Date: Fri 04-Oct-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: CAROLK

Illustration: C

Location: A8

Quick Words:

theatre-Beehive-Cabaret

Full Text:

(rev "Beehive" @Bridgeport Downtown Cabaret, 10/4/96)

Theatre Review-

Six Girls On Stage, 37 Wigs & A Lot of Fun, Musical History

(with photo)

BY JULIE STERN

BRIDGEPORT - The Downtown Cabaret Theater is mounting an original cast revival

of Beehive , the celebration of female pop singers of the Sixties, featuring

six performers and 37 wigs. In the tradition of Cabaret's musical-historical

era, this "jukebox jive" extravaganza is also an ironical glimpse of how, as

Bob Dylan was maintaining, "the times they were [sic] a changing."

The heavily sprayed and lacquered beehive hairdo so popular at the beginning

of the decade was emblematic of the slavish adherence to fashion standards

designed to capture the hearts (and through them the financial and social

support) of men. And certainly the juvenile vapidity of the lyrics - as well

as the baby-doll costumes of the beginning numbers - reflect the condition of

"cute" helplessness and dependency of American women, that would lead

exasperated feminists to burn their bras in protest.

But paradoxically, those heavily coiffed girl-singers of the early Sixties -

Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Shangri-La's and the Shirelles, Connie

Francis, Lesley Gore and Annette Funicello - were a revolutionary step forward

from the mainstream pop music of the Forties and Fifties which had been

dominated by male groups and solo stars from Sinatra to Elvis.

As these women established musical validity (and financial clout) in their own

right, their songs gained strength and complexity, first demonstrated in Heidi

Karol Johnson's powerful rendition of "You Don't Own Me." Although it is

framed in the format of a silly high school party skit where one girl has

stayed home because of a dreaded acne problem, and the hostess is lamenting

the fact that her boyfriend Johnny has just left with Brenda , the song's

message resonates far beyond that narrow context.

Shortly after that, in one of its many spectacular triumphs of costuming and

staging, the first act culminates in an explosion of Mondrian modernism,

commemorating the impact of the new British sound, typified by Petula Clark

and "Don't Sleep in the Subway, Darlin."

By the second act the beehive has gone, as the music moves to the boldly

assertive demand for respect that marked Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin,

while the anguish that accompanied the social change is reflected in a wistful

Janis Ian rendition of "Society's Child" and Janis Joplin belting out the

famous line "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."

Just as Beehive conveys the essence of the feminist struggle as it affected

popular songs, so too it celebrates the impact of the civil rights movement.

When artists like Elvis and Buddy Holly shook up the "whitebread" world of

mainstream pop music with their new sound derived from segregated rhythm and

blues, it was considered revolutionary.

Beehive personifies the racial integration of the entertainment world that

became the standard by the end of the decade. Using three black and three

white performers (plus two understudies) Beehive pays tribute to the various

groups who used equal opportunities to dominate the charts.

At the same time it is heartening to see that the cast is not divided along

rigid color lines, as they move interchangeably through different wigs,

costumes and personas. Personally I thought April Harris as a

Mouseketeer-eared Annette Funicello was uproarious.

The cast of six (including Harris, an understudy we saw perform) is very

talented. Kena Tangi Dorsey, Vilma Gil, Heidi Karol Johnson, Linda Sue Moshier

and Virginia Woodruff are all Equity performers, up to Cabaret's usual high

standards. Cheney Design's sets, Kerri Lea Robbins' costumes and Hugh

Hallinan' lighting all combined to spectacular effect, and Jon Jordan's

hair/wig design was oh so right.

The overall result was entertaining fluff, which was obviously more fun if

you're old enough to remember the music, and hip enough to appreciate the

history.

Beehive continues through November 3, with performances Friday at 8 pm,

Saturday at 5:30 and 8:30 pm, and Sunday at 5:30 pm. Tickets run $19.50 to $25

each. Telephone 576-1636 for reservations, details.