BWW Reviews: MENOPAUSE: THE MUSICAL at Dutch Apple

There's a photo campaign made up of photographs of real women - old and young, tall and short, thinner and stouter, of various races and ethnic backgrounds, of different apparent social classes, all holding signs saying "This is what a feminist looks like." Its point, of course, is that feminism simply is, and that despite what those who don't understand the word seem to think it means, all sorts of women - the majority, in fact, who do understand what the word means - are feminists. And that's the thing, as well, about MENOPAUSE: THE MUSICAL. There are four different sorts of women in it, but all have common issues in their lives that they can learn more about by sharing with each other. It's not a polemic, it's not man-bashing, it's not political... and yet it's a richly feminist play. This is what feminist theatre looks like.

Written by Jeannie Linders, and originally directed by Kathleen Lindsay at a 76-seat theatre in Orlando, Florida in 2001, and with four years spent Off-Broadway in New York, it's arguably one of the most-seen musicals around, and both Susan Anton and Judy Tenuta have appeared in it at various places. It's currently at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre, where it's once again entertaining audiences while reassuring them that power surges - er, that's "hot flashes" in older vernacular - are perfectly normal and survivable, and that any part of your body is entitled to sag just as much as it wishes.

The cast of four, intended to be stereotypes of women we all know, includes Erin Fish as "Soap Star," slender, vain, and lying about her age with a vengeance; "Professional (sometimes Power) Woman," played by Whitney Hayes, who likes to take charge in life when she's able to feel competent; Megan Opalinski as "Earth Mother," the woman in the floaty skirts and bead necklaces who knows an herb tea for everything, like it or not; and Eleonore Thomas as "Iowa Housewife," who's just visiting the city for the first time and is a bit in awe of everything around her. The others suspect her of being a hick, and nearly drop everything in her hands when she assures them, "Don't act so surprised - we do have sex in Iowa."

Director Seth Greenleaf runs the women through the heavy song-parody collection of tales and music about hot flashes, weight, anti-depressants, sleeping in separate beds, and the joy of discovering mother's real, battery-operated, little helpers. In the midst of it, Iowa Housewife learns she's normal, Soap Star learns to admit a few things about her life, Earth Mother learns that everything isn't solved with organics, and Professional Woman learns that there are some things in life that you can't completely control. Everyone grows, mostly together, and learns more than a few things about themselves, each other, and women's lives in general.

The music is fine - it's all Baby Boomer songs that the audience knows and loves, rewritten to suit the theme, so that the BeeGees' classic "Stayin' Alive" is now "Staying Awake," and "I'm Sorry" becomes "I'm Flashing." All of the parody's fairly gentle; this isn't a musical that's out for blood in any way.

And that may be the show's one drawback, as well as a virtue - while it takes on the changes in women's lives as they approach "the change," it's too gentle and well-meaning to take on some serious peripheral issues. Memory loss and depression are touched on as all of the women reveal what prescriptions have made their lives bearable despite psychological symptoms, in a solid demonstration of better living through chemistry - but at no point are the issues of overmedication addressed, and even Earth Mother pops doctor-prescribed pills to get her through the day, as if menopause were just another medical matter to be treated with a fistful of pills. How did women manage to survive for centuries without them? As was noted as early as the Seventies, doctors and the pharmaceutical industry have made being female a cause for prescriptions being needed to solve the problem. This is not the show that tackles such questions. (It's more of a task for NEXT TO NORMAL, one supposes.)

Despite errors or omissions on specific topics, however, overall it's a consistent and enjoyable show, with a cast that's appreciated by the audience: Dutch Apple's found a nice balance of ages, heights, weights, and other diversities in the casting that reminds you of what real women do look like. And Professional Woman, Whitney Hayes, has a voice that doesn't quit, while Opalinski's Earth Mother is really quite adorable.

All in all, it's hardly an unpleasant way to spend an evening, even for the men in the audience. They may learn more than they expect, and there's neither lecturing them nor attacking them, so it's safe enough to venture forth with female friends and relatives. Some, at least, may prefer to leave children at home, especially considering suggestive discussion and songs in the second half.

At Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre in Lancaster through October 5. Visit www.dutchapple.com for details and for tickets.

Photo courtesy of Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre

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