Age doesn't diminish 'hotness'

Just because a woman is getting older doesn't mean she isn't "hot." Just ask the writers of "Hot Aging Women," which debuts tonight at Machetanz Theatre.

"Hot Aging Women" details the life experiences of women going through the middle years. The idea was born more than five years ago, when Rachel Underwood and KerryAnn Byrd noticed a decline in the number of acting roles for women in their age group.

"We were in the business I owned at the time, and we were talking about the season's lineup. I said 'Well, if we want to do a show that features aging women, we should write it ourselves,'" Underwood said. "And KerryAnn said, 'Excuse me!' I told her I said 'aging,' not 'old.' Then we got into an argument over the use of the word 'irregardless,' which KerryAnn pointed out doesn't really exist. Finally, I said, 'But we're hot aging women."

Immediately, they knew they had the title - "Hot Aging Women."

The play pulls on personal experiences from Underwood, Byrd and Judy Dossett, who has teamed with Byrd and Underwood for the last two years. It also reflects the experiences of women they know, and is a genuine portrait of life as a middle-aged woman going through life's many twists and turns. It's about having aging parents in declining health, it's about coming home to an empty house for the first time after children move out, it's about adoption issues, and it's about every other conceivable issue facing, well, "hot, aging women." But it isn't entirely about women, Underwood warns.

"We're hoping all who attend will be able to relate, because everyone knows a hot, aging woman," Underwood said. "You may be married to one, you may have a sister, a mom, whatever. Age isn't what makes the woman. My daughter is only 30, but she's a hot aging woman."

What exactly is "hot?" To find out that answer, they asked men, from teen-agers to septuagenarians. The response was one you might expect.

"We asked them what they think is hot, and what keeps a woman hot," Underwood said. "Most said physical appearance. But every woman has something hot they can give - a beautiful smile, a giving nature, an easy laugh. We've all got hotness."

Byrd said the production is special to her, not only because it is the first full-length play she has written, but also because of how personal the stories are to her and her two castmates.

"The writing process is so much different than the acting process," Byrd said. "I think it definitely means more to me than some of the other things I've done."

The fact the play is appearing on stage is testament to the persistence of Byrd and Underwood. For five years, they talked about the idea, jotting down notes and arranging the music in their minds. That meant putting together the musical's lineup while Underwood drove heavy equipment each summer, or thinking about scenes while attending theater classes in New York for Byrd. Two years ago, they enlisted the help of Dossett, who managed to pull things together.

"We had a huge bag of ideas we collected over the years, and we just dumped them right into her lap," Underwood said. "Judy picked up all the loose pieces and put it all together. She's been fantastic."

Byrd said that while many of the issues are thought-provoking and personal in nature, the play is rather upbeat - "that's why we made it a musical," she said.

Five years after the idea was born, it will finally open.

"We asked VPA if they would premier it for us, and they agreed. We're ready, but I'm filled with nerves. I think good actors are never nerveless before an opening," Byrd said.

Byrd also gave a nod to Dean Phipps, who is directing the production.

"It's not easy working with three outspoken, hard-headed women, but he's done a great job," she said with a laugh.

The production runs from tonight through Jan. 30, with show times at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

For more information about the production, interested people can call the VPA box office at 373-0195.

Schedule of shows:

Jan. 14 - Jan. 30 at Machetanz Theatre in Wasilla

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.

Written by KerryAnn Byrd, Rachel Underwood and Judy Dossett