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Almost 50? Hold On To Your 'Hats!'

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By WALT BELCHER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 30, 2008

TAMPA - Alternating between bittersweet laments over the loss of husbands, youth and motherhood and rousing bawdy tunes that proclaim there's still sex, life and adventure after age 50, "Hats! The Musical" makes for a good ladies' night out.

Oh, sure. Men will get a laugh and perhaps shed a sympathetic tear or two because everyone eventually will face the age-discrimination issues described in the musical's strongest number, "Invisible."

This anthem by Melissa Manchester is a rail against the way our youth-oriented culture ignores people once they become eligible to join AARP.

Although "Hats!" is about the mission of the Red Hat Society, an ever-expanding group founded in 1998 to celebrate women 50 and older, you don't have to be a member to appreciate this spirited revue.

The seven-member, all-female, mature cast sings and dances through a dozen songs from a variety of sources, including former talk show host and actress Kathie Lee Gifford.

Gifford, 54, came to Tampa last week for the opening. She wrote two of the songs in "Hats!"

"People are going to be surprised and shocked that sweet little old Kathie Lee could write such risque lyrics," she says of her amusing song "I Don't Want," which addresses several fears of aging.

It's sung by the talented Marguerite Bennett, who plays the anxious Mary Anne, a woman about to turn 50 and dreading each passing minute.

On the eve of the big event, she is visited by a giggly, fun-loving spirit in the form of a puppet named Ruby Red Hat (a vivacious Wendy Starkand).

Ruby guides Mary Anne through her "transition" with the help of six types of women, including Mary Anne's mother, Lady (Jean Vanier), an attractive grandmother who has aged beautifully and gracefully.

The Baroness (Carrie SaLoutos) is a savvy, sexy Texas career woman still looking for Mr. Right. She is living proof of country singer Pam Tillis' contribution to the show, "The Older the Fiddle, the Sweeter the Tune."

Tampa native Eileen Koteles draws our sympathy as the Dame, an empty-nester trying to adjust to life without the demands of her children.

Starkand doubles as the comical Contessa, a feisty Latina, while Lynne Locher is likable and believable as the Princess, a woman struggling with divorce after a lifetime of sacrifice to an ex-husband.

Nadeen Holloway turns the Duchess into an earthy, full-of-life character who lights up the stage with the sassy jazz number "My Oven's Still Hot," a cleverly worded statement about desire after 50.

Gifford's second song is "Yes We Can," an inspiring call to overcome self-imposed limits.

The women who inspire Mary Anne found encouragement through the support of their sisters in the Red Hat Society - even the high-powered Baroness, who thought those Red Hat Ladies seemed "a little too precious."

Expect to see a lot of red hats in the audience because there are more than 120 Red Hat chapters in the Bay area.

Ultimately, "Hats!" is a feel-good experience that encourages women to embrace life.

Like the poem "Warning," which inspired the Red Hat Society, "Hats!" tells its target audience that when you reach a certain age there is symbolic freedom from what people think.

It's a freedom that allows you to wear purple shirts and red hats that don't match, to grow fat, spit in the wind, blow the pension on brandy, wear your slippers in the rain and pick flowers from other people's gardens.

THEATER REVIEW

Hats! The Musical

WHEN: Through April 27; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

WHERE: Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Jaeb Theater, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa

HOW MUCH: $29.50; (813) 229-7827

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654 or wbelcher@tampatrib.com.

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