Hot Flash!

The hilarious celebration of Women and the Change comes to Hot Springs, Arkansas

Hot Springs, AR (PRWEB) March 11, 2004 --- It all starts with four women at a lingerie sale with nothing in common but a black bra and memory loss, hot flashes, night sweats, chocolate binges, not enough sex, too much sex and more! This joyful musical parody, set to 28 classic baby-boomer songs, shows us that this is not The Silent Passage anymore!

The Off-Broadway, smash-hit comedy Menopause The Musical is coming to Horner Hall, Hot Springs Convention Center, May 15 & 16, 2004. The 90-minute show, written and produced by former Hot Springs resident, Jeanie Linders, has had women cheering and dancing in the aisles from New York to L.A. Relyricized tunes such as favorites I Heard It Through the Grapevine," You'll No Longer See 39" and the disco favorite Stayin' Awake, Stayin' Awake" are hilariously performed to the delight of enthusiastic audiences. The weekend run (three performances only) will benefit the city of Hot Springs Public Art program, providing a grant to fund the purchase of art by women over 40 in the Central Arkansas area.

Kent Myers, Hot Springs city manager, says I had the opportunity to see Menopause The Musical off-Broadway about two years ago. I was amazed that such a difficult topic could be transformed into such an entertaining and enlightening production. We are excited about hosting the show in Hot Springs and grateful for the funds that will be provided for our successful public art program."

Hot Springs CVB Executive Director Steve Arrison adds, This show is a welcome addition to the thriving fine arts atmosphere in Hot Springs, which has done such valuable service for more than a decade, to bring enlightenment and entertainment to the Civic and Convention Center and the city as a whole. Congratulations to Jeanie Linders for a job well done."

Inspired by a hot flash and a bottle of wine," Linders created this fun-filled evening of laughter and song. Its a celebration of a life passage that, Linders believes, launches women into an exciting new phase of their lives. Due to overwhelming audience response, Menopause The Musical has become, in its short history, a production phenomenon. The show celebrates its third anniversary in March.

Most women know intuitively that every other woman is experiencing memory loss, night sweats or hot flashes," states Linders. But when they are in a theater of hundreds of women -- not just a few friends who are sympathetic by nature -- and all are laughing and shouting 'Thats me! then they KNOW what they are experiencing is normal. They arent crazy. It becomes a 'sisterhood."

Menopause The Musical is directed by Kathryn Conte and choreographed by Patty Bender. The Orlando, FL, cast and crew will be brought to Hot Springs for the weekend run. Musical and vocal arrangements are by C.T. Hollis. A live three-piece band will accompany.

Playwright and producer Linders is a native of Dixon, Ill. and earned her graduate degree from Northern Illinois University. Her active work in the arts for the past 30 years includes work as an arts development consultant in Florida; California; North Carolina and Arkansas. She launched Orlandos first arts incubator, ArtsMall. Linders was president/CEO of an advertising agency specializing in entertainment and hospitality for 10 years, and also launched an events marketing and management firm, producing a variety of shows from A Conversation with Cary Grant to multistage music festivals.

Since the Off-Broadway opening in April of 2002, the popularity of Menopause The Musical has continued to grow with openings planned in a dozen more cities in the United States in the near future, as well as in Australia and the UK. Licenses also have been granted for the Philippines, Mexico, Brazil, and Israel. According to The New York Times, [Menopause The Musical] has no trouble winning over its audience ... because elsewhere the subject is almost never treated with humor from the womans point of view." The Miami Daily Herald wrote Menopause The Musical is the little revue that set the world on fire -- at least that portion of the world that knows the term 'hot flash as reality, not a news bulletin or punch line."

Menopause The Musical and Legacy Gallery will host a poster signing (by the cast and artist) on Friday, May 14 at 7 p.m. Carole Katchen, official artist for the show, is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning artist. A special, commemorative poster of new artwork for the show (indigenous to Hot Springs) will be available for purchase.

Menopause The Musical can be seen at Horner Hall, Hot Springs Convention Center, 134 Convention Blvd. 501.321.2835. Performances are scheduled for Sat. & Sun., May 15 & 16. Tickets are $37.50 for floor seating; $36.00 risers; $35.00 for Girls Night Out groups of 10+ and corporate sales.

Tickets are available at Ticketmaster locations or by calling 501.321.1919. For group sales, please contact the sales office at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Hotel packages are available at the Embassy Suites Hotel -- 501.624.9200. For further information on the show, please visit www.menopausethemusical.com.
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