Lyric Theater
“Beehive – The 60’s Musical”
Created by Larry Gallagher
Directed by Ashley Wells
Musical Direction by
Jordan M. Andrews
Choreography by
Amy Reynolds Reed
• • • • •
Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin are all playing at Lyric’s Plaza Theatre in “Beehive – The 60’s Musical.” And it is wonderful!
This nostalgic look at the 60s is directed by Ashely Wells and stars Shayna Blass, Caprie Gordon, Leiah Lewis, Cheyanne Marie, Bailey Maxwell and Audrey Payne. The super-fast paced musical bearly gave audiences time to breath between numbers as music raced along. The audience clapped, shouted and sang with the cast. One would have thought they were at a rock concert, the energy was so contagious.
The production, loosely narrated by Wanda, Bailey Maxwell, is a collection of show-stopping musical numbers. The first act was nice and fun. It captured the mood of the early 60s with such favorites as “It’s my Party,” “My Boy Friend’s Back,” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” The energetic mood changed slightly with the lovely, mellow “Where the Boys Are” performed by Audrey Payne. And at the end of the first act, one thought, “That was really fun.”
The atmosphere for the second act changed dramatically. As Wanda, explained the assassination of Kennedy transformed teens. They now had issues to face, like Civil Rights and the Vietnam War. The company performed “Abraham, Martin and John,” with beautiful emotion. As Wanda explained these issues impacted the music. And Caprie Gordon’s “You Don’t Own Me” was knife-sharp, cutting edge.
Then Leiah Lewis as Tina Turner exploded on stage. Her delivery of Turner‘s music was fabulous. She had the audience all but dancing in the aisle.
And thinking things could not get any better, Cheyanne Marie, with her velvety smooth voice, as Aretha Franklin, came on. Oh wow! With hardly time to breathe, Woodstock was introduced and Shayna Blass as Janis Joplin literally brought the house down. Oh WOW! Oh WOW!
The dances of the 60s were delightfully depicted in Amy Reynolds Reed’s choreography. Jeffrey Meek’s costumes represented the fashions of the 60s. In the first act the performers were mostly in prom dresses. While the second act had a wide variety of styles among them disco and hippie. The most amazing costume was Tina Turner’s shimmering, gold sequined number that danced along with her.
“Beehive – The 60’s Musical” plays at Lyric’s Plaza Theatre through March 7.