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The hilarious celebration
of women
and ‘The Change’
Robert
C Kelly, Theater Mogul & GFour Production
Menopause the Musical
Sunderland Empire
Tuesday 17th
May 2016
Starring
Cheryl
Fergison, Linda Nolan and Rebecca Wheatley
Following
previous sell out UK and Irish Tours in 2008,
2010 and most recently early 2016, Menopause the Musical is embarking on a new
UK Nationwide Tour this Spring calling at Sunderland Empire for one night only
on Tuesday 17 May 2016 with an All Star Cast.
Armed
with a cast of hormonal women, memory loss one-liners and innuendo-laden
versions of pop classics the tour commences on the
12th April 2016 at Theatre Royal, Wakefield.
This
hilarious celebration of women and 'The Change', is an all-singing, all-dancing
comedy bringing together four women at a department store sale, who on first
appearance have nothing in common.
However,
the sale of a black lace bra soon stimulates comical female heart-to-hearts on
hot flushes, night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges, not enough sex, too
much sex and plastic surgery.
CAST
BIOGRAPHIES
Linda
Nolan
Linda’s
wealth of experience in show business has embraced hit records, international
television shows and major world concert tours. Whilst performing with her
sisters, The Nolans, Linda has enjoyed amazing success worldwide
appearing on major television shows including The Royal Variety Show. One of
her career highlights was supporting Frank Sinatra on his 1975 European Tour.
The Nolan’s toured the UK and Ireland
in 2013 with their I’m In The Mood Again tour and performed on BBC’s Children In Need. Her solo
success is recognisable in virtually every medium of the entertainment
industry. Highlights have included British Theatre Tours with Lily Savage in
Prisoner Cell Block H and Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer in Shooting Stars. She
enjoyed success as “Mrs Johnstone” in the award winning musical Blood Brothers,
both on tour in the UK and in London’s West End. Her television appearances
have been many and varied, including Loose Women, GMTV, This Morning, The
Weakest Link, Come Dine with Me and she has recently appeared as an
entertaining contestant on Channel 5’s Celebrity Big Brother.
Cheryl
Fergison
Londoner
Cheryl is best known for her role as EastEnders’ George Michael super fan
“Heather Trott” who met a grisly end at the hands of Ben Mitchell in 2012. A
trained actress, she has made many stage appearances including a West End role in Man of the Moment at
the Gielgud Theatre. Other theatre credits include Dance of Death, Measure for
Measure, The Blue Angel and Robert Lindsay’s production of Cyrano De Bergerac.
Cheryl has played many feature roles in TV Productions showcasing her perfect
comedic timing – Benidorm, Little Britain, The IT Crowd, ‘Allo ‘Allo. She is no
stranger to Feature Films with credits including Irvine Welsh’s Atlantic and the soon to be released A
Bus Could Run You Over. Her celebrity appearances have revealed her funny,
lovable and true down to earth nature - Celebrity Big Brother, Loose Women,
Celebrity Come Dine with Me and Celebrity Juice. Not only can Cheryl make us
laugh, but can also entertain us with any of the 10 instruments she plays as a
skilled musician.
Rebecca
Wheatley
Rebecca
is best known as the receptionist “Amy Howard” on Casualty. In 2009, she
revealed an astonishing 12 stone weight loss. Proud of her achievement she
embraced the role of “Barbara” in the one-woman West End show Big Pants and Botox. In
complete contrast she then took up her axe as the iconic character “Annie
Wilkes” in Stephen King’s Misery. Her acting career has seen her perform in
many West End Musicals including Fame and Bad Girls The Musical. She even
survived pantomime with Paul O’Grady’s Lily Savage at the Victoria Palace. Her
television acting skills have been challenged as a porn movie producer, a
bisexual nymphomaniac and as a buxom barmaid. Rebecca can be seen regularly as
a presenter on Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff and ITV’s Loose Women where she is
happy to give her opinion loud and clear.
Ruth
Berkeley
Ruth
trained at Laine Theatre Arts, Epsom where she was awarded the Eileen Rose Cup
for Musical Theatre & Ladies Singing prize. Irish Rebecca can seamlessly
switch between her Irish accent and a broad range of English accents. She has
had a successful theatre career incorporating both her acting and singing
talent with performances including “Miss Dismore” in Singin in the Rain, “Onna
Crow” in A Man of No Importance and “Lisa” in the toe tapping Mamma Mia. Her
Television credits include, Sky Atlantic’s gripping Penny Dreadful, ITV’s The
Al Murray Show and RTÉ’s No More Tears
History
of Menopause The Musical
Menopause
The Musical debuted March 28, 2001 in Orlando, Florida, in a 76-seat theatre
that once housed a perfume shop. The cast of four women shopping for lingerie
at a Bloomingdale's sale, sing 25 songs about chocolate cravings, hot flushes,
loss of memory, nocturnal sweats, and sexual predicaments. The lyrics parody
popular music from the baby boomer era, with notable numbers "Stayin'
Awake" and "Puff, My God I'm Draggin'."
Written
by Jeanie Linders, the show appealed to menopausal women who helped the show
blow the lid off the "silent passage" by flocking to the show in
large numbers, often taking advantage of group sales promotions. The show's
ensuing success Off-Broadway led to a number of productions across the USA in such cities as Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles Boston,
Denver, and its current home at
Harrah's in Las Vegas .
Within
a few years, international productions became commonplace, with shows in
Australia, Canada, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, the
United Kingdom, South Africa, and South Korea.
Across
the world over eleven million people (almost all women) have seen the show.
Leslie
Fischer at www.chicagocritic.com recommends you "bring the waterproof
mascara because you’ll laugh so hard, you’ll cry. With humour and compassion,
writer, producer, and lyricist Jeanie Linders has captured the experiences of
every woman in her 40s and 50s. Remember all those great songs of the 50s, 60s
and 70s--full of love and teenage angst? Linders has rewritten their lyrics to
reflect our mature experience, exploring the ways in which our bodies, our
emotions and our spirits, change with ‘The Change’. When you don’t recognise
yourself in these hilarious lyrics, you’ll recognise a friend."
Genessee
Kagy of the Daily Californian wrote that "Menopause's collection of great
oldies, clever tongue-in-cheek lyrics and entertaining dance routines prevented
me from making any I-Need-Air trips to the restroom despite the fact that I
hadn't felt like such a fraud since I turned eighteen-years old. Over 90
percent of the audience were women more than twice my age ... Linders' humorous
new lyrics coupled to old favourites provide a good laugh. When the show ended,
the entire audience was still clapping their hands to the final number, yelling
and letting out whoops of approval."
From
The News-Herald (Ohio):
"'My Guy' becomes 'My Thighs,' 'Puff, the Magic Dragon' is transformed
into 'Puff, My God, I’m Draggin'. 'The Great Pretender' laments the loss of
memory and how women come to fake that they can’t remember an acquaintance’s
name. 'A Sign of the Times' becomes 'A Song of the Times,' which recounts the
startling fact that in middle age, a woman realizes she has become her
mother."
Tickets:
Tickets on sale now and are available in person at the Box Office on
High Street West, from the Ticket Centre on 0844 871 3022* or online at www.ATGtickets.com/Sunderland*
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