“Menopause the Musical” has been touring for almost two decades now, and while the topic might not seem to lend itself to song and dance numbers, the show is a consistently relatable and hilarious hit, and not only with older audiences.
The current cast recently played two shows at The State Theatre in New Brunswick on Saturday, November 10. The musical, as of now, has run in 13 different countries, over 350 cities, and has reached nearly 11 million people. The musical manages to bring humor to the often not discussed and taboo topic of menopause.
The sparse set is organized as a sequence of doors representing elevators to different floors that feature restaurants, beauty salons, and department stores. As each section ends the lights dim and then there is a ding of the elevator changing floors and a female voice announces the next floor, setting the scene.
In one particularly memorable scene, the four principles are fighting over lingerie at Bloomingdales. The audience that included many middle-aged women, laughed continuously at the seemingly familiar to life scene.
In another scene, also regarding lingerie, the character whose role is referred to as “Iowa Housewife,” played by actress Teri Adams, attempted to spice up her love life searching for the perfect piece of “nightwear.”
Sifting through a rack, with not a word said, she takes the tiniest piece of clothing she could find and attempts to stretch it across her body. Although the actress stays silent, her pantomime inspired the crowd to loud laughter.
One audience member, Margery Miller, 78, of Bridgewater, New Jersey says that was one of her favorite scenes.
“The mime scene with the lingerie, I thought she did a fabulous job. Not a word and she was phenomenal.” Miller said.
The show specifically focuses on the story of four women going through menopause. Each character copes with and highlights different scenarios and human experiences that are part of this rite of passage, such as night sweats, failing vision, forgetfulness, and body pains.
One character in particular, the powerhouse figure, played by actress Linda Boston, is a tough managerial woman going through menopause. She is combating the menopausal symptoms that might have a conflict with her role as the powerhouse figure, such as forgetfulness.
“I created my own backstory for ‘professional woman’ or ‘power woman,’ that’s what she’s called,” says Boston. She continues, “Being able to pull some real life to develop that character and then incorporate that with some questions that people have asked me over the years about my own life, that’s how I’m able to get her and make her solid.”
Bringing the real life experiences, such as the fact Mrs. Boston has a daughter, to her fictional character gives audience members a relatable quality to grasp onto. Miller stated, “[There is ] a lot of personal connection to it. I think it spoke to a lot of women and often times that doesn’t happen.”
Patty Farris, 57 from Piscataway said, “It brings humor to it all. It had me laughing because obviously, it’s so relatable.”
Boston reports, however, that some audience members are always skeptical about the subject.
“I hug people in the audience. This one woman didn’t want me to hug her and I embarrassed her. I said ‘give me a hug girl’ and everybody laughed at her. She couldn’t help it, she had to hug me.” Boston said, continuing, “Those people that are offended, need to lighten up. It ain’t that serious. It ain’t that deep.”
According to Boston men often respond well to the light-hearted comedy in the show.
“When the men come, they laugh very loud, generally louder than the women, because they get it in a whole other way,” Boston says. She continues, “There was one male patron that did come that said this should be a mandatory workshop for all men.”
Farris said, “Bring husbands, bring men. I was going to bring my husband only because I’m going through some of these things and I thought it’d be fun for him to see it’s not just me. All women have to go through these things.”
Because menopause is an inevitable change in a woman’s life, audience members advise bringing women of all ages to prepare them for what’s ahead.
Maryland Perez, a 50-year-old audience member from Clifton, New Jersey stated, “You don’t have to be a certain age… If you don’t experience it, you’re going to know what you’re going to be getting into.”
One of the ways “Menopause the Musical” appeals to a crowd of all ages is by taking classic hit songs and rewriting the lyrics to address a humorous part of menopause.
Boston said, “Songs like ‘My Girl’ and groups like The Temptations and The Beach Boys and The Bee Gees, The Supremes, and Mary Wilson; all of those things will always be there. Those are classic tunes.”
Some of the crowd favorites seemed to be Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” reworked into the menopause “Change of Life,” as well as the popular “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” transformed into “My Husband Sleeps Tonight.”
A musical lasting almost two decades so far has to be doing something right. According to Boston, it is not just the pure hilarity and relatability that gives it staying power, it is also the way it touches the lives of those in need of a smile.
She says, “What touches me the most, I would say, is when women who haven’t laughed in a long time, or women who have been thrust into menopause due to illness….they come and they have their heads covered and they cry because they haven’t laughed in so long. That’s one of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had.”
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Find future venues and dates for “Menopause the Musical” at www.menopausethemusical.com. Go see the show. As Boston says, “All [who come] are transformed, whoever sees it, they change…no pun intended.” Learn more about actress and musician Linda Boston by searching her name at imdb.com.
