You don't need to have Hot Flashes to enjoy this musicaledited by Madelyn Miller, the TravelLady The Off-Broadway Smash Hit “Menopause The Musical®” Opens at the Eisemann Center With Local Cast July 25, 2008  Inspired by a hot flash and a bottle of wine, Menopause The Musical® will be performed by a local cast featuring some of North Texas’ finest actresses in this hilarious celebration of women and “The Change.”
Menopause The Musical is presented by GFour Productions at the Eisemann Center’s Countrywide Theatre, 2351 Performance Drive in Richardson, July 25-September 28, 2008. Single tickets, priced at $45, are on sale now at their ticket office, 972-744-4650. For more information please visit www.eisemanncenter.com or www.menopausethemusical.com. Michael Larsen directs a talented ensemble that includes Linda Leonard, a professional actor, singer, dancer, director, choreographer and teacher for over 30 years. Leonard, who has won several major Metroplex-area awards including the Leon Rabin Award for best actress in “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” will play the Iowa Housewife. Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts alumnus Yolanda Williams (Professional Woman) has been performing for the stage and screen 21 years, and was most recently seen locally as Dotty in “Caroline or Change” at Theatre Three. Jill Hall, who plays the Earth Mother, is a musical theatre veteran who most recently completed a regional revival of Stephen Schwartz’ “Working” for Theatre Arlington’s 35th Anniversary. Lisa Fox (Soap Star) has appeared in Menopause the Musical in San Francisco, Upland, and Oklahoma City and is a founding member of Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre. Karri Atchley, understudy for the show, has performed and directed in numerous North Texas productions. Choreographer for the production is Patty Bender, choreography coach is Daria Melendez, and costume designer is Sue Hill. The show, which has become an international phenomenon, was written by Jeanie Linders and is produced by South Florida-based GFour Productions. Menopause The Musical® has been seen by nealy 10 million people in 12 countries since it debuted in a 76-seat perfume-shop-turned-theatre in Orlando, Florida in 2001. Billed as “The Hilarious Celebration of Women and The Change®,” the original, off-Broadway musical begins with four women, “Professional Woman,” “Soap Star,” “Iowa Housewife” and “Earth Mother,” at a Bloomingdale’s lingerie sale with nothing in common but a black lace bra—and hot flashes, 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. They share their ups and downs through a collection of 26 re-lyricized baby boomer songs from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Disco hit “Stayin’ Alive” becomes “Stayin’ Awake,” Motown favorite “My Girl” is transformed into “My Thighs,” "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" switches to "In the Guest Room or on the Sofa, My Husband Sleeps at Night,” and “Puff The Magic Dragon” becomes the anthem to exercise, “Puff, My God I’m Draggin’”. “It may not be Shakespeare, but our focus is different. We want to bring women together and empower them. This is an event – a happening,” says Kathi Glist, one of the show’s producers. “It resonates with just about any woman over 40, but it is enjoyed by all. And the men laugh just as hard,” she adds. “The show has become a point of relating, a celebration of a life passage that launches women into a new exciting phase of their lives,” says Linders. “Most women know intuitively what every other woman is facing with the onset of the menopause. They talk about it with their friends and, on occasion, with their spouses. But, when they are in a theatre with hundreds of women, and they’re all shouting ‘That’s Me!’ then they know what they are experiencing is normal. They call it a sisterhood!” All performances will be at the Eisemann Center in Richardson, Texas. Show times for Menopause The Musical® are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday with matinees at 2 p.m. Saturdays and at 2 and 5:30 p.m. Sundays. For ticket information please call the Box Office at 972-744-4650 or visit www.eisemanncenter.com. For great discounts offered for groups of 15 or more please call 972-744-4657. Madelyn Miller is a travel and food writer who can finally laugh at Menopause. Read her stories on www.travellady.com, www.carladynews.com, www.yogayaya.com, www.chocolateatlas.com, www.cocktailatlas.com, www.coffeeatlas.com, www.teaAtlas.com |
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