Menopause The Musical / The Odd Couple (Female Version)

[June 7th, 2006] [Stage] Forget the rosy dew of youth. Estrogen supplements are all the rage right now, at least on the local stage. The Odd Couple (Female Version) and Menopause the Musical both opened last weekend. Both shows are geared toward women over 40, and both will likely have successful runs based on their subject matter alone. But are they any good?

Menopause is—unsurprisingly—cheesy, silly, hackneyed and trite. After all, it's a musical revue that converts all the poppiest pop songs of the '60s and '70s into ballads about hot flashes, weight gain and dildos. It will come as no surprise to the out-of-town producers of this off-Broadway hit that a 20-something critic at the local alt-weekly thought "Drippin' and Tricklin'" (a parody of Burt Bacharach's "Wishin' and Hopin'") was a little gross.

Bottom line: If it's plot, character or insight you're after, you'll leave empty-handed. If, on the other hand, you're in the market for female camaraderie and a baby-booming good time, look no further. This loud, proud onstage party (which includes talented local actresses Joan Freed, Cherie Price and the inimitable Brenda Phillips) has got it going on.

Neil Simon's 1985 adaptation of The Odd Couple runs the cast through the gender-bending machine and replaces every occurrence of "poker" with "Trivial Pursuit." Other than that, the jokes, plot and characters are about the same. And that's a problem.

While Felix and Oscar change sexes for the '80s, the gender stereotypes they exploit remain the same. When Felix becomes Florence, her fastidious cooking and cleaning falls right into the patriarchal mold. Her marriage seems more abusive than eccentric, and her desire to return to it is disturbing. It's not the stuff of comedy.

In Integrity's production, Florence's submissive bent is accentuated by sluggish pacing. The show is saved only by the appearance of the Costazuela brothers, played with machista zeal by John San Nicholas and Casey McFeron, who are much funnier as befuddled metrosexuals than the original Odd's Pigeon sisters were as submissive women.

Closing for good this weekend was Portland's own flash-baked musical, Hot Flashes (check back this fall for our review of the sequel: Flashback!) Hormones have never been hotter.