My review of Menopause: The Musical published in EDGE magazine at - http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=theatre&sc2=reviews&sc3=theatre_reviews&id=136264
Menopause: The Musical
I saw "Menopause: The Musical" and
survived! I consider that quite an accomplishment considering how the
evening began. As my male guest and I made our way to our balcony seats,
we were greeted with multiple catcalls from female attendees such as:
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
"Hey! This is not a Beach Boys concert. It’s ’Menopause’!"
"Hey! You two do realize you are the only two men here, right?"
My favorite was,
"Hey! Did you think this was going to be a great place to pick up chicks?"
Being
a gay male journalist, picking up post-menopausal, grey haired females
was not high on my list of priorities, but I knew it was going to be an
entertaining night. These ladies had come prepared to have fun and they
were enjoying themselves before the show even began.
"Menopause:
The Musical" is all about fun and the shared female experiences of the
change of life. I have never seen women laughing harder and louder than
they did
at this show. Women were actually stomping their feet, laughing
hysterically and saying to each other, "I do that too!" when one of the
characters described a hormonal moment.
One
running gag is how one of the ladies suffers menopausal incontinence
issues and has to run off the the ladies room repeatedly. She usually
makes it there in time -- but not always.
The
show opens up in Bloomies, aka Bloomingdale’s Department Store. Four
very different women find themselves accidentally sharing a shopping
experience and their personal menopausal challenges in various
hilarious ways. They include the Professional Woman, the Soap Star, the
Earth Mother and the Iowa Housewife.
Kimberly
Vanbiesbrouck reminded me of the Blanche Devereaux character from "The
Golden Girls," using her sexiness to her advantage for her whole life
but now finding her body changing and drooping in spite of the best
plastic surgeons.
Kimberly
Ann Harris portrays the African-American Professional Woman. Harris is
an accomplished actor who debuted on Broadway in the original production
of "The Color Purple." Her Professional Woman role in "Menopause"
allows her to show her comedic and musical talents as well. Her
big-wigged, high-heeled, mini-dress, butt-shaking Tina Turner
impersonation is a show stopper.
The
Soap Star is portrayed by Kimberly Vanbiesbrouck. She reminded me of
the Blanche Devereaux character from "The Golden Girls" classic
television sitcom. The Soap Star has used her sexiness to her advantage
for her whole life but now finds her body changing and drooping in spite
of the best plastic surgeons she can
buy. Vanbiesbrouck’s over-the-top, drama queen vocal performances are
hilarious.
Margot
Moreland portrays the fading hippie Earth Mother who never outgrew the
1960s and whose inner peace is challenged by her new hormonal inner
demon. The peaceful person she once was has been replaced by an angry
woman who looks like her mother.
Moreland’s
Earth Mother shares the trials of her marriage in a clever rewrite of
the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." In Earth Mother’s world, the
familiar tune now contains the
lyrics, "She’s a witch. She’s a witch. She’s a bitch. She’s a bitch. In
the guestroom or on the sofa, my husband sleeps at night. In the
guestroom or on the sofa, my husband sleeps at night."
Liz
Hyde’s chunky Iowa Housewife character stole the show. Hyde has been
with the production for seven years and she has honed her comedic
portrayal to perfection. When she pumped her hips in the "Stayin’ Alive"
dance routine, the women around me were howling in laughter and
stomping the floor.
The
show
follows the ladies as they shop various floors at Bloomingdales and
make multiple stops in the ladies rooms. In each scene, they share the
challenges of the change of life through humorous rewrites of some very
famous and familiar popular songs from 1961 to 1980. You will quickly
recognize the tunes but the real surprise comes in the cleverly themed
lyrics which offer the actors plenty of opportunity for slapstick comedy
silliness.
The
biggest laugh of the night aside from Professional Woman’s Tina Turner
singing a liberating take on "What’s Love Got To Do With It" was when
the modest and chunky Iowa Housewife discovers the joys of personal
vibration devices and sings "Only You" to her vibrator!
The show concludes with the cast bringing dozens of cheering female audience members onstage to sing and dance with them.
I not only survived "Menopause: The Musical" -- I enjoyed every minute of it!
"Menopause: The Musical" runs through September 30 at the King Center for the Performing Arts at Brevard Community
College, 3865 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne, FL . For info or tickets, call 321-242-2219 or visit http://www.kingcenter.com
Steven
Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the
novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel
writer, news writer, music director, creative arts director, theater
reviewer and tennis instructor.
No comments:
Post a Comment