'Menopause The Musical 2: Cruising Through 'The Change' heading to The Hanover Theatre

Menopause has been called "The Silent Passage," but "Menopause The Musical" has been an often cheerfully loud and raucous audience-pleaser since it debuted in a small, 76-seat theater in Orlando, Florida, in 2001.

The late Jeanie Linders, the show's creator, came up with a concept of putting four women from disparate backgrounds on the stage who find a common ground in talking about their experiences with menopause. The menopause was not the beginning of the end, but the beginning of a beautiful friendship where love conquers and friendships never fail. It struck a chord with audiences, especially women in the audience. "Menopause The Musical" went on to have an off-Broadway run and has been touring the country for years including a couple of stops at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts in Worcester. It is also the longest-running scripted production in Las Vegas, where it continues to entertain nightly at Harrah's Las Vegas. Producers say nearly 17 million people in 16 countries have seen the show.

Now there is "Menopause The Musical 2: Cruising Through ‘The Change'" which comes to The Hanover Theatre for a performance at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 as part of its first United States tour.

The new show is in the same spirit as the original, said cast member Stacey Harris during a recent telephone interview from a touring stop in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where the show was already sold out.

"It's really a celebration of womanhood. People leave with smiles on their faces," Harris said.

"It's a lot of fun to see that we're bringing this joy and lightness. It's a celebration to something that people don't talk about very much. We can celebrate being a woman at any age and the power of sisterhood," she said.

In the original show the four women are titled simply as Iowa Housewife, Professional Woman, Earth Mother and Soap Star and run into each other at a lingerie sale at Bloomingdale's. When they talk, they start to realize how much they actually do share — ranging from chocolate binges to the state of their sex lives. The musical's score consists of menopause-themed parodies of a generous number of classic pop songs. “Chain of Fools” becomes “Change of Life,” “My Guy” is “My Thighs” and so on.

At the conclusion of a performance at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts in 2010 when the predominantly female audience got invited to join the four-member cast on stage to form a musical kick-line, there were plenty of participants and enthusiastic kicking.

"Menopause The Musical 2: Cruising Through ‘The Change’" reunites the four women five years after they first met as they travel on a cruise ship together.

One of the characters observes that the best thing about being on a cruise is "the constant supply of free drink, free food and hopefully free men."

There's "high jinks on the high seas," Harris said.

Iowa Housewife, Professional Woman, Earth Mother and Soap Star also decide to enter an on board karaoke contest as a team.

A couple of the musical numbers that get parodied this time are "Holding Out For A Hero” which becomes “Holding Out For A Vino,” and "That's Amore," which becomes "That's Your Hormones." "That's What Friends are For" is given a heartfelt, anthemic rendition.

The new show "follows the same idea of songs that people know and love with really clever parody lyrics of the issues women face in middle age," Harris said. "But it's also a celebration of women of all ages."

Harris plays Soap Star who had been a fixture on "One Life to Lose" and is now doing ads for orthopedic shoes. The other cast members are Valerie Fagan, Earth Mother; Teri Adams, Iowa Housewife; and Kimberly Ann Harris, Professional Woman. According to the producers, the show is "recommended for 14+. Contains adult humor."

"'Menopause The Musical 2' has all our fans from the first one," but is also "not the kind of show where you need to see the first one because it stands alone," Stacey Harris said.

While women form the majority of the audiences, "we definitely have men that go to it and start to understand more what their friends, sisters and wives are going through," she said.

Sadly, Linders died last year at 74. “With her show ‘Menopause The Musical,’ she let women face menopause head-on and that it wasn’t something to be afraid of,” said Scott Fattizzi, manager of The Dixon Historic Theatre in Dixon, Illinois, and a friend of Linders, in an obituary. “She turned it into a raucous fun time.”

"Menopause The Musical 2" is credited with being based on the original characters created by Linders, with additional book and lyrics by Karen Bishko and Jeanette Hopkins. The production is directed by Seth Greenleaf.

Rehearsals took place in August in New York City and the show opened in September at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Harris is originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, and graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in theater. "I started my career in Chicago," she said, and also was cast in national tours including "Show Boat." "I decided maybe it's time to try to move to New York. After 20 years I'm still there. I've traveled all over the country. New York's my home base, but I do travel a lot doing shows."

Other credits include Broadway ("Bells Are Ringing"), off-Broadway ("The Megile of Itzik Manger," "The Golden Land," "Lone Star Love," "Pardon My English" and "The Awesome 80's Prom"), national tours of "Cinderella" and "Dreamgirls," and regional theater including winning an award for her performance as Sally Bowles in a production of "Cabaret" at the Mason Street Warehouse performing arts theater in Saugatuck, Michigan. Sally Bowles "was one of my dream roles," she said.

Harris has also done some film and television but expressed a preference for live theater where every performance is different. "That one show, it will never be the same."

The pandemic "was a difficult time in New York and theater," but Harris was able to so some performing online. Then, "last year I was able to book a lot of different shows and then book this," she said of "Menopause The Musical 2."

The show's tour is currently booked into June. Harris noted that the original "Menopause The Musical" began in 2001 and is still running. "We're hoping this is going to run as long. We'll see," she said with a laugh.

A run like that would be fine with her.

"Oh, yeah. It feels great to be in a production that celebrates women of middle age. A lot of productions don't do that."

What: "Menopause The Musical 2: Cruising Through ‘The Change’"

When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7

Where: The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester

How much: $35 to $60. 877-571-7469; Thehanovertheatre.org

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 'Menopause The Musical 2' set for The Hanover Theatre