| Menopause The Musical | |
| Music: | Various |
| Lyrics: | Jeanie Linders |
| Premiere Date: | March 28, 2001 |
| Premiere Location: | Orlando, Florida |
| Productions: | 2001 Orlando 2002 Off-Broadway 2006 United States tour (ongoing) 2006 Las Vegas (ongoing) 2006 Canada tour (ongoing) 2007 London 2007 South Africa 2007 Malaysia 2015 United Kingdom & Ireland tour (ongoing) 2016 Australia & New Zealand tour (ongoing) 2016 Mexico 2018 Spain 2018 Slovenia 2018 Brazil 2019 South Korea 2019 France (ongoing) 2019 Croatia 2018 Hungary (ongoing) 2020 Finland (ongoing) |
Menopause The Musical is a 2001 musical with book and lyrics by Jeanie Linders which premiered on March 28, 2001 in Orlando, Florida. The musical follows four mature women shopping for lingerie at a Bloomingdale's sale, with lyrics parodying popular music from the baby boomer era to reflect symptoms of the menopause. Following the success of an Off-Broadway production, running for over 1,500 performances until 2006,[1] the show was produced across the United States touring to the present day including in Las Vegas, where it has been running since 2006 as the longest running scripted musical in Las Vegas history.[2] [3] The show has spawned productions worldwide.
The original Orlando production opened on March 28, 2001, at the Church Street Theatre building, that was specifically converted from a perfume shop into a 76-seat theatre for the show.[4] Its original cast members were Shelly Browne as the Power Woman (later renamed the Professional Woman), Patti McGuire as the Iowa Housewife, Pammie O'Bannon as the Earth Mother, and Wesley Williams as the Soap Star. The show then transferred to West Palm Beach's Cuillo Center on June 22, 2001.[5]
The Off-Broadway production officially opened at Theatre Four on April 4, 2002, after a month of previews. It then transferred to Playhouse 91 in September of that year.[6] After running for four years, the Off-Broadway production closed in May 2006.
Alongside the New York and Florida runs, GFour Productions mounted further sit-down productions throughout the United States. These opened at the Apollo Theatre in Chicago on July 25, 2003, becoming the highest grossing musical in the theatre's history after 1,281 performances,[7] the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles on October 30, 2003, the Gem Theatre in Detroit on March 17, 2004, becoming the longest running show in Michigan's history[8] and the Stuart Street Playhouse in Boston on March 31, 2004, running for 1,092 performances.[9] Since 2006 American actress Ingrid Cole is a member of Menopause the Musical.[10] The Las Vegas production has been running continuously since 2006, currently at Harrah's Las Vegas.[11] [12]
This was followed by a national tour that continues to run as of November 2021,[13] reaching over 500 cities worldwide.[14] A further American tour specifically to raise funds and awareness for the fight against ovarian cancer was later launched in 2015.[15]
International productions have been staged all over the world. Local references in the show are customized to the location of the performance. For example, the 'Iowa Housewife' became 'Dubbo Housewife' in Australia;[16] America's Bloomingdale's became Marks & Spencer in London.[17]
The New York Times cited the lyrics as "awkward" but "inspired" and that it was "impossible not to laugh".[18] The Los Angeles Times said the "supreme silliness" was "fresh, funny and simply terrific".[19] The Daily Californian summarised that "Menopause's collection of great oldies, clever tongue-in-cheek lyrics and entertaining dance routines prevented me from making any I-Need-Air trips to the restroom."[20]