"It's a bit like a homecoming," says Alan Glist about bringing "Menopause The Musical" to The Aventura Arts and Cultural Center this week.
Glist and wife, Kathi, producers of "Menopause the Musical" with their GFour Productions, started producing theater in South Florida. In fact, Kathi first saw "Menopause The Musical" in a little, little theater in Florida 17 years ago," Alan recalls. Jeanie Linders' show had its premiere in a 76-seat abandoned perfume shop, the Orlando Church Street Theater.
Alan says Kathi was "blown away by the show, and GFour being a production company, well, we took the show and ran with it." GFour Production is now the producer and owner of "Menopause The Musical." They recently celebrated a milestone as producers of the longest running scripted musical in Las Vegas history with 13 years of "Menopause" on the Las Vegas Strip with three years at Harrah's Las Vegas. Alan says audiences in Vegas are loving the star of the show Cindy Williams from "Laverne and Shirley" fame. "The other night, we had Joyce DeWitt from 'Three's Company' come to see it; she's friends with Cindy, and she would love to do something with us." The Glists now live in Vegas.
And "Menopause" has become a phenomenon. "Nearly 11 million people have seen the show." It's played in more than 450 United States cities, nearly 300 international cities, and 13 countries. And Alan sees its longevity as eternal. "I was on a radio show in Cleveland and they ask me how long do you think the show will run, and I said, 'I think it will run until they find the cure for all the symptoms because then it won't be funny anymore. Right now, 6,000 women a day go into menopause in the United States alone. So basically, we get a brand new audience every day."
Set in a department store, four women with seemingly nothing in common but a black lace bra on sale, come to find they have more to share than ever imagined. The all-female cast makes fun of their woeful hot flashes, forgetfulness, mood swings, wrinkles, night sweats and chocolate binges. And a sisterhood is created as they share their stories. The soundtrack is made up of parodies of recognizable songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s.
"The audience walks in as strangers, and the thing that I love is, they walk out with this shared experience, this camaraderie," says Alan. And what about poor husbands and boyfriends that accompany women to the female empowerment show? "Well, we've always been very careful that there is no men bashing in the show. It's very respectful of men, and that's one of the reasons why I think men do love it and they embrace it. It's so interesting to see how the men just go crazy at the end of the show. They tell us, 'I loved it; I didn't expect to at all."
The show doesn't show its age, despite it being 17 years old. Still, Alan says they update a few things here and there every once in a while. "We actually just threw a line into the show about Stormy Daniels."
Aventura audiences will see the national Off Broadway touring cast. "This is our touring set and props and costumes. It's really a big, little show. We bring a 26-foot truck filled with tons of stuff. It looks and feels small, but it's really so much bigger than people realize."
Menopause The Musical will be at the Aventura Arts and Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188th Street, Aventura, FL 33180, Oct. 23 – Oct. 28. Tickets: $46.50 - $66.50 Performances: 8 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 23, Wednesday, Oct. 24, Thursday, Oct. 25, Friday, Oct. 26, Saturday, Oct. 27, and 6 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 28; plus matinees at 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 27 and Sunday, Oct. 28. For Tickets: menopausethemusical.com www.aventuracenter.org or 877-311-7469 .
