“… it’s a good show – it’s important for women to know they’re not alone in experiencing this, and that laughter really is the best medicine. Put it this way,
every woman left this production with a smile and a bounce in their step.”
Alethea Mouhtouris
4 Stars
State Theatre, Sydney
Until 5 October
If you can’t beat it, join it! Night sweats, hot flushes at the most inconvenient times, weight gain, memory lapses are not our typical idea of funny but Menopause The Musical cleverly turns those problems into a 90-minute all-singing all-dancing show that ends with audience
members dancing in the aisles.
Centering on four women – Professional Woman, Soap Star, Housewife, and Earth Mother – who meet by chance in the lingerie section of a department store, Menopause takes the audience through shared experiences that bring all women together.
Menopause is a topic that is now openly discussed, but in 2001 when this musical was first performed, it was whispered about, certainly not sung from the rafters. It has brought the symptoms and complex issues out into the open, and made it something to share a laugh over.
Through conversation and song, the characters share their experiences of going through ‘the change of life’ as they move through the store. Judging by the (mostly female) audience’s howls of laughter, it’s a highly relatable theme.
In this production, the performers work together seamlessly on the stage, each weaving between their own moment in the spotlight before stepping back as support for each other. Each fits their character to perfection.
Playing Professional Woman is Tara Morice (Moulin Rouge, Peter Rabbit 2, Strictly Ballroom). While her manner is tight and her nature restrained, her deep throaty voice reflects the strength lying underneath the corporate power suit.
Erika Heynatz (Home and Away, Mad Max: Fury Road) is the Soap Star facing a waning future. Heynatz’s voice is an absolute powerhouse.
Cabaret and theatre star Melissa Langton (Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Misérables) is a joy as the Housewife, played in the most endearing way. And theatre star Cherine Peck (Miss Saigon, The Lion King) rounds out the quartet as Earth Mother, fully inhabiting her character and playing her with glee.
Familiar hits are reworked to capture the horrendous symptoms and characteristics of menopause. So Hot Stuff becomes Night Sweats, You Can’t Stop The Music becomes You Can’t Stop The Snacking, California Girls becomes I Wish We Could All Be Sane and Normal Girls – you get the drift.
While highlighting the intense fury, confusion, anger, and loneliness that many women feel at this stage in their lives, the show also focuses on the energy and solace women can find in each other, not only during menopause but during difficult times in general.
Unexpectedly, the production also focuses on the fraught relationships women in later life can experience with their own mothers. This was a theme that clearly resonated with the women in the audience, who howled with laughter when Housewife yelled down the phone
“I’M FINE, TURN YOUR HEARING AIDS ON, MOTHER. I’M NOT YELLING.”
Talented director and choreographer Cameron Mitchell ensures the production moves at a cracking pace. The music is toe-tapping and the dancing playful.
I’ve not seen this musical before, mostly because the concept of menopause gave me the ick. But this is exactly why it’s a good show – it’s important for women to know they’re not alone in experiencing this, and that laughter really is the best medicine. Put it this way,
every woman left this production with a smile and a bounce in their step.
Production photo credit: David Hooley
Promotional photo credit: Joel Devereux
4 hot flushes
Alethea Mouhtouris, Theatre Now
