Menopause The Musical

The original Orlando production opened on March 28, 2001 at the Church Street Theatre building, that was specifically converted from a perfume shop into a 76-seat theatre for the show.[4] Its original cast members were Shelly Brown as the Power Woman (later renamed the Professional Woman), Patti McGuire as the Iowa Housewife, Pammie O'Bannon as the Earth Mother, and Wesley Williams as the Soap Star. The show then transferred to West Palm Beach's Cuillo Center on June 22, 2001.[5]

The Off-Broadway production officially opened at Theatre Four on April 4, 2002, after a month of previews. It then transferred to Playhouse 91 in September of that year.[6] After running for four years, the Off-Broadway production closed in May 2006.[7]

Alongside the New York and Florida runs, GFour Productions mounted further sit-down productions throughout the United States. These opened at the Apollo Theatre in Chicago on July 25, 2003, becoming the highest grossing musical in the theatre's history after 1,281 performances,[8] the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles on October 30, 2003, the Gem Theatre in Detroit on March 17, 2004 becoming the longest running show in Michigan's history[9] and the Stuart Street Playhouse in Boston on March 31, 2004 running for 1,092 performances.[10] The Las Vegas production has been running continuously since 2006, currently at Harrah's Las Vegas.[11][12]

This was followed by a national tour that continues to run to this day,[13] reaching over 500 cities worldwide.[14] A further American tour specifically to raise funds and awareness for the fight against ovarian cancer was later launched in 2015.[15]

International productions have been staged all over the world. Local references in the show are customized to the location of the performance. For example, the 'Iowa Housewife' became 'Dubbo Housewife' in Australia;[16] America's Bloomingdale's became Marks & Spencer in London.[17]