Menopositive! - A Roller Coaster Ride

By Gertrude Trainor
The Journal
August 1, 2003

Menopositive! The Musical is a roller coaster ride of laughter and tears, moments of reflection and genuine friendship. It is a great depiction of warmth, intimacy and honesty and the thing that women do best - forgive and come together in support.

On stage at the Jubilee Theatre this summer, this highly acclaimed show takes the audience to a 35th high school reunion for four women who meet again for the first time since graduation night.

Audience members, many of them women, who would be familiar with the subject matter, could not help but relate to the four women, Marnie, Cynthia, ZsuZsu and Kate, as they shared the joys, fears and troubles that afflict all women to some degree. But it is not really a play about menopause, but rather a play about women.

Marnie, (Judi McLaren) is the successful, powerful business woman who took control of her life and proved to everyone that she was not still the helpless child who suffered "the foster home circuit." But she is keeping a terrible secret and her life has not turned out as she had hoped.

Cynthia, (Virginia O'Brien), the princess, still married to her high school sweetheart, rich and bored, and struggling to find purpose, discovers the truth about her marriage and shares the secret that has kept her locked to her past.

Kate, (Judy Savoy) is the talented one, trying desperately to hide the fact that she is not the successful playwright she was supposed to be and grappling with the fact that her 31 year-old-son is going to leave home.

And then there is ZsuZsu, (Marlane O'Brien) not a graduate, but the Hungarian cleaning woman, who steps in when one of the performers is a no show. She is the older woman, alone and without financial security and her feat is shared by many elderly whose future is unpredictable. "Who will take care of me, who will caress me, when I am old?" she asks.

Marlane O'Brien produces and directs and stars along with Virginia O'Brien, Judi McLaren and Judy Savoy who make their characters vibrate with energy and spirit.

One of the most touching moments in the play is the song, Nothing Special, sung by Marlane O'Brien. She is remembering her life with her husband, who is now deceased, and the way it used to be. She sings about all the little things that make being a couple special, and while they are "nothing special" they are your life. "Oh, how I miss my other life!" she exclaims, when remembering her marriage.

The highlight of the night though, was the skit performed by the women's group (circa 1950) who shared their sexual fantasies while trying to tame the hormonal imbalances that contribute to "the change." Another hilarious skit is 93-year-old mother of 12 who treks through the snow to spread the word about hot to keep your man. Parsley on his Plate had the audience all but rolling in the aisles.

The play progresses and the women experience a tremendous metamorphosis. Cynthia learns to swear, Marnie learns to forgive and Kate gets a job. ZsuZsu encourages them all and together they five the performance of their lives.

Menopositive! The Musical is on stage at the Jubilee Theatre every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday until Aug. 28.