Menopause Laughs

Hi All!

Okay - I am not quite old enough to be going through Menopause but . . . I am able to laugh about it.

Yesterday I went to see "Menopause, The Musical" at a local theater. C, the woman I walk with every morning, had purchased a large block of tickets (I think around 40) and then invited all of her friends to come to the musical - we had to repay her of course but we all got to sit together). It was a blast!

First of all, you should know that I was among the youngest in the crowd by several years. C's daughters - who are both around my age - were there and then it was women of a slightly older generation. They were a hoot! I had such fun talking to them and, even though most of them live in my neighborhood, I had never met them before. Hubby and I are not really the social butterfly types!

About 14 of us went out to eat at On The Border before the show and it was great. Good conversation and good food. Then it was off to the theater.

The cast of this show consists of four women. That is it. Four women singing and dancing on a stage with minimal set and props representing Bloomingdale's in New York. It was very effective.

The four women represented different stereotypical women - a businesswoman, a homemaker, an actress, and a flower-childish woman. They told the "story" of menopause and its symptoms from the four different points of view and together worked through body issues, mental lapses, night sweats, hot flashes, etc.

All of the songs are from the 60's and 70's and maybe the 80's (I am bad at knowing that kind of thing) with different words. "Puff The Magic Dragon" became "Puff, My God, I'm Draggin'," "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" became "My Husband Sleeps Tonight (on the couch)," "Staying Alive" became "Stayin' Awake," etc. Each song had new words directly referring to something common women experience in menopause.

The audience for the musical was primarily female - as you might expect - and spent most of the time laughing until they cried. The cast was fabulous and the songs were funny. The highlight of the entire musical was watching the "Iowa Housewife" struggle to get into a tiny, black teddy (over her HUGE I love NY shirt). Tear were coming to my eyes because it was such wonderful physical comedy.

At the end of the show, for the finale, the cast invited women from the audience up to the stage for the Menopause kick line. It was fun and lots of women joined them. Each woman who joined them onstage got a pin saying "I've been changed. Menopause, the Musical."

After the show, I heard many comments from the crowd and they were all, without a doubt, positive and even raving. It was a fun experience and a good laugh. If Menopause, the Musical comes to your city, I would say - gather a bunch of your women friends and go!

Trisha

Voice Update: After the show I noticed that my voice was a bit rocky - I think all the laughing did me in! I didn't do too well on the exercises yesterday but I will be better - I promise!