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Producers:
GFour Productions (Kathi and Alan Glist et al) and Bob & Gudrun Cuillo, in association with TOC Productions.
Book and Lyrics: Jeanie Linders
Cast:
 Power Woman
Skye Dee Miles, Susan Beaubian
 Earth Mother
Vita Corimbi, Cheryl Spencer
 Iowa Housewife
Laura Lee O'Connell, Marsha Waterbury
 Soap Star
Paige O'Hara, Satomi Hofmann
Set Location: Bloomingdales, NYC
Crew:
Director/Musical Director: Michael Larsen
Choreographer: Patty Bender
Music Director: Alan J. Plado
Elaborated from original direction by:
Kathryn Conte, Corinne Aquilina, C.T. Hollis
The theatre operates under an agreement with Actors' Equity Assoc., and The Union of Professional Actors' and Stage Managers.
Currently in Las Vegas in the Shimmer Cabaret at the Las Vegas Hilton; show times and info: 702.732.5755
Tickets are currently $49.50 USD—a bargain!
There is no intermission
 HATS OFF TO the brilliant company of producers, performers and creative crews responsible for Menopause the Musical which, I believe, will join the top shows of all time in the hilariously droll humor genre. Do not let the title be off-putting, as you do not want to miss a truly vibrant discourse on timely issues of the current era. Not to mention missing superb performances by some very accomplished musician actors. As if born to sing together, the four women I had the pleasure of watching meshed to perfection. The foursome on stage the night we saw the show transformed a seemingly effortless chemistry into the impromptu friendship and unity intended by the author. The original premise, by Jeanie Linders, premiered March 2001 in an 86-seat theatre in Orlando, FL. Linders wrote her story and began the process of producing a Broadway-quality show with 're-lyricised' parodies of favorite tunes. She envisioned the play as a "celebration of women who are on the brink of, in the middle of, or have survived The Change."
The non-human player, 24 compositions copyright dated from 1933 to 1985, memorable and recognizable, melodically underscored the story and lyric parodies. Wonderfully dear to most fans of dance and pop tunes, most of the songs contributed to the identity of the sixties. Familiar riffs set to Jeanie Linders' social commentaries included Chain, Chain, Chain (Menopause's Change, Change, Change…My body tried to warn me, the signs weren't too cool, it's treat'n me mean, it's treat'n me cruel…) and Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places (Looking for Food…Now I'm packin' on pounds where I didn't have spaces, Looking for food in too many places…Now when I starve with no fries in sight, a quart of rocky road will get me through the night…) These pop tunes of the sixties intermingled with likes of Irving Berlin's 1933 Heat Wave (Tropical Heat Wave…I'm having a hot flash, a tropical hot flash, my personal summer is really a bummer…lusciously vamped by Satomi Hofmann) and Buck Ram's 1955 The Great Pretender. Familiar or not, the notes co-opted by Linder for her comedic, sometimes raunchy jesting, absolutely linked the baby boomer set to her plays on words and problems. Everyone else caught the meaning, even if they weren't female baby boomers. The brilliant match of one song after the other overcomes the subject matter, allowing a comfort level for most. Everything from 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' to 'YMCA' tickle the ribs. 'Puff, The Magic Dragon' would seem an unlikely choice—but no—nor was 'I Got You Babe,' 'The Shoop Shoop Song', 'I'm Sorry' and 'Stayin' Alive.' 24 modified songs complete the list of Linders' vehicles for translation of yesterday's topics to today's quandaries.
 The cast I saw held my attention, definitely bringing home the Linders message, ably contrasting the absurdity of our own biology with an equally absurd inclination to 'not talk about it' in one mirthful number after another. Satomi Hofmann, a UCLA graduate of Arts in Theatre, has made Las Vegas her home for years. She has performed opposite Michael Crawford and David Cassidy in MGM's EFX, and contributed to our First Fridays when performing with Killian's Angels, a local favorite all-female band, where her classical training can be enjoyed. She sings and plays keyboards, guitar, bass and—tin whistle and spoons. The RJ awarded her Best Supporting Actress for her Mayzie in 'Seussical'. She maximizes the Soap Star role, flamboyantly conveying the conflicted, vain and lovable glamour disciple.
