THE LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS THE THE ORANGE COUNTY PREMIERE OF MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL®
BY JEANIE LINDERS
FIRST PRODUCTION OF THE 2007-2008 SEASON IS A HILARIOUS
CELEBRATION OF WOMEN AND THE CHANGE
APRIL 16, 2007 - LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA – To kick off its 87th season, The Laguna Playhouse is pleased to present the Orange County premiere of Menopause The Musical®, the hilarious celebration of women and The Change, July 10 through September 2, 2007. The play is written by Jeanie Linders and directed by Kathryn Conte.
Menopause The Musical® is a 90-minute joyride set in a Bloomingdale’s department store, where four women meet by chance. They seemingly have nothing in common—except for a black lace bra, hot flashes, night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges, not enough sex, too much sex, and more. The show features parodies of 25 re-lyricized hits from the 1960s and 70s, including the every-popular “I Heard It Thru the Grapevine, You No Longer See 39,” the classic folk tune “Puff, My God I’m Draggin,” and the disco favorite “Stayin’ Awake, Stayin’ Awake.”
Inspired by a hot flash and a bottle of wine, writer/producer Jeanie Linders created Menopause The Musical® as a celebration of women who are on the brink of, in the middle of, or have survived The Change. Since its first performance in March of 2001 at a tiny 76-seat perfume shop-turned-theatre in Orlando, Florida, the show has evolved as a "grassroots" movement of women who deal with life after 40 and all the challenges that result in the mental, physical and spiritual freedom of the baby boomer generation.
"Most women know intuitively that every other woman is experiencing hot flashes or night sweats. There is always a close friend or two who can sympathize or identify with her," says Linders. "But when they are sitting in a theatre full of other women, all laughing and shouting‚ 'That’s me! That’s me on stage!' they know what they are experiencing is normal. They aren’t alone…or crazy. It becomes a sisterhood."
The show’s production company, TOC Productions, Inc., has offices in Winter Park, Florida, and Tucson. Menopause The Musical® is directed by Kathryn Conte, choreographed by Patty Bender, and performed with a live three-piece band at each venue.
Playwright and producer Jeanie Linders is a native of Dixon, Illinois, and earned her graduate degree from Northern Illinois University. She’s been active in the arts for the past 30 years, working as an arts development consultant in Florida, California, North Carolina and Arkansas and launching Orlando’s first arts incubator, ArtsMall. Linders was president/CEO of an advertising agency specializing in entertainment and hospitality for 10 years, and also launched an events marketing and management firm, producing a variety of shows from A Conversation With Cary Grant to multistage music festivals.
Menopause The Musical® is currently playing in more than a dozen US cities, and its popularity has spread internationally with casts in Australia, Philippines, South Korea, Italy and Israel.
The New York Times said “Menopause The Musical® has no trouble winning over its audience…elsewhere the subject is never treated with humor from the woman’s point of view.”
The Miami Daily Herald wrote that “Menopause The Musical® is the little revue that set the world on fire – at least that portion of the world that knows the term ‘hot flash’ as reality, not a news bulletin or punch line.”
Joy Behar from The View summed it up by saying: “You’ll love it. It’s hilarious. Go see it.”
Menopause The Musical® - Performance & Ticket Information:
Ticket Prices: $25 to $65
Previews:
Tuesday & Wednesday, July 10 & 11: 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 12: 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Friday, July 13: 7:30 p.m.
Opening Night Gala:
Saturday, July 14: 7:30 p.m.
(By invitation only and press night)
Regular Performances
July 15 – September 2, 2007
Tuesday – Sunday evenings: 7:30 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday matinees: 2:00 p.m.
Thursday Matinees on July 26 & August 23: 2 p.m.
(NOTE: No Sunday Evening performances on July 15, July 29 or August 26)
FOR INFORMATION & TO PURCHASE TICKETS:
CALL: 949.497.ARTS (2787), ext. 1 / GROUP SALES CALL 949.497.2787, ext 229
WEBSITE: www.lagunaplayhouse.com
MOULTON THEATRE: 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA
