MNfusion: Q&A With 'Girls Only' Star Melanie Wehrmacher

"Sugar and spice and everything nice; that's what little girls are made of."

We've all heard the Mother Goose poem, but just like little boys weren't made up of puppy-dog tails (or rather weren't only made up of puppy-dog tails), being a little girl wasn't always sweet.

From boys having cooties to period chats to bra shopping to motherhood, being of the fairer sex can often be a tiring, messy, emotional ride.

But it's reflecting on these uniquely female experiences that help us bond with other women and laugh during each new challenge life throws at us.

It's what makes us better than men. Just kidding! (Sort of).

And it's also what "Girls Only: The Secret Comedy of Women" is all about.

Authors, actresses and friends, Barbara Gehring and Linda Klein, wrote the show based on their own experiences as young girls and women.

The two, who were a part of an improv troop in Colorado, stumbled upon their childhood diaries and created a comedic show about all the silly stories and mortifying memories of what it was like to grow up as a girl.

For the third time audiences in the Twin Cities will get to experience the joy and pain of being a girl, with "Girls Only: The Secret Comedy of Women" as it embarks on a 7-week run at the New Century Theatre.

It's also the third time local actress Melanie Wehrmacher will perform in the show. Wehrmacher, who will play the character based on Barbara, offered some insights into what audiences can expect from the show.

So, the name sort of gives away the fact that the show is female focused, but what is "Girls Only" about?

It's a celebration of all of the things that go along with being female. The show uses comedy and music to explore experiences we've all gone through, from being a little kid to being an adult woman. [It ranges] from puberty to menopause, and everything in between.

The authors have acted in the show for some of the performances, and as they wrote the script they already have a personal connection to it. As you move into your third time performing the show, how do have you personalized it?

We've definitely added bits that make it more specific to us. It's helpful that Jen [the other actress] and I are such good friends, and were even before we did this show together. So, the connection between the two of us is really genuine. When she mentions her husband, I picture her real husband, and things like that. I personally also have a very specific connection to our set.  When we first did the show a few years ago, the set designer asked if we had anything from our childhoods that she could use as set dressing.  So, I gathered a bunch of stuff out of my parents' basement (just like my character in the show, my family saves everything) and it's been used in all three productions.  So, there are my childhood books, stuffed animals and games strewn all over the set.  It's my Twister game and my copy of "Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret." The first time my sister came to the show, she said "Oh, my gosh!  It's Kanga and Fizzy!" She didn't realize our stuffed kangaroo and koala had become stars.

That's great you were able to give it such a personal touch. Tell me, since not all the stories were yours, did you have trouble identifying with any of them?

Well, Barbara [her character] is married and has kids, which isn't an experience I've had.  She's also Canadian. But considering some of the roles I've played at other theatres, such as circus performers, drug addicts, Irish peasants or polar bears, a married Canadian is a pretty easy leap to make!

What about for the audience. Will these experiences resonate with them?

I think the show does resonate with all of the women in the audience, because even if they haven't all had the exact same experiences they've certainly had their own version of them. We've all had to sit in a 5th grade classroom and learn about our periods.  We've all had our heart broken. We've all looked back on things we wrote as a kid and thought "What? Who WAS this kid?"  But we've all still got that kid inside us, too, and that's part of the fun of this show, is meeting that kid again.

How does the show change each performance? How does your performance change with each show?

It really does change based on each group of women that is at the show. And we're not behind what actors call "the fourth wall." We interact with the audience; we talk to them and make eye contact.  So, it really is the energy of the women in the room that changes with every show and keeps it fresh.

The show has returned to Minnesota three times, why do you think audiences in the Twin Cities connect with this show so much?

I think a lot of women get so bogged down in the stuff of their daily lives, their families, jobs, homes and all of that. And those things are great, but this show is a chance for them to take a night out and just be them again. The girl they were and the woman they are, and enjoy that for a moment. And women like to have a place to go out with their girlfriends, or sisters, or any of the women in their lives. It's rare to get a chance to really just hang out with a bunch of other women and laugh at the experiences that only women have had.

Speaking of laughing, the show mostly takes a comical approach to what it's like to be a young woman. Are there any serious parts throughout?

There are a few. I'd call them maybe "bittersweet" more than truly "serious." But a lot of the things we laugh at now, like the boy who didn't like you in grade school or the year your parents made homemade presents for Christmas because they were going through a tough time, these things were really hard when we were going through them.  And I think we all remember those feelings in a pretty visceral way, and being able to laugh at them feels so good, you know?  Seeing how well we've come through some of that stuff makes you able to look at the problems you're having right now in a different way, and think "Oh gosh, maybe later I'll be laughing at this just as hard!"

That's a great point! So, the show is obviously marketed toward women, but can men come?

There's a really lovely energy when there's a room full of only women. That being said, men can certainly come. We often have one or two "enlightened" men in the audience and they typically have a really great time. It's just that men don't have that first-hand experience of a lot of the stuff we talk about, so it's not that they don't understand it, they just relate to it in a very different way.

Absolutely. Speaking of relating to the script, some of the experiences not all girls have had. Is this a show that is appropriate for all ages? Is there an age group that the show speaks to more than others?

We've had everyone from young teens up to women in their 80s and 90s at this show. It really is for women of every age. It's so fun to see such a wide range of women laughing at the same things, just in different ways.

"Girls Only: The Secret Comedy Of Women" is playing now through April 19 at the New Century Theatre. Tickets cost between $19.50 and $29.50. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit the Hennepin Theatre Trust online.