Menopause the Musical

Synopsis

A celebration of life after 40, 50 and beyond. It all begins with four women, 'Power Woman', 'Soap Star', 'Rutland Housewife' and 'Earth Mother', at a lingerie sale with nothing in common but a black lace bra - and hot flushes, night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges, not enough sex, too much sex and day-to-day challenges with aging parents, aging children and aging partners! A joyful parody of 25 re-lyricized classic baby boomer hits, the 90-minute show features chart-toppers including 'I Heard It Thru the Grapevine You No Longer See 39' and the Motown favourite 'My Thighs'.

Our Review:

19 April 2007

There is no plot, no narrative shape to this 90-minute show, so one never knows how much more there is until the final moments when the audience is enticed on stage. Only then can the un-enticed reviewer make, with relief, for the exit.

American writer and producer Jeanie Linders, a sincere woman no doubt, who has done a great deal to help women’s health, personal development and business ventures - how dreadful it is to feel unsisterly, but I’ve a job to do - introduces herself as the lights dim. She personally addresses the audience in the printed programme too: almost nine million people have seen the show, worldwide, since its modest beginnings in a 76-seat theatre in Orlando, Florida, but “Menopause The Musical is about women...not about theatre”. Odd, because we’re all hoping for some theatre.

Never mind, what about the first bit? Well, there are four women in this farrago, but they are stereotypes. In fact, worse, these cardboard women...

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Latest User Review

Owne - 22 April 2007:

This musical certainly is not as bad as the press are saying and quite why they have got their knives out in this way is baffling? The staging is clumsy but the performances are just good fun. Su Pollard seems on course to take on the roles of Dora Bryan and clearly enjoys herself in this 90 minute piece. AUdinece clearly enjoyed themselves at the eprformance I attended a few weeks back - but guess an audience ejoying themselves is something the press fail to mention. ...

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