Menopause The Musical (with lyrics and story by Jeanie Linders) playing at The Warner Theatre is an uproariously funny story about four woman who meet one fateful day over the lingerie sale bin at the Bloomingdales flagship store in New York. Not only do these four very different ladies have the love of shopping in common (I mean, what female can resist a sale at Bloomies?), but they are all going through ‘the change.’
The four women lament the woes of going through menopause by parodying popular songs from the 1930s through the 1980s. They sing about hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, loss of short term memory, insomnia, food cravings, and decreased sex drives. The cheeky lyrics and entertaining dance routines had me laughing throughout the entire performance. “I’m Sorry” becomes “I’m Flashing,” “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places” becomes “Looking for Food,”“The Shoop Shoop Song” becomes a song about fat grams, “My Guy” becomes “My Thighs,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” becomes “In the Guest Room or on the Sofa, My Husband Sleeps at Night,” and “Puff the Magic Dragon” becomes “Puff, My God I’m Dragging.”
I wasn’t the only one that found the woman’s antics funny as evidenced by the loud laughter of the audience members around me or the giggling woman pointing at their friends and whispering “Oh my God, that is you!”
One aspect of the show (produced by G4 productions, and directed by Seth Greenleaf) that I found interesting was that the four women are never named…they are simply The Professional Woman (Kimberly Ann Harris), the Soap Star (Patti Gardner), The Earth Mother/Hippie (Sandy Rosenberg) and the Iowa Housewife (Annette Houlihan Verdolino). By keeping the four women nameless, it helps each person in the audience better identify with the women. The show isn’t just about poking fun at menopause, but its about the bonds that we can form over a shared experience. The four women, although vastly different in beliefs, experiences, and character all build a sort of friendship and support over dealing with the complications of menopause. Everyone in the cast has a great singing voice and they all play their roles with lots of energy and humor.
While the audience was more than 90% female, I could see even the men were enjoying the show from their chuckles, cheers, and nods. And when Verdolino sang “Only You,” which is transformed into her ode to the vibrator and its amazing powers, I laughed so hard I cried.
Gather your girlfriends and you’ll have an evening of many laughs until your mascara runs’ at Menopause The Musical at The Warner Theatre. But the show isn’t only for your girlfriends, so grab your favorite guy and take him to the show because he will also laugh at the antics. Hopefully, he will come away with deeper insight into the trials and tribulations females are faced with during ‘the change.’
Not only will you have a great time, but GFour Productions is partnering with the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance and will donate $5 of each regularly priced ticket purchased with the promo code ‘TEAL’ to ovarian cancer education and support programs. Also all proceeds from the sale of the ‘Hot Flash Fans’ ($1) sold at the merchandise booth and in the theater prior to the show will be donated to the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. More information here.
Running Time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
Menopause The Musical runs through August 19, 2012 at The Warner Theater – 513 13th Street NW, in Washington, DC. Purchase tickets online.
About Author Anne Tsang
Anne is a self proclaimed theater nut and lover of live music. She once spent 8 hours, non-stop, at a theater festival. watching a series of plays--you have to be a nut to be able to do that! Anne's first love in theater are Broadway musicals and she has an uncanny luck in winning lottery tickets for the shows! Anne also loves all forms of live music and is always amazed and touched by the energy of a great show. Anne also loves to travel and is fascinated by food and often combines the loves in her life--theater, music, food--with travel to new destinations and has been to performance venues around the world. What better way to share her enthusiasm and love for all things theater and music than to write for DCMetroTheaterArts? She can't wait to start sharing her observations with you!