Press
August 27, 2019
Menopause The Musical® to Open at Ogunquit Playhouse
Ogunquit, ME – It’s time to grab your best gal pals and head to Ogunquit Playhouse for the hilarious musical comedy Menopause The Musical®, on stage September 4 through September 14. A raucous celebration of womanhood created by Jeanie Linders and inspired by a hot flash and a bottle of wine, Menopause The Musical® applauds women who are on the brink of, in the middle of, or have survived “The Change.” The show is produced by special license from GFour Productions, the producers of MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL®, now in its 18th year, and 14th as the longest-running musical in Las Vegas history. The director of the Ogunquit Playhouse production is Tony Award®-winner Seth Greenleaf. This joyful parody of 25 re-lyricized classic hits from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s features chart-toppers including “I Heard it Through the Grapevine that You No Longer See 39,” and the disco favorite “Stayin’ Awake, Stayin’ Awake!”
Joining the cast of the Ogunquit Playhouse production are Anise Ritchie as Professional Woman, Kathy St. George as Soap Star, Melanie Souza as Earth Mother and Roberta B. Wall as Iowa Housewife. They will be joined by television star Cindy Williams as Hostess.
Anise Ritchie has been with Menopause The Musical® for over 10 years starting in San Francisco and is now touring around the U.S. with the show. She has also performed in many regional theatres throughout the U.S. in such shows as A Little Night Music, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Big Fish, Smokey Joe's Café, Showboat, and Little Shop of Horrors. Kathy St. George appeared on Broadway in two productions of Fiddler on the Roof including the Tony Award®-winning revival. Her many Off-Broadway and regional theatre credits include I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, 9 to 5 the Musical, Peter Pan, The Divine Sister, Once, and Gypsy. Melanie Souza recently performed in the National Tour of Menopause The Musical®. She has also performed in many regional theatre productions including In the Heights, Bikinis, Mamma Mia!, Breaking Up is Hard to Do and Sister Act. Roberta B. Wall was part of the original Broadway cast of Sister Act, and Leap of Faith. Her First National Tours include Sister Act, and Beauty and the Beast as Mrs. Potts. Ms. Wall has been performing in Menopause The Musical® since 2003 in cities across the country as both Iowa Housewife and Earth Mother.
Joining the cast as Hostess is Cindy Williams who is most recognized for her role as “Shirley Feeney” in the TV comedy series Laverne and Shirley. She landed her first television roles on Room 222, Nanny and the Professor and Love, American Style. Her many guest-starring roles include Law And Order: SVU, Seventh Heaven and 8 Simple Rules, The Odd Couple for CBS, A Dream Of Christmas for Hallmark Channel and Sam And Cat for Nickelodeon. Cindy’s stage credits include, the National Tour of Grease playing Miss Lynch, the National Tour of Deathtrap with Elliot Gould, The Female Odd Couple with Jo Anne Worley, Steel Magnolias as Ouiser Boudreaux. She made her Broadway debut in the role of Mrs. Tottendale in the award-winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone in 2007. Her many films include GAS-S-S-S with Talia Shire and Ben Vereen, Travels With My Aunt with Maggie Smith, directed by George Cukor, and The Conversation with Gene Hackman, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and American Graffiti co-starring with Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss and Harrison Ford, directed by George Lucas.
The director for the Ogunquit production of Menopause The Musical® is Seth Greenleaf. He won the Tony Award® for his work on the 50th anniversary production of Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf. A graduate of UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film and Television, his many credits include producing 9 to 5 the Musical on Broadway with Dolly Parton, co-financing the Tony Award® and Olivier Award-winning musicals The Book Of Mormon and Matilda The Musical, and directing the award-winning documentary F(L)AG Football. He currently has The Play That Goes Wrong and The Book Of Mormon running on Broadway; Tina The Musical, Bitter Wheat and SIX running in London; and Fiddler On The Roof and The Play That Goes Wrong on National Tour in the U.S. Three of his productions are currently Broadway bound: The Inheritance begins previews September 27, Tina The Musical begins previews October 12, and SIX begins previews February 13, 2020.
Music Supervisor for the show is Alan J. Plado. As conductor, his credits include the Broadway National Tours of Jersey Boys, Dirty Dancing, Legally Blonde, Elf The Musical, Memphis, and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. His work Off-Broadway includes We’re Still Hot, Just A Matter Of Time, Shooting Star, and The Last Word. He has worked in many regional theaters including Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Laguna Playhouse, Phoenix Theater, and Milwaukee Rep. Alan has been with Menopause The Musical® since 2004, and internationally was the music director/arranger for the show on the West End at the Shaw Theater and in Dublin, Ireland.
Creating additional scenic elements for the Ogunquit production is Nate Bertone. He is a New York City based theatrical storyteller and works primarily as a Director/Designer and writer. His recent design work for regional theatres across the country include the Arizona Broadway Theatre productions of Titanic and The Addams Family; North Shore Music Theatre’s Shrek and Sister Act; Engeman Theatre NY’s Gypsy, Once, Elf, and Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. He has been the Associate Designer with Tony®-winner Beowulf Boritt for the Ogunquit Playhouse production of Murder on the Orient Express, Superhero at Second Stage, 20th Century Blues at Signature Theatre, Crazy for You at Lincoln Center, and on Freestyle Love Supreme and A Bronx Tale on Broadway.
Lighting Design for Menopause The Musical® is by Richard Latta. Mr. Latta is the resident lighting designer for Ogunquit Playhouse and recently was nominated for an IRNE Award for Best Lighting Design for his work on the 2018 production of An American in Paris. Matt Kraus joins the creative team as Sound Designer. Matt’s work on Broadway includes Liza’s at the Palace…, My Love Letter to Broadway with Kristin Chenoweth and Kathy Griffin Wants a Tony. Off-Broadway his design work includes Caucasian Chalk Circle, 50 Shades! The Musical Parody, Forbidden Broadway, and Forever Dusty. Ogunquit Playhouse Production Stage Manager is Emma Power.
Individual tickets are on sale now. Preview performances start at $36 and economy seats start at $51 each. For tickets visit www.ogunquitplayhouse.org or call the Ogunquit Playhouse Box Office at 207-646-5511.
The Ogunquit Playhouse season continues with the Tony Award®-winning, smash hit musical Kinky Boots, September 18 through October 27. The family musical, Annie featuring Sally Struthers runs through the holiday season November 27 through December 22 at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Melanie Souza, Roberta B. Wall, Anise Ritchie, and Kathy St. George in Menopause The Musical® (2019) Photo by Gary Ng
Melanie Souza, Roberta B. Wall, Kathy St. George, and Anise Ritchie in Menopause The Musical® (2019) Photo by Gary Ng
Anise Ritchie, Roberta B. Wall, Melanie Souza, and Kathy St. George in Menopause The Musical® (2019) Photo by Jay Goldsmith