With one hand on her hip and sass in her voice, a single woman well into her senior years speaks candidly about her sex life — or lack thereof.

"I've still got it," she pipes up. "Seems like no one wants to see it, though."

Most men prefer younger women because they are — to put it plainly — softer, juicier and perkier, she says, in a comical scene from the show "Aging is Not for Sissies ... !"

The stage show, based on interviews with single women ages 60 to 100 from around the world, offers an intimate glimpse into aging women's lives in a society obsessed with youthfulness.

"Aging is Not for Sissies ... !" is meant to dispel myths about growing older. Topics such as sex, care homes, friendship, Medicare, funerals and death are core elements, said Pratibha Eastwood, a Honolulu psychologist and the show's creator.

"Aging is not about misery, and aging is not about disappearing from this planet and not having anything to contribute," Eastwood said.

Because Eastwood is of Israeli descent, and incorporated voices to include the viewpoints of characters such as Chinese, Southern and British women, "Aging" also brings a diverse outlook to the subject of growing old.

The inspiration for the project "came from facing 65 and retirement and being so caught up in the culture's view of aging," Eastwood said.

She began working on the monologues last year — working with friends to gather interviews and write up the pieces — and performed the show purely for fun at her 65th birthday party.

"I got such raving reviews from my friends," she said. "They said (I) must bring it to the public eye, and that's what happened."

Eastwood continues to receive positive feedback from viewers and hopes to take "Aging" to another next level.

"You know 'The Vagina Monologues'? That's the vision I have for this," she said.

INSIDE IS WHAT COUNTS

The women who huff and puff and rant and rave in the production are Eastwood, Sharon Adair, Blossom Lam Hoffman, Sylvia Hormann-Alper, Jo Pruden and Roshani Shay.

Lam Hoffman — an actress who has also appeared in the movie "Blue Crush," NBC's former cop show "Hawai'i" and Hawai'i Opera Theatre's "The King & I" — agreed to the project even before seeing the script.

"I liked the idea that they were going to do the material based on what the lives are of women who are now in their senior years because, yes, it does often feel like we don't belong or we're almost invisible," said Lam Hoffman, a Kaimuki vocal instructor who describes herself as in her "middle senior years."

Lam Hoffman performed two monologues, including "Aging and the Mirror." In it, her pidgin-speaking character laments over her droopy eyes, wrinkly face and saggy bosom: "Look at dese chi-chis! Dey movin' down Kona side, pretty soon I gotta tuck 'em in my pants. Eh, before dey was like beeg juicy mangoes. Now dey look like tree-day-old bags of poi!"

"This is a woman who really hadn't really given it previous thought that she might be looking older," Lam Hoffman said.

After careful analysis, the character concludes, " 'Inside — that's what really counts'," Lam Hoffman said. "(That determines) how you feel, how you see yourself and how you present yourself to the world."

While "Aging and the Mirror" drew many laughs during a showcase at a Hawai'i Pacific Gerontological Society conference this month, Lam Hoffman's tear-jerking performance of "The Journey Home," a piece about a daughter visiting her mother in a care home, also struck a chord with audience members.

"Pieces like this help to remind us all to take that time now, before (our) parents or loved ones go, to give them time, love and recognition," Lam Hoffman said.

The show isn't only for senior women, emphasized Doug Kreider, a geriatric mental health specialist and member of the gerontological society.

"There's something in it for everyone, and it will get people thinking about things they might not have yet thought about," he said.

GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE

With an impeccable New York Jewish accent, cast member Sharon Adair brings to life "Betty," a colorful 77-year-old woman who raves about living at the Leisure World senior community — which Betty calls Seizure World.

"Another terrific advantage to living in Seizure World is the friendly phone wake-up service," Betty says cheerfully. "Ya see, if you want, management will call you in the morning — oh, it's a wake-up call — but then they also know that you didn't die in your sleep."

"Betty is like the women who surrounded me when I was growing up in Brooklyn," said Adair. ... "People who sometimes are embarrassing, until you realize the difficult lives they had and what kind of survivors they are."

Adair, who's also the director of "Aging Is Not for Sissies," has been nominated for Po'okela Awards for both acting and directing.

"Betty" and the show's nearly dozen other pieces can give people an idea of what it's like to grow old and to help them appreciate their youth more, Adair said. "Having a glimpse of the future can make you live your present more creatively, and also be more sensitive to those people who are perhaps slowing down some, but who still have the wisdom that needs to be respected," she said.

Such positive messages abound in the show, cast members and viewers said.

After seeing a recent performance of "Aging" at One Kalakaua, an assisted-living home for seniors, resident Marion Vaught, 90, said she hopes others walk away from the show with the desire to live life to its fullest.

"This should be shown to every retirement home in the state because it hits home," Vaught said. "It reminds you to get involved and do things with people."

Eastwood wants others to not only embrace the show's lessons, but to help dispel a myth that's prevalent in our culture: "That aging is (having) one foot in the grave, with nothing to give to society and no enjoyment of life — that myth."

Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@honoluluadvertiser.com.