By Raphael Sugarman
But it would be difficult to find a production that has as fervent a following or as many repeat customers as this Off-Broadway send-up of four women's perplexing and perspiring “change of life.”
No small share of the credit for the success goes to Lynn Eldredge, an Astoria resident who plays Earth Mother, a good-natured ex-hippie in a four-woman ensemble that also includes the roles of a soap star, a corporate professional and a housewife.
The women, all strangers, meet at a lingerie sale at Bloomingdale's where they bond – albeit reluctantly at first. The setting is perfect, as it allows the women to explore the most intimate, fragile and profound aspects of their evolving womanhood. At the same time, it creates a backdrop for an absurd pajama party, to which the audience is giddily privy.
“People are going to talk about this play for a long, long time,” Eldredge said in an interview following a recent performance. “Both because of how it affects them on the inside and because of how funny it is.”
The core of “Menopause The Musical” is a series of song parodies. The original lyrics are reworked around what the author good-naturedly considers the major themes of a woman's biological change of life: moodiness, sweating, sleeplessness, and confusion – sexual and otherwise.
To the tune of the Bee Gee's classic “Stayin' Alive,” the girls sing: “Well, you can tell by the way I slump my walk I'm a tired girl; no strength to talk. In the mirror, my eyes so red, I've been up all night, sittin' in my bed. Now it's not all right, not okay, And you can look the other way. My husband tries to understand. It's just no concept for a man.”
Irving Berlin's classic “Heat Wave” becomes: “I'm having a hot flash. A tropical hot flash. My personal summer is really a bummer. I'm having a hot flash.”
The Beach Boys' “California Girls” takes on the lyrics “I wish we all could be sane and normal girls,” while in a remake of the band's “Help Me Rhonda,” called “Thank-you Doctor,” the menopause women sing “Your little pills bring me joy, I no longer want to be a boy.”
Some of the funniest songs are sung by Eldredge, including a remake of the Hal David/Burt Bacharach tune “Wishin' and Hopin'” called “Drippin' and Droppin'.”
Eldredge and her mates stop the show with their take on “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” with lyrics like “In his workshop or on the rooftop, my husband spends his days. In the guest room or on the sofa, my husband sleeps at night.” She also gets screams of laughter when she begins her refrain of “Puff, My God, I'm Draggin,” a parody of the childhood Pter, Paul and Mary classic.
“This show is my kind of humor,” said Eldredge, who said that Jeanie Linders, the show's creator, told her that she had written the role of Earth Mother with her mind, before they had even met. “It's really comfortable for me, a good fit.”
The idea of playing the role of a menopausal woman, however, didn't appeal to Eldredge at first.
“My first reaction was to say 'I'm too young to do a role like that,'” said the actress, who won't reveal her age, joking, “I'm 87, I look good, don't I?”
It was when she actually first saw the musical staged and began to appreciate its humor and humanity that Eldredge realized the part was a peach.
“I have never been in a play where I have a more intimate feeling with the audience,” she said. “I have women coming up to me after the show all the time, telling me that they feel that they know me.”
Among many other credits, Eldredge has played Sophie Tucker in “Last of the Red Hot Mammas” and Mrs. Claus in the “Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular.” She also played in an Off-Broadway production of “On the Waterfront,” in New York City productions of “Hysterical Blindness” and “The Rothschilds,” and did a national tour of “The Secret Garden.”
But her role in “Menopause The Musical” will always be particularly memorable, Eldredge said.
“Women grab me all the time after the show and say 'I thought I was crazy, I thought I was alone in these feelings, until I saw this show'” she said.
“A lot of the women in the audience don't usually go to the theater and haven't seen a Broadway show in years. But they come to see us again and again. And they bring their friends. “
“Menopause The Musical” is at Playhouse 91, 316 E. 91st St. in Manhattan. Performances are Tues. – Sat. at 8 p.m. with Wed., Sat., and Sun. matinees at 3 p.m.
