Six women will take the Marriott Theatre stage to share the songs of a memorable musical decade June 19-Aug. 11 in “Beehive: The 60’s Musical.” The audience will hear such timeless classics as “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” “Make Your Own Kind of Music,” and “To Sir, With Love.”
Performances of the show by Larry Gallagher are 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. most Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sundays, plus 7:30 p.m. July 2 and 1 p.m. Aug. 1.
“All of these songs and all of these artists are part of the foundational building blocks of pop music that we all know and love today,” said Lucy Godinez, one of the sextet of female performers who will be reliving musical moments.
She added that the songs of the ’60s “stick in your head because they’re all constructed so well.”
Godinez is particularly enjoying singing songs that were performed by the girl group the Shirelles and a solo, “Academy Award.”
She said this show will stir memories in many audience members and also offer a relaxing evening at the theater. Godinez noted that she is a fan of many types of musicals but added, “I think it is valuable to be able to go see a show and kind of turn your brain off a little bit, and listen to and enjoy some great music and some really, really great vocals.”
Although it is a musical revue, Godinez said that there is a story being told in this show.
Godinez is particularly impressed by the talents of the cast assembled by director Deidre Goodwin. “The vocals that everyone is bringing are really top notch,” she said. “People are going to have their hair blown back.”
“I love ′60s music,” said Leah Morrow, another member of the six-women cast. “When I was 12 years old, I had a friend in junior high who lent me her copy of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.’ I became a Beatles fan. For me it’s the harmonies and the ideas. With the love songs, there’s such an innocence.”
Morrow added that she loves other groups from that era, too. “Things that were happening around the world became part of the larger consciousness. We were telling stories in music in the ′60s,” she explained.
When we spoke, rehearsals had just started but Morrow said she was already “having a blast” singing the songs in the show. “Tapping into the style and the sounds of these original artists is really cool,” she said. “I had this Supremes’ greatest hits album that I played all the time. I’m singing the same stuff that I was singing along to when I would listen to it.”
Morrow declared that she is enjoying being in a musical revue because “every song is its own story. And you have your own stories for those songs because of your attachment to where you were in your life when you heard them. I think it’s really cool for the audience.”
The other four women in the cast are Emma Grace Bailey, Grace Bobber, Miciah Lathan, and Aisha Sougou.
“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Goodwin said. She praised the music of the ′60s, saying, “There’s a nostalgia to it even though I was not hearing it in the ′60s. I also like the simplicity of the melodies and the way they’re able to communicate complex ideas in a fun way. The music is timeless.”
In casting the show, Goodwin said she was looking for performers who had “the energy and perspective to bring to the show. They had to have a certain vocal ability depending on where their track lies. Also, unique individuals that really shine whether they’re together or there are solo moments.”
A unique aspect of this show is that there’s an all-girl band onstage.
Goodwin is convinced that audiences of all ages will love this musical. “You’re instantly going to be propelled back in time to where you were when you first heard that song,” she said.
For those who heard the song when it first came out “they can remember those teenager years and that time when you’re growing up into the woman you become,” she said.
“For people who are my age who are familiar but didn’t grow up in it, I hope it also brings nostalgia. For the younger generation, I hope to introduce them to this type of music.”
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
‘Beehive: The 60’s Musical’
When: June 19-Aug. 11
Where: Marriott Theatre, Ten Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire
Tickets: $60-$73
Information: 847-634-0200; marriotttheatre.com
