Menopause: The Musical

Menopause: The Musical

CHICAGO, Dec. 2004 -- If its an evening of high falutin intellectual stimulation culled from annals of feminist theory youre after, Menopause: The Musical is not your show.

However, if you want to revel in the crowd-pleasing silliness of vintage rock tunes rejiggered with lyrics examining hot flashes, vibrators, estrogen replacement therapy and other matters about which men are forever clueless, see this show.

The humor is obvious, broad, somewhat stereotypical and about as subtle as a manic-depressive who has forsaken his Lithium.

Still, its hard not to break into a gleeful smile when a sex-deprived housewife serenades a bright pink personal massager with an ecstatic rendition of Only You. Ditto for the bang-up finale rendition YMCA, lyrically altered to celebrate women.


In Menopause: The Musical, book writer and lyricist Jeanie Linders leavens the mind- and body-blowing symptoms of the Change with humor. And heaven (or wherever) knows, humor is an essential survival tool is getting through the torrid symptoms of menopauseespecially as Linders presents it. The author writes of the symptoms of menopause as a cross between the worst side effects of electric shock treatment (discombobulating memory loss) and heat exhaustion (uncontrollable sweats, chills, and a creeping sense of ones impending doom).

The four women in the cast represent types or rather, under-represent them, since there doesnt seem to be a lesbian in the group. The quartet includes the Power Woman (Wydetta Carter, a woman with a gorgeous belt voice and an easy grace as a dancer); the Soap Star (Judy Blue, wry, sophisticated and sultry); the Earth Mother (Joan Krause, naturally comedic in every move she makes); and the Iowa Housewife (Jeanne Croft) . The four run into each other at the lingerie counter of Bloomingdales and, in a bit of forced dialogue, discover theyre all passing through what was once called the Silent Passage.

Through the floors of Bloomies, the women bond and sing about their lives and the ch-ch-ch-changes they are enduring. Theres a fair amount of confusion on display: Why is the Iowa Housewife talking about moaning whores, the Earth Mother Wonders after the former makes a crack about hormones.

Thankfully, the seismic shifts in body (an hourglass shape reconfigures itself into a glass of water) and mind (Im a lot pushier now. When Im not crying.) are infused with songs and comedic patter. Linders has succeeded in putting a comic spin on a life event that has the potential to be tremendously painful and as long as we live in a society where the ideal woman is younger than 20 and emaciated truly damaging.

As the Soap Star, Judy Blue brings up the issue of ageism when she melodramatically (as befits a soap star) bemoans the nubile, young lass her network has just hired. The issue is flitted over ever so lightly, just enough to make the point needle into your brain before were onto the next song. Menopause: the Musical is out for entertainment, not heavy-duty politics. And thanks in large part to an excellent cast, the show works.

Source: Windy City Media Group

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