A cat fight over a lacy black bra is the beginning of a friendship for four very different women in “Menopause the Musical.” Hot flashes and mood swings are the subject for this bluntly named musical.

The musical will take the stage at the Temple for Performing Arts, 1011 Locust St. in Des Moines for the next two months.

The story opens when a soap opera star past her prime, a housewife from the heartland, a mom still stuck in the ’60s and the CEO of a big business meet in the lingerie department of Bloomingdale’s in New York.

After getting past the mishap with the black bra, the women find themselves becoming friends while perusing the different departments in the store and connecting through their experiences.

With remade golden oldies, such as “Staying Awake,” a take on the Bee Gees’ “Staying Alive,” the musical tells of the women’s plight with menopause.

Christopher Callen, who plays the soap star, says everything simply connects when one of the women mentions “the changes.”

She says menopause seems to have a certain hush-hush, “let’s not talk about it,” nature around it. It’s one of those things women — or men — simply do not seem to talk about.

“It’s something that we are all going to go through, but we don’t talk about it,” Callen says.

Callen says she first was skeptical of a musical involving the subject.

“I kind of heard it was good and yet I was in denial,” she says. “Well, menopause, I don’t know, I’m not going to see something like that.”

However, after getting a callback for the part of the soap star, she decided to see the show in Los Angeles.

“I was so impressed. You could feel the excitement,” she says. “It’s a hilarious celebration of women and the change.”

Callen says the show, written by Jeanie Linders, is trying to bring the subject out of hiding and into the realm of natural and normal.

“They want it to not be something that people have to whisper about,” she says.

However, audience reaction to the 90-minute show is anything but whispers.

“Last night this one woman had to take her glasses off and wipe her eyes,” she says. “Women are literally laughing so hard their ribs hurt.”

Although the show is a comedy, Callen says it brings the issue to light.

“It opens the door to have a real discussion about women’s lives,” she says.

Who: “Menopause the Musical”

Where: Temple for Performing Arts, 1011 Locust St., Des Moines

When: Oct. 7-Dec. 5 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday

Cost: $37.50