productions partnered with Susan G. Komen® to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer education and research. From 2014-2016, GFour Productions, LLC will donate $50,000.00 to Susan G. Komen®. In addition, GFour will also donate to Komen at least $2.00 for every specially coded “PINK” ticket sold to Menopause The Musical® from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2016.

Musical numbers

Reviews

• Leslie Fischer at chicagocritic.com recommends you "bring the waterproof mascara because you’ll laugh so hard, you’ll cry. With humor and compassion, writer, producer, and lyricist Jeanie Linders has captured the experiences of every woman in her 40s and 50s. Remember all those great songs of the 50s, 60s and 70s--full of love and teenage angst? Linders has rewritten their lyrics to reflect our mature experience, exploring the ways in which our bodies, our emotions and our spirits, change with the Change. When you don’t recognize yourself in these hilarious lyrics, you’ll recognize a friend."
• Genessee Kagy of the Daily Californian wrote that "Menopause's collection of great oldies, clever tongue-in-cheek lyrics and entertaining dance routines prevented me from making any I-Need-Air trips to the restroom despite the fact that I hadn't felt like such a fraud since I turned eighteen-years old. Over 90 percent of the audience were women more than twice my age ... Linders' humorous new lyrics coupled to old favorites provide a good laugh. When the show ended, the entire audience was still clapping their hands to the final number, yelling and letting out whoops of approval."
• From The News-Herald (Ohio): "'My Guy' becomes 'My Thighs,' 'Puff, the Magic Dragon' is transformed into 'Puff, My God, I’m Draggin'. 'The Great Pretender' laments the loss of memory and how women come to fake that they can’t remember an acquaintance’s name. 'A Sign of the Times' becomes 'A Song of the Times,' which recounts the startling fact that in middle age, a woman realizes she has become her mother."

Notable Performers

• Megan Cavanagh, best remembered as Marla Hooch in the Penny Marshall film A League of Their Own has played the role of "Earth Mother" at Chicago's Apollo Theater and overseas in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as well as on various national tours.
• Paige O'Hara, best known as the voice of Belle in Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast, is an original member of the Las Vegas cast, playing the role of "Soap Star."
• Stand-up comedian Judy Tenuta has guest-starred in the Los Angeles and Chicago productions.
• 1980s pop star Cheryl Baker starred as "Earth Mother" in a 2009 UK tour.
• Queen Emily, a singer from Stockton, CA, who placed fifth in the 3rd season of America's Got Talent headlined the Las Vegas cast in 2009.
• Actor/recording artist Susan Anton, known for her work in film (Cannonball Run II) and television (Baywatch) appeared in the Las Vegas cast in the winter of 2010-11.

Other performance locations

The original Orlando production has played more or less continuously since the show's origin, most recently at the Plaza Theatre. The Off-Broadway production officially opened at Theatre Four on April 4, 2002, after a month of previews, and closed in the spring of 2006, logging more than 1500 performances. The show is running worldwide in diverse locations throughout the United States, Great Britain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and Spain.