Menopause The Musical

Menopause, The Musical
It's not the 'Silent Passage' anymore!
Music Various
Lyrics Jeanie Linders
Book Jeanie Linders
Productions 2001 Orlando
2002 Off-Broadway

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, and South Korea. 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

  • Overture - Orchestra
  • Change, Change, Change - Professional Woman, Earth Mother & Girls
  • I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Professional Woman & Soap Star
  • Sign of the Times - Earth Mother & Iowa Housewife
  • Stayin' Awake/Night Sweatin' - Ensemble
  • My Husband Sleeps Tonight - Earth Mother & Girls
  • Hot Flash - Soap Star
  • Drippin' and Droppin' - Earth Mother
  • I'm Flashing - Professional Woman
  • The Great Pretender - Professional Woman, Iowa Housewife & Girls
  • Sane and Normal Girls/Thank You Doctor - Ensemble
  • Lookin' for Food - Soap Star, Iowa Housewife & Girls
  • Please Make Me Over - Soap Star

  • Beauty's Only Skin Deep - Ensemble
  • I'm Flashing (reprise) - Professional Woman
  • Puff, My God, I'm Draggin' - Earth Mother
  • The Fat Gram Song - Professional Woman & Girls
  • My Thighs - Iowa Housewife & Girls
  • Don't Say Nothing Bad About My Body - Soap Star & Girls
  • I'm No Babe, Ma - Ensemble
  • Good Vibrations - Earth Mother & Soap Star
  • What's Love Got To Do With It? - Professional Woman & Girls
  • Only You - Iowa Housewife & Girls
  • New Attitude - Ensemble
  • This is Your Day - Ensemble
  • Exit Music - Orchestra

Reviews

Notable Performers

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.[10] The show is running worldwide in diverse locations throughout the United States, Great Britain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa.

See also

External links

References

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