‘Menopause The Musical’ takes on a once-taboo subject to empower ladies of a certain age.
By: Susan Van Dongen
What’s so funny about mood swings, hot flashes and memory loss? Plenty, according to Jeanie Linders, the playwright and producer of Menopause The Musical. The play is described as a "celebration of women who are on the brink of, in the middle of, or have survived The Change."
The once-taboo subject has been transformed into a hilarious revue, filled with parodies of 28 tunes from the ’60s and ’70s, songs like Aretha Franklin’s "Chain of Fools" ("change, change, change…" as sung in the show), "Heat Wave" and "Don’t Make Me Over." Launched in 2001 in a small theater in Orlando, Fla., Menopause The Musical is now running in major cities across the country, with a couple of international venues planned.
It’s so topical that author Gail Sheehy, on a book tour for her recent Sex and the Seasoned Woman, got onstage with the Atlanta cast for the nightly kickline (the audience is always invited to participate). The noted writer and Menopause The Musical are on the same wavelength, saying that even though a woman is no longer young, she can still be vibrant and empowered.
In addition to entertaining and energizing thousands of fans, the show also has spun into a network for women of a certain age, linking them to such support groups as the Red Hat Society, the Red Hot Mamas and Minnie Pauz. And since the show really started to take off, Ms. Linders has given quite a lot of the proceeds to research for ovarian cancer, as well as promoting the group Women for Women.
Menopause The Musical has been playing at the Society Hill Playhouse in Philadelphia since Oct. 2004, and recently saw the addition of Hamilton-based actress Peggy Bayer-Waldron to the cast. A veteran of the stage who grew up in Princeton, Ms. Bayer-Waldron got the role of "The Iowa Housewife" about five months ago, replacing a woman who got pregnant, ironically enough.
She says the experience has been nothing less than joyful, with the women in the audience cheering, hooting and hollering almost like they were at a rock concert.
"It’s hilarious," Ms. Bayer-Waldron says. "The women go crazy they love it. This was a taboo subject that no one has addressed before, certainly not in this way. And yes, it pokes fun, but it also celebrates women of a certain age and how their lives have changed. They have all these symptoms, like mood swings and night sweats, and they are searching for answers. Jeanie Linders addressed this."
There are only four characters in the show Power Woman, Soap Star, Earth Mother and Iowa Housewife and each has her own issues. For the Iowa Housewife, it’s breaking out of the box she’s been in as a Midwestern homemaker, and especially discovering her own personal flair.
"The (action) takes place at Bloomingdale’s," Ms. Bayer-Waldron says. "She’s with her husband on a business trip to New York and she finds herself at Bloomingdale’s where she meets the other three women. They’re much more sophisticated than she is, but they encourage her to try to get in touch with herself, and define her attractiveness and power on her own terms not by her husband and children. They let her know that’s she’s strong in her own right."
The show has been a big hit because it seems to have nailed what so many baby boomer women are going through right now. But younger women enjoy Menopause The Musical too. And there are always a few men in the audience.
"It’s like their wives are bringing them to the theater and saying, ‘Look at this, and try to understand me see, I’m not crazy,’" Ms. Bayer-Waldron says. "The audience just has this incredible response. We’ll be walking to the parking lot and some of the women in the audience who are still there will honk and yell at us, cheer and thank us. I’ve never had this kind of experience. It’s almost like a cult thing."
Ms. Bayer-Waldron calls the audience "The Fifth Girlfriend," because the connection with the cast is so intense.
"There’s a real camaraderie," she says. "It’s like a sisterhood. It’s not just another show, it’s an outing that you have. It’s very special."
She’s also grateful for Ms. Linders for creating something that actresses of a certain age can participate in.
"Myself and women like me can still sing and dance, even if we can’t be in the chorus," Ms. Bayer-Waldron says. "It’s nice to know that we can see some more mature actors on stage."
Ms. Bayer-Waldron is the daughter of Peg Longstreth Bayer, a featured dancer with the USO during World War II, and longtime dance instructor in Princeton. Ms Bayer-Waldron says she got her start in ballet doing the Nutcracker at McCarter Theatre. When her interest shifted more toward drama, Ms. Bayer-Waldron studied at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, then settled into New York to perform in television, film and theater. She’s been in the national touring companies of The Secret Garden and On the 20th Century, and was seen regionally at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Fanny with José Ferrer. She was also in M. Night Shyamalan’s film The Village, and has appeared on The Guiding Light and Law and Order. She moved to Hamilton a few years ago, where she lives with her husband, Tom.
Ms. Bayer-Waldron says she had hoped to be in Menopause The Musical for quite some time and was thrilled to be called out to Las Vegas to rehearse with that cast. Things really fell together when the role opened up in Philadelphia.
She’s especially happy to be spreading the word to other baby boomer women that you don’t have to be a dewy young thing to be beautiful.
"This culture is so youth-oriented," she says. "That’s the Soap Star’s main issue she’s obsessed with her looks, worries about having a face lift and boob job. And so the show helps her character and the audience know that you’re not defined by your looks alone. It gives women some hope. We’re saying, ‘It’s alright, look at all these choices and possibilities.’ It’s not all behind you, it’s in front of you."
Menopause The Musical continues at the Society Hill Playhouse, 507 S. 8th St., Philadelphia. Open run. Performances: Wed.-Fri. 8 p.m.; Sat. 4, 8 p.m.; Sun. 2, 5:30 p.m. Tickets cost $45. For information, call (215) 923-0210. On the Web: www.menopausethemusical.com