Review: “Beehive: The 60’s Musical” at The Rep

 When Lauren (Dragon), Lisa (Estridge), Jennie (Harney), Kristin (Maloney), Debra (Walton) and Jessica (Waxman), the cast of Beehive: The 60’s Musical, came on stage dressed in bulky sweaters with their first initials monogrammed on them, I blanched. When they started clapping their hands and asked for volunteers to play the name game, I leaned over to my friend and said that he should say his name was Chuck.

I’m not Beehive’s target audience and I’m not a fan of musical revues (what self-respecting critic is?). But, I know good singing when I hear it and the women at The Rep could belt it out and very closely imitate (or parody) the female stars from the sixties that they were supposed to be portraying. But I couldn’t help finding the whole thing corny.

Beehive is a musical revue of songs from the 60s, but the all female cast only performs songs originally sung by women. So, the first act features songs like Brenda Lee’s “I’m Sorry,” “Remember (Walking in the Sand)” by the Shangri-las, Dusty Springfield’s “Wishin’ and Hopin’,” Petula Clark’s “Downtown,” “To Sir with Love” by Lulu, and “Where Did Our Love Go” by the Supremes. The second Act is much shorter with several selections from Tina Turner (“A Fool in Love,” “River Deep, Mountain High” and “Proud Mary”), Aretha Franklin (including “A Natural Woman” and “Respect”) Janis Ian’s “Society’s Child” and four songs from Janis Joplin (including “Piece of My Heart” and “Me and Bobby McGee”). The show combines nostalgia with girl power, two things that you realize are fairly ridiculous even while watching the production.

We all know that a nostalgic take on the 60s as an age of innocence that was all shattered when JFK was assassinated is a bunch of bologna. Mad Men, whatever it’s faults, has at least done its part to debunk that myth by showing the 60s as racist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic and not a time of innocence and light.

That these songs represent some sort of pre-feminist movement also flies in the face of reality. A glance at the list of 41 tunes that make up Beehive reveals that, while the songs were performed by women, they were mostly written by men. (To the tune of only about 11 of the songs had women on the writing teams.) There hardly seems to be anything empowering about women singing songs written by men, about finding guys to love and marry them. (With the possible exception of “You Don’t Own Me.”)

The essay in the program doesn’t help. Dr. Karen Trinkle, adjunct professor of music history and literature at Webster University writes, “The emotional experience depicted in 16-year-old Lesley Gore’s hit ‘It’s My Party’ (1963) results from the distressing loss of a boyfriend at a birthday party and appealed directly to the adolescent female psyche.” Wow, how perceptive of John Gluck, Wally Gold and Herb Weiner who wrote the song and Quincy Jones who produced it, to delve so deeply into the female psyche.

It is fitting that “Respect,” which was written by Otis Redding but made a hit by Aretha Franklin, is so prominently highlighted in the revue. This song embodies the whole concept of the show, not because it is about a woman demanding R-E-S-P-E-C-T, but because Redding originally wrote it for black men to sing to black women. The intention of the tune was turned on its head and re-written a touch because people wanted a hit. Beehive seems determined to do the same thing with 60s music and the pop female performer.

I suppose though, that most people don’t care about empowerment or nostalgia and just want to hear some tunes and have a rollicking good time. If that’s the sort of thing you like, then don’t let my comments about the flimsy basis of the whole concept stop you. The women can sing (unfortunately they don’t dance very much and the bad wigs they wear to parody the sixties are REALLY bad) and between the cast’s energy and the sheer “poppiness” of the songs, you’ll be singing along in no time.

Beehive: The 60’s Musical is currently running at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis through April 10. The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Loretto-Hilton Center, Webster University, 130 Edgar, 314-968-4925, repstl.org. Call for prices and times.