Sixties Chicks was one of those shows I was looking forward to seeing the way high school girls wait for prom night. I wanted to see this show, especially considering Harlequin Productions has a long and strong history of staging great musicals.
So it was with that tradition in mind that I got all excited when I saw Sixties Chicks on the lineup this season. I dig me some old-time rock and roll. I dig me some Harlequin, and I dig me some female singers. It seemed bound to be a success on all fronts when I walked into the theater.
Then the lights dimmed and the show started.
What played out over the next two hours was a solid concert by a cover band, but I didn’t see much “theater” in this theater production. There was no dialogue between songs and the only theaterness in the show was an occasional shot of a historical scene or 1960s factoid about birth control or women’s rights. The show would have been made much stronger had those factoids been embraced or actually incorporated somehow.
I wanted theater and I got a cover band. It was a great cover band with tight music and strong vocals, but it was a cover band nonetheless. The actors turned singers did no more acting than a band does. I wanted theater. I am a theater reviewer.
There was one great moment, however, coming in the form of the group’s version of “Going to the Chapel,” which happened right after the screen showed statistics about the invention and use of the birth control pill. At one point each of the female singers showed signs of being less than thrilled about walking down the aisle. The emotions ranged from doubt to fear and apprehension. It was a great moment in the show, but similar moments were few and far between.
Do not, in any way, walk away from this review thinking the show wasn’t good — if you want a concert of old rock and roll standards. It is a great show for that. It is not a show if you expected theater, with a plot, storyline and character development. Since I am a theater reviewer, I expected the latter and got the former.
The Harlequin crew brought its best on the musical front. The songs rocked. But there just wasn't any theater there.
[Harlequin Productions, through July 19, 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, $12-$20, 202 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.786.0151]
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