Hot flashes, mood swings and raging hormones hardly seem worth singing about, but “Menopause The Musical” has become a surprise smash hit, with more than 10 million women in 13 countries having attended performances since it opened in 2001.
Self-described as “The Hilarious Celebration of Women and The Change,” the 90-minute production (just short enough for the over-40 female audience to go without a bathroom break) features pop classics like “Stayin’ Alive,” “Chain of Fools” and “Good Vibrations” – all reworked with new lyrics that parody the effects of menopause.
The universal appeal of this clever show, though, goes far deeper than its comedy. When it first came out 17 years ago, it broached a subject people didn’t talk – never mind, laugh — about. It brought menopause out into the open, empowering women by making them realize they had nothing to be ashamed of, that this rite of passage was – for better or worse — something every woman goes through.
Jeanie Linder, who wrote and produced “Menopause The Musical,” continues to be a voice for women everywhere. She founded the Jeanie C. Linders Fund, which supports a huge variety of projects from helping families devastated by natural disasters to funding ovarian cancer research and eradicating poverty in Africa.
Featured in the beautiful and inspiring book, “Fearless Women: Midlife Portraits,” Linder brings to life the message of her show – that menopause is not an end but a new beginning. Her national tour of “Menopause The Musical Out Loud: Breaking the Silence of Ovarian Cancer” raised half a million dollars on its last road trip, and a new one just started last month in Greenville, South Carolina. Look for the show in a city near you — and here’s a helpful tip from our own experience. Ask them to hold your tickets at Will Call so you don’t have to remember that safe place you put them.
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