Ringing the Change: Menopause the Musical

Whether you’re pre-, post, or in the throes of menopausal meltdown, you have to grab your girlfriends and head on down to Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre in Johannesburg to see Menopause the Musical. Euphemistically referred to as “the change”, menopause used to cause embarrassment and uneasiness and was really a taboo subject as far as some of our mothers or grandmothers were concerned. But this show deals with the miseries of menopause in a light-hearted, humorous way, dispelling the fears and symptoms of ageing in the inimitable mode of the musical genre.

The play is set in the famous Bloomingdale’s department store, where four women, all either at or getting to the half-century mark, meet by chance and commiserate over hot flushes, insomnia, mood swings, memory loss and eating binges, amongst many other woes. The songs are from the 60s and 70s and have been re-written with hilarious consequence, for instance, Stayin’Alive becomes Stayin’Awake, My Guy becomes My Thighs and Aretha Franklin’s Chain Chain Chain becomes Change Change Change. The four enormously talented actresses play stereotypes who ultimately convey the message that laughter is the best medicine for the survival of this sisterhood. Kate Normington is the aging soap star with elegance and aplomb, Ntambo Rapatla plays the “powerwoman” in a serious business suit; her voice is so rich and resonant, it sent chills down my spine, annihilating any hot flush that might have been lurking. Judy Ditchfield is priceless as the “Iowa Housewife” who has to deal with the inconvenience of incontinence and Brenda Radloff is the quintessential “Earth Mother” in long skirts and Birkenstocks. So, the idea is that most women will identify with at least one of the characters, if not all.

The writer, lyricist and producer of the show, Jeanie Linders, puts it in a nutshell:

“Most women know intuitively that every other woman is experiencing memory loss, night sweats, or hot flushes but when they are in a theatre with hundreds of women – not just a few sympathetic friends - and all are laughing and shouting ‘that’s me’ then they know what they are experiencing is normal. They aren’t crazy. It becomes a sisterhood.”

Now don’t get me wrong, the audience wasn’t entirely made up of women; there were a few metrosexual men who were obviously enjoying themselves, but in my opinion, this is a gal’s night out. Musical director Rowan Bakker has done a marvellous job and the cast shines both in song and dance with the original choreography by Patty Bender. The show culminates with a theatrical transformation of the four into gorgeous, glamorous ladies with lots of bling, fabulous shoes, LBDs and new attitudes. It will have you in stitches of laughter and you might find yourself changing your view as you reach for the HRT...

Go and see it....the change is as good as a holiday.

Presented by Hazel Feldman & Pieter Toerien

On until 8 January 2012