Do the do at Civic Light Opera, Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center
The current buzz throughout the South Bay is next week’s anxiously awaited opening of Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities’ (CLOSBC) production of “Beehive: The ‘60s Musical” at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Audience members will swarm to hear the six queens in the cast drone through memorable girls’ songs made famous by memorable girls (all named “Honey”) during the 1960s. The music is sweet enough to make listeners break out in hives. It’s nectar to the ears. You’ll be stung by the priceless harmonies as the six wax through the hits of Connie Francis, Brenda Lee, Diana Ross, Leslie Gore and more.
Whew…. Glad that’s over.
No, the title has nothing to do with apoidea of the Vietnam years. It’s based on the era’s prominent female hairdo, the beehive. You remember (or not), the piled and plastered, layered and lacquered look that defied gravity when adorning the head of your date to the junior prom back in ’65. Okay, you weren’t alive in ’65. Use your imagination or ask mom (or grandma).
Before there was Internet, there was Aquanet, equally popular in its day and notable for its extraordinary power in maintaining the beehive. When girls ran their fingers through the hair of their dates during the post-prom trysts in the backseat of Pop’s Plymouth, the invariable result was a handful of lubricant (Vitalis) that kept them well-oiled through college. If the brocade tuxedo-clad partner challenged his beloved’s beehive in a first-base gesture of affection, the sticky, hardened Aquanet would disable the suitor in much the same death grip that a gnat suffers when encountering flypaper.
It’s the job of CLOSBC veteran Dan Mojica, as director-choreographer, to keep the bees in his bonnet buzzing in harmony. And, he only has two weeks of rehearsal time to teach the lines, blocking, dancing and singing to his six charges. The same preparation time is allotted for sets, lighting, costumes, the band and all things technical involved in the show.
“Such (short rehearsal time) is life in Southern California theater these days. It’s fast and furious,” sighed Mojica. Less than two weeks before opening, the director said, “There’s a lot of music, so that’s what we’re spending much of our time on right now.” This is Mojica’s first experience with “Beehive.”
There are 40 songs – either presented in complete versions or abbreviated references – in “Beehive.”
Constant flight sans wing flutter
Mojica is a true bi-coastal gypsy. “I own a house here and I have a small place in New York but right now home is more in Los Angeles because work’s been plentiful here for me, which is good.”
He grew up in Miami, and started in the entertainment business as an actor, singer, dancer – “all of the above, hopefully” – and began doing shows fairly young. Mojica majored in Musical Theater at the University of Miami.
“I just kept doing it; made it to regional stuff; then eventually moved to New York and things moved on from there,” said Mojica, “but I pretty much started out as a performer.”
No time for performance at this stage of Mojica’s career. “I’ve pretty much devoted myself to the production side of things.”
His resume is extensive and varied, including an Ovation Award for a 2003 production of “Anything Goes” at the UCLA Freud Playhouse and, later, an Ovation nomination for “On the Town.” In between, Mojica has staged over 18 productions for the Sacramento Music Circus, and numerous shows for the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, CLOSBC (the latest being last season’s “The Full Monty”), The Walt Disney Company and Universal Studios Hollywood. He is responsible for mounting and supervising 16 domestic and international productions of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”
A large apiary
As per “Beehive” and the Redondo venue, Mojica said, “We’re making it pretty much a big show. Obviously, the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center is a fairly large house and there are only six cast members in our show plus the band, which will be live and on stage. But, I’m broadening it out to be not so much an intimate off-Broadway piece, as it was originally done, but more of a bigger musical show.”
Author Larry Gallagher’s 1986 introduction of “Beehive” was in a New York cabaret club called Top of the Village Gate.
“We are having a big set, big costumes and big hair, of course.” Sets in Redondo are by Christopher Beyries and costumes by Christa Armendariz.
Albe Potts, another regular at CLOSBC, brings his talents to “Beehive” as musical director, overseeing a band of eight. “The larger band is so great for this show because some productions only use piano, bass and drums,” said Mojica. He and Potts have worked together in past CLOSBC shows including “Kiss Me Kate” – “and quite a few others,” said Mojica.
He said the sets will be “of a ‘60s motif and style that will take on the colors and feel of the era. It’s very much in a jukebox show format because that’s really what the show is.” The new set is being built by Beyries and his worker bees at the CLOSBC in-house shop.
No waspishness among the girls
The six girls in the cast are not lost in the color schemes and coifs of Mojica’s “Beehive.” “The personalities of the girls come through,” he said. “We use their real first names in the show… They also take on the personae of well-known people from the ‘60s – Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Leslie Gore, Connie Francis, people like that. So, their personalities channel these other ladies… It’s a fun way for them to move from being themselves to being other characters. Of course, we change their look to be reflective of the person they are playing. They’re not impersonations, but more a glimpse of the personalities of the time.”
Overall, Mojica is excited about launching this piece at CLOSBC. “Most people think of it as a show with great music, but it’s also pretty reflective of the time period. There are so many different associations and mentions within the show that speak of Vietnam, the fashion and pop culture of the era, and the political scene, as well. Many of these songs were written in tandem with the issues of the day. It has more meat and more depth than many people think.” Mojica noted that there is a chronological sense to “Beehive,” thanks in part to a narrative that runs through the show. “You get a feeling of living the decade.”
Mojica said “Beehive” is truly “a celebration of the music of the times. Almost every song in this show is well-known, at least if you’re above the age of 25. I can’t vouch for those younger because a lot of folks under that age don’t know who Leslie Gore is. But most of the audiences will love this because it celebrates the great songs and great artists. How can you wrong with The Supremes and the Shirelles and Patti LaBelle and Brenda Lee? They’re all amazing people, and all of them had great songs…. In a campy way we play with the fashions, as well.”
Appearing in the show are Misty Cotton, Karole Foreman, Stacy Francis, Tricia Kelly, Kamilah Marshall and Kelli Provart.
A line in the show offers a possible definition of its name: “‘Beehive’ is an overuse of Aquanet resulting in a stinging rash that afflicted those donning the do.” In preparation for attending the opening, audience members might purchase a couple cans of the chemicals, spray the contents throughout home or apartment, sit back and inhale. It will bring back memories to many. To all, such a practice will result in a high much more disabling than any Woodstock experience. And the accompanying music that will rattle through one’s semi-conscious head is much more melodic than that heard by the stoners in those New York farmlands long ago.
‘Beehive: the ‘60s Musical,’ CLOSBC production at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo. Previews Sept. 15-17, 8 p.m. Tickets, $40-$50. Regular schedule: Tuesday thru Saturday, 8 p.m.; Saturday matinees, Sept. 25 & Oct. 2, 2 p.m.; Sunday matinees, Sept. 19, 26 and Oct. 3, 2 p.m.; Sunday evenings, Sept. 26 & Oct. 3, 7 p.m. Closes Oct. 3. Call 310-372-4477 or visit www.civiclightopera.com. ER