Change is a good thing in 'Menopause The Musical'

Fast, or rather, “flash” fact: According to the 2012 documentary “Hot Flash Havoc,” there are more than 1.7 billion menopausal women worldwide. Another noteworthy statistic: Millions of them have attended a performance of “Menopause The Musical,” the long-running, sidesplitting, tune-filled sendup to the female aging condition.

The musical, which GFour Productions debuted in an abandoned Florida perfume shop in 2001, makes its way to the Gateway Playhouse in Bellport Friday through Sunday, giving locals both a chance to commiserate and a welcome dose of comic relief. “There’s comfort in knowing you’re not in it alone,” says Megan Cavanagh, one of four middle-aged leading ladies in the popular parody. “We are all up there huffing and puffing.” And the audience? Laughing and bonding.

The actress, most recognized as the second-basewoman in the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own” and as the voice of the mom of animated boy genius Jimmy Neutron, plays the role of Earth Mother. She meets fellow archetypes Professional Woman (Donna J. Huntley), Iowa Housewife (Teri Adams) and Soap Star (Rebecca Fisher) at a department-store lingerie sale and discovers they have more in common — namely, memory loss, hot flashes, insomnia, low libido — than would appear.

“Women say to us, ‘I’m you, I’m you,’  ” says Cavanagh. “People want to see themselves. It makes them feel good.”

The show, with its plethora of reworked Top 40 hits (“Chain, chain, chain” in Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” becomes “Change, change, change” and the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” is cleverly revamped as “Stayin’ Awake”)  is more high-spirited celebration than an enlightened theater piece.

“It can be corny in places. It’s so not ‘Hamlet,’ or even ‘The Vagina Monologues.’ It’s not supposed to be elevating anything other than your mood,” says Cavanagh.

Speaking of change, there has been a lot of it since Cavanagh joined the Vegas-based production 14 years ago. “For one thing, I now have a much clearer notion of what I’m singing about,” quips the 58-year-old actress. And the word “menopause,” she notes, is no longer taboo, as it largely had been when Jeanie Linders wrote the musical. “She belonged to a generation that hid their pregnancies and now women wear tight clothing to show off their bellies. I believe this show has been part of the catalyst.”

The show’s theme — that menopausal women are “not done” — is one Cavanagh and her castmates clearly embrace. “Buck up and be your fabulous self. I love being a part that message.” It’s one the production advocates its audiences embrace too, inviting them onstage to join in the final number.

“You have to bring the boa,” explains Cavanagh, “but we provide the kick-line.”