IT HAS been a smash hit with audiences from America to Australia, Italy to Israel, South Africa to South Korea, and at its first Irish run broke box office records two years ago.
Now Menopause the Musical returns for a second Irish tour which plays in the Town Hall from Monday March 1 to Saturday 6.
Written by Jeanie Linders, Menopause the Musical made its debut in a 76-seat theatre in Florida in 2001 and from that humble beginning has gone on to be an international sensation. It is estimated that nearly 11 million women in 14 countries have attended a performance of the show.
Linders said the show’s characters are a compilation of any woman and are sure to appeal to all women. “Each of us has a part of our personality that is glam; or striving for success, or dedicated to making our physical world a better place, or to being a loving mate,” she said. “I think that is one of the reasons the women in the audience readily identify with the characters. Seeing them ‘suffer’ the woes of the menopause brings the experience closer to home.”
The musical has been credited with bringing the topics of ageing and menopause to the forefront and Jeanie views it as a great way for women to connect all over the world.
The Irish production stars three of the country’s best loved and most versatile stars; Adèle King ‘Twink’ (Mulhuddart Housewife ), Linda Martin (Soap Star ) and Flo McSweeney (Earth Mother ).
Over an afternoon phone-call, Eurovision winner Linda Martin took some time out to talk about her involvement in the show.
“I did the first Irish run two years ago; I had a three week contract initially and that grew into nine months,” she explains. “The show was brand new to me but I loved it so when this opportunity came around to do it again I jumped at it. It’s a fabulous production, and a great night out for women.”
Martin goes on to describe ‘Soap Star’, the character she portrays in the show.
“‘Soap Star’ is supposed to be from one of those Coronation Street/Eastender type programmes. She’s ageing a bit but holding onto her glamorous image and talks a lot about her heyday when she lived in Hollywood.
“She’s slightly snotty as well and thinks the other three women are way below her because one of them is just a housewife, one of them is a power woman with the corporation behind her, and the other one is a hippy dippy bohemian type. My character thinks she’s something special but of course she isn’t because her glory days are gone.
“We portray four disparate strangers who bump into each other in the lingerie section of a department store. We start off by squabbling over the underwear and then one little comment leads to a song, and all the songs are based on very well-known numbers, like ‘I Will Survive’, ‘Hot Stuff’, ‘YMCA’, songs that everyone knows. The writer has put different lyrics to them, all of which are pertaining to the menopause.”
Martin has seen at first hand the phenomenal reaction the show gets from its audiences.
“The response from audiences is astronomical,” she declares. “The audiences mostly consist of bunches of women who have got together. They’ll be crying with laughter. All of them can associate with what we’re saying, they laugh at the jokes, and at our dance routines. At the end of the night these women are sometimes crying with emotion, sometimes crying with happiness, and the feelgood factor is unbelievable. It’s the ultimate girls’ night out!”
Tickets are available from the Town Hall on 091 - 569777.
