By day they are a motivational keynote speaker, a Mary Kay beauty consultant, an office assitant at a music publishing company and a church organist who insists that for most of the time, she "doesn't do a damn thing."

By night, this rag-tag assortment of women transform themselves into a musical force for comedy called the Free Range Chix - that's chix with an X, they'll have you know. The X stands for extra sass and attitude. They're four intelligent, funny women approaching middle-age. If you have a problem with that, they don't want to hear it. They've raised children, lived lives, handled everything life has thrown at them and are here to tell you that laughter really is the best medicine.

In alphabetical order, the Chix are Nancy Beaudry, Barbara Case Vicki Hannah Lein and Stephanie Long. The four women met as cast members of Albany Civic Theater's 2002 production of "Six Women with Brain Death, or Inquiring Minds Want to Know." The musical revue was a huge hit with audiences, with its mix of music and skits derived from tabloid headlines juxtaposed to tales of real life as lived by the all- female cast.

"Brain Death" was so much fun that when it was over, the women found that they had become somewhat addicted. They had an almost physical need to continue making music together.

"We found we loved everything about it," Beaudry said. "The harmonizing, the playing together, the connecting to the audience. We just had to keep it going."

After "Brain Death" closed, the women took a road trip to New York City with the lofty goal of "goofing off." For a week, the four women shared a small NYC hotel room and lived to tell the tale. Returning home, they decided that if they could survive that, they probably could handle the rigors of forming their own act. From the New York trip, the Free Range Chix was hatched.

Mixing comedy, song parodies and original material, the Chix sing songs about topics often overlooked by other songwriters - songs about menopause, mortgages, child rearing and fitting in time and energy for romance after an exhausting day of shepherding kids around town.

Their approach has proven to be a smash hit with their target audience - people like them. Their performances have been so well received that they are set to create their first CD.

The Free Range Chix will perform at a benefit concert for Zonta, "Champagne, Chocolate & The Chix," at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 21, at the Majestic Theater. Their performance will be recorded, and they hope to have the CD available within a few months.