Book and Lyrics
Jeanie Linders is the writer and producer of the critically acclaimed, worldwide smash hit, Menopause The Musical®. In 15 countries, the show has created an empowering sisterhood. Over the past 30 years Linders has also been active as an arts development consultant in FL, CA, NC and AR. She served as president/CEO of an ad agency specializing in entertainment and hospitality, and concurrently launched an events marketing and management firm producing a variety of shows from A Conversation with Cary Grant to multistage music festivals. Other past activities include: advance PR roadie for Michael Jackson’s film crew for the Victory Tour, developing the Belize Performing and Visual Arts Consortium and working for Francis Ford Coppola’s Blancaneaux Lodge in Central America. She also served as a columnist/correspondent for outlets as diverse as the Chicago Tribune, the Sun-Times, Boston Globe, and Variety.
With the 10 year anniversary of her show phenomenon, Linders decided to embrace another important time of a woman’s life….being a mom. As writer and lyricist, she teamed up with the Marilyn Kentz and Caryl Kristensen to develop a show unlike any other theatrical show. The Mommies – A Musical Blog™ celebrates the life of mommies all over the world. With the humor of the sitcom The Mommies, the musical version steps into the 21st Century and embraces the digital age of the life of today’s mom.
Known as LaMama in the office, Jeanie is mother to two white Coton de Tulears, Maddie and Moxie, and step-mom to two cats, Desi and Lucy.
Lyrics
Marilyn Kentz has dedicated her career to supporting women. During the 90’s she co-developed and appeared in The Mommies comedy show and later in the TV series. She has co-authored three books to both empower women and give them a reason to laugh at life with her. Today she is a ghostwriter, an artist, a parent educator, and she facilitates several women’s support groups. Since her children became young adults and are out on their own, Marilyn now lives in Berkeley, California, with her husband, four Chihuahuas, two cats and two tortoises.
www.marilynkentz.com
Caryl Kristensen is the other half of the comedy duo that hit it big in the 90′s in the popular television and live comedy show, The Mommies. She co-created the comedy show for other stressed-out mommies in the hood; co-wrote the satirical book, The Motherload, appeared as the “Mom” in Palmolive commercials and has performed in numerous infomercials. Caryl has reinvented herself in the field of education where she found a fresh new audience every year! She is presently a college counselor and co-founded, MYCOLLEGEi.com, an online college video interview platform. She is still happily married to the same root of all her humor and lives in Los Angeles, CA. Her kids are now grown and officially off the payroll.
Together Caryl and Marilyn made women feel good about themselves by using honesty, loads of humor and sharing their children’s escapades to help other mothers feel like they weren’t alone. The Mommies live comedy show quickly turned into an NBC sitcom, followed by the popular Showtime special My Kid Beat Up Your Honor Student. The duo then hosted the popular ABC talk show Caryl and Marilyn: Real Friends.
Music Composer
Jimmy Hunter is a composer with over 4000 songs produced since opening his studio, CAZADOR Recording in 1986. He has also composed music for numerous TV shows, movies and promotional jingles. Hailing from Virginia and raised in Detroit, Michigan, in the Motown years, he has toured the world as a studio drummer, producer, singer and recording artist.
In 1975, he moved to Los Angeles, California, to play drums for The Doors’ keyboardist Ray Manzarek’s Nite City and has also been the drummer for Nick Gilder (Hot Child In The City), The Village People, Flo and Eddie, Cher, Steppenwolf, and many other talented acts. Hunter has remained in Hollywood, CA and evolved into a top music producer. He considers himself both a rocker and a “blue-eyed soulman.”
www.jimmyhunter.com
Michael Andrew has composed several songs for the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre including an entire score for 12th Night set in 1937. He has also composed/produced music for films including “Heart Breakers,” “Inglorious Bastards,” “Mad Hot Ballroom,” “Bobby Jones – Stroke of Genius,” and “The Five People You Meet in Heaven.”
His self-written musical comedy, MICKEY SWINGERHEAD & THE EARTHGIRLS was a hit with audiences and the press. The hit show led to the formation of his band, SWINGERHEAD, which remains a favorite among audiences and has toured extensively throughout the country.
Michael also formed the THE ATOMIC BIG BAND, an 18-piece band that hasperformed in Hollywood for the premier of the Warner Bros. movie POSEIDON; and his bands continue to play engagements from Presidential Inaugural Balls to high society fundraisers. Mr. Andrew leads these bands in performances at private events and alongside symphony orchestras, and at festivals and concerts coast to coast.
For 2 years, Michael Andrew was the headline singer and bandleader at the world famous Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center in New York City where he entertained audiences nightly and hosted a live Radio Broadcast, “LIVE FROM THE RAINBOW ROOM.” He was the band-leader and singer at Merv Griffin’s “Coconut Club” in The Beverly Hilton in California. While on “Larry King Live,” Merv called Michael Andrew “one of the great singers of all time.”
Michael performs in musicals and comedies in Regional Theatre from Shakespeare to Cole Porter. On the other side of the curtain, as a composer, lyricist and book writer, he’s created shows paying tribute to the writers of the “American Songbook” including Johnny Mercer and Sammy Cahn.
Andrew, singing in the style and tradition of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, and Sammy Davis, Jr., has been a featured guest artist with symphonic orchestras in Akron, Albuquerque, Birmingham, Melbourne, Houston, Long Beach, Missoula, Orlando, Providence, Palm Beach, Palm Springs, San Antonio, Sarasota, and other cities across America.
michaelandrew.com
Music Director, Orchestrator and Arranger
C. T. Hollis Favorite credits include Menopause The Musical® (Music Supervisor; national and international tour), Altar Boyz (Key 2, associate Conductor; national tour), White Christmas (Key 2), Jerry Springer: the Opera (Key 2, Associate Conductor), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Music Director). With degrees from Florida State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ms. Hollis has been active for several years in the field of music education. In 2005, CT traveled to Russia as an ambassador in comparative music studies. She spent two weeks examining the music curriculum from age 5 to 18 in Moscow. Most recently, she completed a four-month gig onboard Holland America’s Westerdam, cruising all over Europe. CT is an active union member, a proud cat lover, and loves to travel.
Director
Kathryn Conte earned her BA from University of Central Florida and MFA from The Catholic University of America. She is the original director of Menopause The Musical® and has directed the show in Malaysia, Canada, and across America for 10 years. Directing credits include: The Gut Girls, Bondage, Medeamaterial, The Dumb Waiter, Light Years,TITUS! The Musical and adaptations of Othello, Merchant of Venice, The Frogs, Second Shepards Play, andThe Tempest. Kathryn’s daughter keeps her on her toes. While directing famous musicals, she is continuously amazed at her young daughter. The balance of work and home is tenuous and she is very thankful for the technology age.
Choreographer
Patty Bender began her career at Walt Disney World. Projects have included choreography, directing and producing projects from theatre to television and film. Her work has taken her around the globe. As the original choreographer of Menopause The Musical®, she is very proud of her contribution to the creation of this wonderfully fun and powerful show. As a working mother of two, her most demanding and rewarding job has been raising her family and seeing her two brilliant children lead happy and prosperous lives. She and her husband are now parenting, Newbie, a standard poodle.
