This change-of-life musical is generating heat

Critics have called it hokey, kitschy, a one-joke entertainment and a paper-thin revue that barely qualifies as theater. But “Menopause: The Musical” creator Jeanie Linders isn’t offended.

In fact, Linders won’t even argue. It’s the audience that counts, she says, and her audiences -- mostly women in the middle-age to senior range -- have made this fluffy take on raging hormones a raging international phenomenon.

Audiences are greeted with a female cast of characters -- a fading soap opera star, a forceful executive, an ex-hippie and a conventional Iowa housewife -- bonding over menopausal woes during a day’s shopping at Bloomingdale’s. Their comedic, sometimes raucous girl-to-girl talk about hot flashes, weight gain, night sweats and memory lapses is framed around a 90-minute amalgam of simple choreography and 1960s and ‘70s pop tune parodies (“Hot Flash” for “Heat Wave,” “Change of Life” for “Chain of Fools,” “Stayin’ Awake” for “Stayin’ Alive”). Inspired by 57-year-old Linders’ own change-of-life experiences, the show began as a modest one-off run in a 76-seat Orlando, Fla., theater in 2001. Critics weren’t impressed, but women who saw the show told friends. Soon groups were flocking to the theater.

A hot girls’-night-out ticket, the original production rapidly spawned others across the country in theaters with an average capacity of 350 to 400 seats. Proving the universality of hot flashes, productions have also opened in South Africa, Mexico, Australia and the Philippines. A Korean-language version recently began running in Seoul, and the show has been translated into Italian and Hebrew for export next year.

In the U.S., some productions in open-ended runs have begun breaking box-office records for longevity. The Orlando “Menopause” is still going; the off-Broadway production has reached three years. The Los Angeles show, which opened at the Coronet Theater in October 2003, is nearing the two-year mark. Though weeknight sales have fallen off somewhat, according to Coronet box-office manager Ira Denmark, weekend shows are still sellouts.

“It’s staggering,” Denmark said. “One woman said, ‘This is the only play I’ve come back to this often. The only other one was ‘Phantom.’ It’s kind of fanatical in that regard.”

The success is due in large part to group sales and to repeat customers like Harriet Waldman of Upland. For Waldman, it’s been a bonding experience she’s shared with friends, her daughters-in-law and teenage granddaughters during her four visits to the show. “I just related to everything,” she said.

Denise Maxwell of North Rialto recently saw the show for the first time and intends to return with her mother. “I can hardly talk,” she said, “I’m so hoarse from laughing.”

Sylmar resident Blanca Villarino, vivid in red and purple, carpooled to the show at the Coronet with fellow members of the Red Hat Society. A club for women ages 50 and older, Red Hat chapters across the country have provided some of the show’s most enthusiastic supporters. Shari Markwith, who heads the Sylmar club as its “queen,” saw the show at the urging of “a lot of people” and plans to attend again with other club members.

Whatever some reviewers may think -- though many, including The Times’ F. Kathleen Foley, have cheered the show’s celebratory, girls’-night-out spirit -- Linders isn’t about to tamper with the show’s formula: The actors receive frequent notes as reminders to stay within Linders’ strictly defined boundaries for each character.

“They keep us in line,” said actress Michele Mais, who has been with the L.A. production from the beginning. “You find your own little moments, but we’re pretty much not allowed to explore too much.”

“I always say to the actors, this show isn’t about you,” Linders said. “It’s about the five girlfriends in the room.” Four on the stage, she said, and the audience. During the performances, Mais said, “you’ll hear people make comments while they’re laughing, like ‘I’ve been there,’ and you’ll hear them chat with each other in the blackouts about an experience they had.”

Not that the audiences are entirely female. A smattering of men usually attends each show, albeit with varying degrees of enthusiasm. At the Coronet Theatre, a few male baritones were conspicuous among the lobby’s female buzz.

“They leave fingernail marks on the carpeting as they’re dragged into the theater,” said Michelle Mindlin, company manager for the L.A. run. “You just know they’re so mortified, they’d rather be anywhere else -- and then they have a really good time.”

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‘Menopause: The Musical’

Where: Coronet Theatre, 366 N. La Cienega Blvd., L.A.

When: 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 5 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 4 p.m. Sundays. Call for other times.

Price: $38.25 and $42.50

Contact: (310) 657-7377, (213) 480-3232

Running time: 90 minutes