BWW Reviews: MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL - An Unexpected Comedic Hit at Hobby Center

Who knew menopause could be fun?

'Menopause' certainly isn't an obvious topic for a musical, but Menopause The Musical writer/producer Jeanie Linders has stumbled upon a bold and surprising recipe for success: stage an candid, upfront presentation of a socially taboo topic through clever parodies of classic mainstream hits with never-ending comedy.  The result is a toe-tapping, entertaining destination for your next girl's night out. 

The continuous comedy helps the audience feel at ease with the subject matter as the honest dialogue creates an immediate "sisterhood" atmosphere within the expectedly female-dominated house.  From the notes of the first song through to the encore, the audience never stopped laughing or applauding.  I have never been to a show that inspired the audience to become so engaged and vocal - including the four times I've seen RENT.  The ability of Menopause The Musical to so quickly and completely grasp an audience is a remarkable feet and the obvious reason behind the show's success.

Set in the New York City Bloomingdale's Department Store, four women find out they have more in common than their desire for a black bra on the sales table.  They unexpectedly bond over shared experiences enduring the "silent change" and spend the rest of the day exploring the many floors of Bloomingdale's sharing hot flashes (a.k.a. "your personal summer"), chocolate cravings, and dashing to the restroom.  They discover their fear and anxiety are shared and together embrace a new attitude about "the change."

The 90-minute, intermission-free production is jam-packed with 24 parodies of songs from the '60s, '70s and '80s.  The creative twists of familiar songs keeps the musical engaging including changing  "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" into "In the guest room, or on the sofa, my husband sleeps tonight," "If you want to know where the fats gonna go, it's on my hips" from "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)", "I wish we all could be sane and normal girls" to the tune of "California Girls," and a song about vibrators parodied from "What's Love Got To Do With It."

With so much music in so little time, the show at its heart is simply a collection of musical spoofs.  Character development is even forgone relying upon stereotypes for the four nameless characters of an "Earth Mother" (Megan Cavanagh), an aging Soap Star (Lisa Fox), a Professional Woman (Kimberly Ann Harris) and an Iowa Housewife (Liz Hyde). 

Intermixed with the songs are a handful of brilliant comedic scenes portraying everything from degrading eyesight and mood swings, to wrinkle development and weight gain, that even had the handful of men in the audience laughing.

Hyde provides the two comedic highpoints as she tries to squeeze into a tiny piece of intimate apparel and then later sings a passionate ode to her newly acquired vibrator.  Cavanagh (best known as Marla Hooch from the movie A League Of Their Own), is also a comedic delight and shines during her number "Puff, My God I'm Dragging" set to "Puff, The Magic Dragon."

Harris (who originated the role of Churchlady Doris in the Broadway and Atlanta World Premiere productions of The Color Purple) has impressive vocals that are matched perfectly with the oldie-flavor of the score, especially during an homage number to Tina Turner.  She also demonstrated impressive improv when an audience member handed her a cooling cream while she was experiencing a "personal summer" during the opening night of the Houston run.

For being an honest discussion about menopause, I found the show's premise to be unbelievable: that four strangers would start talking about menopause at a department store out of the blue.  But I think that is the musical's message: that women do not have to suffer "the change" in silence and menopause is nothing to be embarrassed about.  Menopause The Musical empowers women to embrace the natural complexities of growing older and encourages them to support one another.

Menopause The Musical returns to Houston for the third time and has entertained audiences in more than 250 cities and 14 countries.  Recognizing the show's potential to engage women, Linders founded the Jeanie C. Linders Fund ® which has used the musical as a platform to raise over $1.1 million for ovarian cancer research.  Menopause The Musical debuted in Orlando, Florida March 28, 2001.  The Off-Broadway production opened at the Theatre Four April 4, 2002 and closed after 1,500 performances.

Menopause The Musical and runs in the smaller, Zilkha Hall of the Hobby Center June 15-27.  Tickets for $54 are available at the Hobby Center Box Office (800 Bagby Street), by phone at 713-315-2525 or online at www.thehobbycenter.org.

Photo credit:  Christian Waits

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