No Square Theater bringing back the ‘60s

Tom Titus

Remember the sounds of the ‘60s?

There was a lot of great music emanating from that decade.

Especially from the female vocalists such as Diana Ross, Leslie Gore,

Brenda Lee, Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Tina Turner, Aretha

Franklin, Janis Joplin and the ageless Cher.

It’s doubtful that most of Laguna Beach’s No Square Theater

performers have much first-hand knowledge of that era, but that’s not

stopping them from re-creating it next weekend in the opening

production of the company’s 2004-05 season.

The occasion is “Beehive,� named for the popular hairdo of the

period, a tribute to the popular girl groups and soloists of that

decade. It’ll be buzzing in the Forum Theater on the Festival of Arts

grounds for two days, Dec. 4 and 5 only.

A cast of 10 distaff singers will take its audience on a journey

through the 1960s, from the adolescent dreams of being a dancer on

TV’s “Shindig� to the shock of President Kennedy’s assassination, the

subsequent shootings of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.,

the Civic Rights movement, the Vietnam war and the love-in that was

Woodstock.

Directing this expansive piece of entertainment will be Joshua

Hsu, a UC Irvine graduate who writes and produces his own musicals in

Los Angeles. Musical director is Kris Huston, while Michelle Merlino,

also a cast member, is choreographing.

The cast is composed of many young women joining the No Square

group for the first time, including Merlino, Carly Menkin, Francesca

Rhenborg, Vanessa Ruiz, Veda Solomon and Courtney Walton. Completing

the company are the “Diva Trio� -- Juliet Gibson, Aldrin Adams and

theater favorite Darlene Krantz.

Musical theater fans can see what all the buzz is about at one of

the three performances of “Beehive� -- Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 5 at

2 and 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the company’s website

(www.nosquare.com) or by phone at (949) 494-1950.

* * *

While “Constant Star� is entertaining and informing audiences at

the Laguna Playhouse, word comes from the other coast that the

Delaware Theater Company’s production of the show took seven

Barrymore Awards -- the most any single production has won in the

10-year history of the area’s theater awards ceremony.

“Constant Star� won awards for best musical, direction of a

musical, musical ensemble, music direction (a new award this year),

set, costume and sound design. Before this year, the greatest number

of awards won by a single show was five.

However, neither the director nor any of the cast was in

attendance to receive the awards. They were all out here, turning

Laguna audiences on to the story of Ida B. Wells, the brave

abolitionist of a century ago.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Coastline Pilot.