REVIEW: MAF's Beehive: Big Hair, Big Fun

Well, you don?t go to Beehive: The 60?s Musical for the engrossing storyline or sharp dialogue.  There is no story to this timeline review show.  And what dialogue there is ranges from cute ? a bit about wearing long skirts when leaving the house, then rolling it up to a mini at school ? to predictable ? something about spending the summer at ?a little farm near Woodstock, New York? ? and everything in between.  But you do go to Beehive: The 60?s Musical, which opened recently at the Maryland Arts Festival to hear a cavalcade of great music, and 6 terrific performances by Baltimore?s currently best ensemble.

Beehive is a cruel reminder, in a way, that we live in some musically dangerous times.  Much has been said of late about how similar the 60?s and today are, what with unwanted war and protests and the like.  And while that is true, the music of today couldn?t be further from that time which now seems historic.  What happened to the light fun, dance-y music like the early 60?s girl groups provided?  I mean, does it get any more fun than ?One Fine Day?, ?It?s My Party? or ?The Name Game??  Or how about today?s so-called protest songs (have you heard the Pet Shop Boys? ?I?m with Stupid?? or listened to ANYTHING the Dixie Chicks have to say?) versus the greats of the 60?s like ?RESPECT?, ?Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)? or even ?The Beat Goes On??  As I watched the show, I couldn?t help but wonder what audiences would be sitting through 40 years from now.  Angst: The Whiny Rock Musical?  We Tried to Be Fun: The Boy Band Musical?  Airheads: Britny, Hillary and Xtina?  Sad? so sad?

So, this is all the more reason to catch the fun of Beehive while it is still playing this summer!  It is light as a feather, and very easy on the eyes and ears.  Directed with a light touch by Leslie Owens-Harrington, this 40-song cycle whizzes by in a flash.  It never gets bogged down, even when the clunky dialogue (created by Larry Gallagher) threatens it to within an inch of its teased life.  Act One, like the early 60?s it portrays is truly light and breezy, and it flies by.  Here the ensemble sings and dances it hearts out to such classics as ?You Don?t Own Me?, ?My Boyfriend?s Back? and ?I?m Sorry?.  They pretty much dare you not to sing along ? and everyone in the audience young and old seemed to know most of the songs, because we did sing along!  We couldn?t help it!  And we left the theatre during intermission looking like kids who just got a bunch of new 45?s to play.  Perhaps the only slightly down side was the overall lack of energy at the very top of the show ? they warmed up nicely by about midpoint, and the choreography (also by Ms. Owens-Harrington), while decent, was a bit repetitive and unevenly executed.

Speaking of 45?s, designer Gregg Hillmar?s fun, completely useful set is made up of several giant 45?s!  What fun to see the old Atlantic, Columbia and Motown logos!  The records served as backdrops and playing areas, adding a fun bit of color without distracting us from the cast.  IT also reminded me of days gone by, when every week I?d go to my nearest record store and get that week?s new releases and a bunch of those funky plastic center things.  Today?s iTunes buyers can?t possibly have as much fun as we did, picking out just the perfect copy of a new favorite.  One thing this Beehive improves upon is the quality of sound, designed with superb clarity and balance by John Suchy.  Not a word was missed or note unheard.

Act Two, like the later 60?s it portrays, is much more dark, somber, and powerful.  It is still fun, but much more engrossing.  It starts with the provocative and  timely ?The Beat Goes On?, then goes briefly through a mini British girl invasion with ?Downtown? and ?To Sir, With Love? among others.  Then comes the biggest hit of the evening, the Motown influence ? in sharp contrast to the Diana Ross and the Supremes fun in act one, here we get a jaw-droppingly fantastic Tina Turner and the Ike-ettes and powerful Aretha Franklin.  The act finishes with a rousing tribute to flower power with ?Me and Bobby McGee?.

This production wouldn?t be nearly as good without the wonderful Beehive Band, under the direction of Elizabeth Fink.  This ensemble of musicians is a character in the show as much as any of the six singer/dancer/actresses.  To a person, these gifted artists were nothing short of magnificent.  Also making a major contribution to the evening is costume designer William E. Crowther, who provides some of the must colorful, fun costumes of the season, including a great Tina Turner outfit, and a dead-on Janis Joplin get up.  And of course, the titular wigs are a hoot, piled high and even hairsprayed by Aqua-net.

But the show would be nothing without its wonderful ensemble.  Each one of the six has her special moments, whether singing a fun song in act one like at a slumber party or doing an earnest impression of a great female artist of the 60?s in act two.  Each young lady ? none of them could have actually been alive in the 60?s ? must also be credited with doing some major homework for this one.  All six ? Joanna Chilcoat, Katie Churn, Robin Rouse, Elizabeth Ruddy, Tiffany Underwood and Denine Wilson ? really understand the music they are singing, giving each tune its due, while still making it their own.  And the impressions they do must have taken hours of study, and range from an approximation (the Diana Ross bit is more send-up ?We love you!  I?m Diana Ross!  We love you, I?m Diana Ross!? than impersonation) to look-alikes (Petula Clark circa 1966 lives!) to downright scary accuracy (Rouse?s Tina Turner was like watching ?Proud Mary? as performed live on Ed Sullivan, and Ruddy?s amazing Janis Joplin was so dead-on you almost got a contact high from the memories of Woodstock).  And no one in act one sang or danced her heart out more than Joanna Chilcoat, who seemed for that first hour to be lost in her own I?m-singing-some-of ?the-best-music-ever-written-into-a-hairbrush-at-home-in-my-bedroom world.  Her girl group earnestness in her dancing was both a tribute and a hoot, while her delivery of several songs as lead singer was equally high quality.  And as I said earlier, Robin Rouse was absolutely brilliant as Tina Turner.

What a great way to start off a new festival, and what a fun evening of summer musical theatre!  If only those Time-Life infomercials were as fun to watch.  Sales would be through the roof!  Beehive continues through July 16^th.  The schedule of performances and times varies widely.  Go to www.towson.edu/maf or call 410-704-2787 for details and reservations, which I strongly recommend.

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