Mom’s hot flashes heat up the stage

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Bloomingdale’s is not a place one associates with riotous feeling. ‘ ‘ ‘ … ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Bloomingdale’s is not a place one associates with riotous feeling. ‘ ‘ ‘ Nevertheless, the department store provides the setting for Jeanie Linder’s raucous play, ‘Menopause the Musical.’ Menopause is well known among young adults for its curious ability to force one’s mother to morph into an overheated, irrational human being. Linder’s show, supposedly inspired by a hot flash and some good wine in 2001, demystifies ‘the change’ and seeks to build a sisterhood of women who would otherwise go it alone. ‘ ‘ ‘ The plot line is simple: four women, who seem to have nothing in common except their shared loyalty to Bloomingdale’s as a place to buy underwear, bond over a black lace bra and their shared menopausal experiences. The Professional Woman, the Soap Star, the Earth Mother and the Iowa Housewife spend the next hour and a half delighting mostly female audiences with bawdy songs and acute physical comedy. ‘ ‘ ‘ Ingrid Cole, the actress who will play ‘Earth Mother’ in Pittsburgh’s production of ‘Menopause,’ has been involved with the show for four years. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘This show is very powerful,’ she said, ‘it’s not just a piece of theater, it’s therapy. It’s therapeutic. We have women who come up to us after the show and say, ‘God bless you; I thought it was just me!” ‘ ‘ ‘ Such a reaction is in keeping with Linders’ intention ‘mdash; according to the ‘Menopause the Musical’ Web site, Linders’ goal was to give voice to ‘The Silent Passage’ by bringing the shared rigors of hormone loss to the stage. Parodying popular songs from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, Linders lampoons the indignities of aging ‘mdash; hot flashes, mercurial moods and wrinkles. ‘ ‘ ‘ Cole is quick to say that there is more to ‘Menopause’ than commiseration. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Instead of making it a negative thing, it ends up being the most joyous, wonderful occasion. We end up celebrating womanhood instead of bemoaning it,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ The first production of ‘Menopause the Musical’ took place in a converted perfume shop in Orlando, Fla., and has since gone on to play before audiences in South Africa, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea and the United Kingdom. Its popularity speaks to the ability of a common experience to draw diverse audiences together. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s a real universal thing,’ said Cole, ‘whether you’re black or white or Chinese or Malaysian ‘mdash; we all go through it together.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ In that spirit, the Jeanie C. Linders Foundation created the ‘Menopause the Musical’ tour to raise awareness about ovarian cancer, eventually donating half a million dollars for research and education purposes. The same foundation supports women’s empowerment through business development, personal growth and education and awareness programs that focus on issues of health and aging. ‘ ‘ ‘ While ‘Menopause the Musical’ might not be the show men are clamoring to see, for a multitude of our moms, it is good to know that they are not alone.