Skye Dee Miles gave the Power Woman role an authoritative presence, blending into the chorus numbers, as well as belting out a few tunes with impresario quality (such as to What's Love Got To Do With It?) Her previous gig for the past seven years was in the longest running musical revue, 'Beach Blanket Babylon' in San Francisco. Her 'Skye and UniverSoul Sounds' band plays rock'n'soul. Miles sparkled as Power Woman, her comedic timing impeccable. Laura Lee O'Connell brought a genuine 'breadbasket of the country' familiarity to her Iowa Housewife. She is a regular performer with Menopause the Musical recently in Philadelphia, Boston, Denver and Seattle, displaying her remarkable breadth of acting skill with appearances as either the Iowa Housewife, or the Earth Mother. She has slapstick down.
 Vita Corimbi convincingly includes humor and understanding of all things spiritual in her genuinely likable Earth Mother, alternating between wise moments and girlish romps. Corimbi is one of our own Las Vegas community offspring, beginning with classical pianist solos with orchestras, and a stint in street performances—very sixties—and into her own as an award-winning performer, recording artist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and "legend in her own mind." All grown up, three Emmy's on her mantle, she is out in the creative arts as a performer, voiceover and jingle artist and creator of comedy characters like Bunny LaShay, corporate, cabaret and drag queen icon. Corimbi connected with the audience immediately, inviting an interest in her Earth Mother's new friends, meeting in NYC's Bloomingdales, struggling over a black lace bra on a clearance table. As the entire story is played out inside different departments and the cafe of this famous department store, it's all about shopping, beauty salon visits, eating in the café. The sets change in front of the bank of elevator doors—clever, space saving and thrifty—attributes to be admired. The focus is on the impressively varied performances, melodious storytelling, and non-stop clowning—with no intermission.
Anyone can enjoy this show as a raucous, energetic and uproarious take on some of the issues of life experienced not just by over 40 females (except maybe the hot flashes). The setting (shopping), lyrics (about common issues) and behavior (exaggerated) depict a cross section of women, pigeonholed tidily into four general stereotypes: Housewife, Earth Mother, Power Woman, and Soap Star. Nearly everyone in the audience gets the humor of memory loss, mood swings, wrinkles, and eating binges. Most mature audiences experience these issues, or know someone who does, or fear the day when they begin experiencing the inevitable themselves. This commonality evokes similar responses and a good deal of laughter across the showroom. Yes, Linders wished to reach, and "raise awareness of, female audiences…to encourage a healthy dialogue about issues of aging and women's health." She succeeded, as well, in bringing smiles to the faces of spouses, friends and children of people with these issues.
 Identifying with the four characters comes quite naturally. The Power Woman issues don't all belong to female workaholics. The Pandora's Box opened in the sixties spawned a political and social revolution, blurring of gender issues, and the New Age movement with all that implies. The Earth Mother enjoys a nearly universal appeal. On the opposite of the spectrum, an initially innocuous character lends an immediate recognition, crossing all classes of people, as the audience gets to know the home-centric person of our rural communities, championing their small town values and usual lack of urbanity. Linders successfully lumps them all into the Iowa Housewife. She also takes on the image industry, addressing the fears and torment of people whipped into a frenzy of image corrections, vanity and ancillary melodrama. The Soap Star a wholly non-gender-specific bottomless well of humor that probably reaches more people than could comfortably confess.
We observe these roles and begin to engage, anticipating punch lines, cheering the production on with laughter and applause; we begin to grapple with our feelings, how much of those character's flaws and merits we wish to declare our own. Jeanie Linders accomplished her dream of a "grassroots movement that deals with life after age 40, with all the challenges that result in the mental, physical and spiritual freedom of over 75 million baby-boomer females." As one of those females, I felt 'celebrated' and like celebrating the realities I face as the years ramp up to the level of the experiences depicted.
I found Linders' entire concept razor-sharp, intensely witty and quite blunt, capturing the dilemmas of our world today—relevant to all, not just females and/or baby-boomers. She intended the natural passage, the biological inevitability of aging, no longer to have the status of 'the silent passage.' Menopause the Musical satisfies and charms at a very humanistic level, without being preachy—just marvelous entertainment, really.
This show is a musical, no mistake, and it is an important play to catch. You may even spot some of our own Red Hat Society ladies in the audience, as they are a supportive organization for MTM. Be sure you do…you won't regret the time allocated on what you may fear is an iffy show, or the energy expended on laughing.
Social Notes: Linders considered Menopause the Musical a creation that was not about entertainment…but about women. Visit the Menopause the Musical website. Her WOMEN FOR WOMEN (W4W) program made her statement a reality. Launched in January 2003, W4W provides mentoring, financial support, grants, connections and fundraising options, subsidized by the companion program, (Forty By Forty) 40 X 40 touring art exhibit. 
Reviewed by:
Carol Lane Patterson
For more info:
 
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