‘Menopause the Musical’ returns to SF
Hilarious show features four highly relatable characters
Four women come together by chance and form a bond while shopping at Bloomingdale’s and find they all share a common experience. That premise launched the wildly successful show “Menopause the Musical,” which, in 14 years, has been staged in 450 U.S. cities and almost 300 international cities in 15 countries.
The show comes to Santa Fe again for a Tuesday performance at the Lensic Performing Arts Center.
Actress Megan Cavanagh has toured with various iterations of the show since 2004. She said a subject that was mostly below the radar during her mother’s generation is now part of the zeitgeist, “partly because it was something that wasn’t talked about very much.”
“There was a big boomer population that was going through (menopause) and they didn’t understand what was happening to their bodies,” she said. “So I think the time was right for it.”
Openness about “the change” is “somewhat better because there are so many wonderful people in this age range now,” said Cavanagh. “This age group is saying ‘We are here and we are fabulous.’”
All four of the show’s characters, Earth Mother (that’s Cavanagh), Professional
Woman, Soap Star and Iowa Housewife, sing parodies from classic pop songs, including “Puff, My God, I’m Draggin’,” “Change, Change, Change,” and “Sane and Normal Girls.”
“We share our stories and hot flashes and night sweats and share experiences together,” said Cavanagh.
“It’s very fun, it’s a show that’s a great girls’ night out. It’s silly, it’s fun and I think that’s why it’s still playing around the world. If it doesn’t make your cheeks hurt, we haven’t done our job,” she said.
Kansas City actress Teri Adams, who plays Iowa Housewife and has been with the production since 2006, agrees.
“The women that come to see the show, they walk in as strangers and leave as friends,” said Adams.
Typically, an audience member might “see herself as Iowa Housewife, but see her girlfriend as Soap Star,” said Adams.
Iowa Housewife “is my favorite character, but I’m biased,” said Adams. “She’s the naive one of the group. She has a lot to learn about menopause.”
Cavanagh said her character, Earth Mother, is “maternal and loving, she’s a hippie, a ’60s girl. She is going through some very severe mood swings and that’s real for a lot of women.”
The audience is “generally 95 percent to 98 percent women and a few men,” said Cavanagh. “The men come in reluctantly, and they leave happy and smiling ... you see men sitting with their wives and elbowing them, ‘It’s you.’”
The cast changes with every tour and this tour, which will visit Canada before coming to Santa Fe, started Jan. 17 and finishes at the end of May, with a week off here and there for home breaks.
Cavanagh has appeared in several movies, including the women’s baseball classic “A League of Our Own,” which starred Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna. Cavanagh played Marla Hooch at second base.
Touring in a show like Menopause has allowed her to see the country.
“I’ve done every single state in the U.S., except Hawaii and Alaska ... places I never would have gone,” said Cavanagh. “I went to Hattiesburg, Miss., and had the best barbecue of my life. Going to all these towns is a blast. I’m traveling with my friends.”
What’s most enjoyable is “the cast, and I enjoy the reaction the audience has to the show,” said Cavanagh. “It’s so unusual to be in such a long-running show ... . It’s become my job in a way. I feel so lucky to be doing it.”
Adams said of the show’s female audiences, “It’s very empowering for them. It lets women know they can take control of their lives, even during menopause, and not feel like the best years of their lives are behind them.”
Cavanagh said that, when she’s off stage during the show, she can hear the audience responding.
“It brings me so much joy to hear them laughing that hard. It’s just the greatest feeling to be part of that.”