by Rita Charleston

The Battle of the Bulge — the struggle to be that perfect weight, a topic women around the world are all too familiar with — is coming to life in Alan Jacobson's “Waist Watchers The Musical” now through May 29 at Penn's Landing Playhouse, 211 S. Columbus Blvd.

The 90-minute musical tale, set in Cook's Women's Gym, follows four women as they go through the ups and downs in a weight-and-beauty obsessed world. Using re-written lyrics set to popular songs of the '60s, '70s and '80s, the musical covers issues like dieting, exercise, plastic surgery, sex over the age of 40 and the relentless search for a positive self-image.

Krissy Johnson, a Maryland native who now lives in Jenkintown with her new husband, Larry, and his two sons, plays one of the women seeking perfection. Johnson, 44, who claims she knew she wanted to be a performer ever since her mother bought her a Donny and Marie microphone, received her Bachelor of Music degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. That was followed by a Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of Houston.

“After that, I moved to New York City, and my career began to take off,” she said. “For several years I was preforming in shows and wedding bands.” Some of her Broadway credits include “Murdered by the Mob,” “Forgotten Broadway” and “The WWOW Radio Mystery Hour.” She also amassed a number of regional credits, including “Houdini” at the Godspeed Opera House, “Zorro” and “A Christmas Carol” at the Burt Reynolds Theatre in Florida, among others.

She said life was good for awhile — until 9-11 hit. “Within two weeks of that, I was burglarized. And that's when I decided to move away. I had a brother, sister-in-law and nephew living near Philadelphia, so I decided to move here to be near family.”

However, soon after Johnson moved to the City of Brotherly Love, her family left Philly to move to Virginia. So here she was alone again. Additionally, after a traumatic breakup as well as the trauma of 9-11, Johnson found herself in the throes of depression, suffering from low self-esteem, gaining weight and losing her desire to perform. She said it took her awhile to lose the weight, feel more comfortable again in her body and feel confident enough to begin performing again, although on a less frequent basis.

“For some time I had been thinking about going back to school for a second Masters degree, and in 2012, after being offered a scholarship from La Salle University, I did go back to school. I had experience with people and relationships, so I decided I wanted to be a therapist. And I just graduated with my Masters in family therapy.”

But Johnson has not forgotten about her dream to also be in the theater. She plans to combine her love of music with her desire to help others. She acknowledges that being in this show may be one way to do just that. “The show's message is that women come in all shapes and sizes, and we can be happy and content, no matter what. Doing this show has been so much fun from the moment rehearsal began.”

Classically-trained, Johnson said she always wanted to train herself to do other things, and this show certainly fills the bill with Johnson singing songs like “If I Had a Bagel,” set to the music of “If I Had a Hammer.” But she still keeps in tune with the classic style she studied by singing in church. She also does one-woman shows at local nursing homes and assisted-living establishments, singing classics and standards.

“And now that school is over, the timing couldn’t be better. This show will be touring to three cities in California, and I'll be touring with it, something I've never done before but always wanted to do.”

So Johnson hopes other women will be able to learn something from this show and her own rules of life: “Get rid of all your negative thoughts, and start living life to the fullest. It's never too late, and you're never too old or too fat to live out your dreams successfully.”

For information and tickets, call 1-855-448-7469.