MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL 'Heats Up' Bethesda Theatre 4/14 - 5/10

Inspired by a hot flash and a bottle of wine, Menopause The Musical® will heat up the Bethesda Theatre for a limited engagement, April 14 through May 10.

Tickets for Menopause The Musical®, priced $39.50 to $59.50, are on sale now at the Bethesda Theatre box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.bethesdatheatre.com, and by phone at (301) 657-STAR, (202) 397-SEAT, (703) 573-SEAT, (410) 547-SEAT, and (800) 551-SEAT.

For more information and for groups of 10 or more, call (301) 657-STAR or (888) 440-6662, extension 0.

Billed as "The Hilarious Celebration of Women and The Change®," the original, off-Broadway musical begins with four women -- "Professional Woman," "Soap Star," "Iowa Housewife," and "Earth Mother" -- who happen to meet at a Bloomingdale's lingerie sale. They have nothing in common but a black lace bra...and hot flashes, night sweats, memory loss, chocolate binges, not enough sex, too much sex, and day-to-day challenges with aging parents, aging children and aging partners.

They share their ups and downs through a collection of 25 re-lyricized baby boomer songs from the '60s, '70s and '80s. Disco hit "Stayin' Alive" becomes "Stayin' Awake," Motown favorite "My Guy" is transformed into "My Thighs," "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" switches to "In the Guest Room Or On the Sofa, My Husband Sleeps at Night," and "Puff The Magic Dragon" becomes the anthem to exercise, "Puff, My God I'm Draggin'."

Starring in the Bethesda Theatre engagement are Monica Lijewski (Iowa Housewife), Barbara Pinolini (Earth Mother), Stacy Schwartz (Soap Star), and Yolonda Williams (Professional Woman). Ms. Lijewski most recently appeared in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day at the new Lorton Arts Center. She spent four months with the Baltimore company of Menopause the Musical® at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, and has performed locally at Olney Theatre Center, the Kennedy Center, and Ford's Theatre. Ms. Pinolini, who also appeared in Menopause the Musical® in Baltimore, has been living and working in the Washington, DC, area for the past 20 years, making her home in Silver Spring. She has performed at several area theaters and is also a narrator for books-on-tape for the Library of Congress, having recorded over 100 books. Ms. Schwartz recently relocated to the area from South Florida. Some of her notable credits include Adding Machine (Daisy), Ruthless! (Judy/Ginger), White Christmas (Betty Haynes), November (Clarice Bernstein), Bat Boy (Meredith), The Full Monty (Vicki), I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (Woman 1), Closer than Ever (Woman 2), La Cage aux Folles (Jacqueline), Johnny Guitar (Emma), Smell of the Kill (Debra), and Lincolnesque (Carla). Ms. Williams is celebrating her 21st year on the professional stage. Her regional credits include Crowns at St. Petersburg's American Stage, Satchmo: The Life & Times of Louis Armstrong at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Marriott Lincolnshire's production of Dreamgirls, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and Once On This Island.

Menopause The Musical®, which has become an international phenomenon, was written by Jeanie Linders and is produced by South Florida-based GFour Productions. The show has been seen by nearly 11 million people all over the world since it debuted in a 76-seat perfume-shop-turned-theatre in Orlando, Florida in 2001.

"It may not be Shakespeare, but our focus is different. We want to bring women together and empower them. This is an event - a happening," says Kathi Glist, one of the show's producers. "It resonates with just about any woman over 40, but it is enjoyed by all. And the younger women laugh just as hard," she adds. "It's a party every night!"

"The show has become a point of relating, a celebration of a life passage that launches women into a new exciting phase of their lives," says Linders. "Most women know intuitively what every other woman is facing with the onset of the menopause. They talk about it with their friends and, on occasion with their spouses. But, when they are in a theater with hundreds of women, and they're all shouting 'That's Me!' then they know what they are experiencing is normal. They call it a sisterhood!"