5 Questions with Giada Valenti

Giada Valenti will be at LTAC on Saturday, February 15 with her show An Evening with Giada Valenti: From Venice with Love. Get to know Giada a little better with these five questions before you go to the show! Tickets are available for the show here.

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You’ll be here the day after Valentine’s Day, what can couples expect from the night?

My show is a very romantic show with beautiful love songs. I love to share with my audience beautiful stories about the songs I sing and about my life. I always see couples getting closer to each other, hands touching and sometimes people sharing a little a kiss while I start to sing their favorite love song.

It’s magical to see how to sing and talk about love makes love appear. All the time I receive messages from my audience about the experience they had at my concert. Some of them came to the concert as friends and fell in love and are now married. Some of my fans also have used my concert to pop the question when I start to sing certain songs. I feel privileged to know that my concert makes people happy and fall in love with love again.

Do you have a favorite song to sing each night? Why do you love it?

I sing songs that I love and that I have a personal connection with. And it happens to be that we are all human and share, most of the time, the same emotions. So, the songs I love are also loved by most people. If I had to pick one, that for sure is “La Vie En Rose.” I learned it when I was a little girl in Venice and it’s the song that made me dream to become a singer. I have learned French, one of the 5 languages I speak because I wanted to understand the meaning of the song. I’m singing “When he embraces me and he speaks to me softly words of love, my life is beautiful. I’m his and he is mine. That’s the reason why heart beats.” I think this song is simple and powerful just like love itself. And this song has become one of the favorite songs of my audience. I cannot leave any stage without singing it. I just did Carnegie Hall – a special concert dedicated to Italian and Hispanic music. I closed the show with “La Vie En Rose” and my audience gave me a standing ovation, happy I was singing this song, even in French. It’s surely a special song for me and my audience. It’s a magical song.

What was it like filming a special for PBS? How did that opportunity come about and what did it mean to you?

It was a dream coming true. I produced it myself with my manager and husband JJ. We worked very hard for several years. As an independent artist, I needed to find the money to produce it. We went to several lectures in NYC to learn how independent producers were able to find funding for Broadway and off-Broadway shows. We educated ourselves in every aspect. Music is magical and all my life as an artist, but it’s most of all a business. We put all our hearts and soul and we were able to make it happen. Then I was lucky and blessed that the show was embraced by so many PBS stations around the US. I love the United States. So many people love the arts and love dreamers like me. Their help and their monetary support made it all possible for me. It was an amazing experience; we are ready to do it again. Nothing worth having comes easy and so was filming the PBS special. But it was for sure worth the hard work.

You’re also a blogger! How did you get started blogging and what do you enjoy the most about it?

I love to share all the beautiful things I experience and see. I like to blog about my travels, about my passion for food. And I love to share tips for traveling to Italy. I was born and raised in Venice, Italy, and I love to share tips, legends and more about Venice. Where to eat and what to do. I want people to enjoy Italy like an Italian. I too often see tourists getting lost in maps and getting tired following tourist guides around Venice or all of Italy as a matter of fact. They miss the beauty all around them. I love my country – one of the reasons that I also organize once a year a trip to Italy with fans and friends. They get to experience Italy like an Italian. With an Italian. The trip includes wine tastings, cooking classes, exclusive visits to special places they can get to see only with me and of course also two concerts in some special venues. I love to share all of this with them. Those trips are unforgettable. Next year I will be organizing the trip with Perillo Tours. I love to work with them so my guests can be helped to stay longer in Italy if they want and be helped with any change they want to do after the 10 days trip with me. And, of course, I love to blog also about this.

It seems like you’re an artist who has always known exactly what you want – how did you persevere through the challenges that come with being an artist, as well as challenges that life has thrown your way?

I always knew that I wanted to be a singer. And that’s because one of the things I always pursued in my life was “happiness.” Nothing like music and singing makes me happy. Being an artist is not an easy thing. You are putting yourself out there to be judged. Being an artist is a lot of hard work. Not so fancy on the day to day basis. But no matter how hard it is, the passion and the love for music makes us artists overcome any kind of difficulty. My idol, Edith Piaf, used to say “Singing is a way of escaping. It’s another world. I’m no longer on earth.” This feeling is the force for any artist to go on no matter what the world puts on us. Love for music and singing is one of the most powerful and empowering things for me.

The Mastroiannis discover a place of welcome at the Lone Tree Arts Center

By Michelle Sosa-Mallory, Corporate and Foundation Manager

On their first visit to the Lone Tree Arts Center last May, the Mastroiannis were noticeably excited to see Broadway star Lea Salonga’s sold-out performance. Aleia walked quickly toward the Main Stage doors, while Eric hurried to keep up with her.

As the manager on duty, I was in the lobby to welcome the young couple and remember being delighted by their enthusiasm. After all, this is the kind of joy we hope all patrons experience when they get the chance to engage in the arts.

Eric and Aleia meet Broadway icon Lea Salonga at the Arts Center

“I had an opportunity to use these tickets through work, and asked Aleia if she wanted to go,” recalls Eric. He figured she would, with her rich background in the performing arts. Only, he hadn’t realized that as a ‘theater gal’ most of her life, Lea Salonga was one of Aleia’s artistic icons and inspirations. So, without hesitation, she responded ‘yes’ – of course she wanted to see the show!

Reflecting on the evening Aleia readily admits, “I was totally ‘fan girling’! Lea Salonga is the face of musical theater!” As the parents of three daughters—Lilliana (Lilly), 11; Sophia, 9; and Juliet, 7—a night together at the theater is a rare event, even with Aleia’s passion for the arts. She was professionally trained as a performer and taught theater to high school students when they lived in California.

“My love of the arts is one thing I want to share with the girls,” Aleia offers. “Unfortunately, it’s challenging for our family.” She explained that their youngest, Juliet, lives with autism, which affects her in many ways. For example, she can be sensitive to sounds and lighting effects. She is also prone to behaviors, such as vocalizing, which is typical for her condition, but not well understood, and often not well received, by audiences at a live performance.

Aleia shared that their oldest, Lilly, who is discovering a love of performance, recently had a part in her first school musical The Addams Family. They decided to attend as a family to support Lilly’s stage debut. But within a few minutes, Juliet felt distressed in this setting. She and Aleia had to leave the auditorium to avoid disruption, missing most of Lilly’s performance. According to Aleia, the experience reinforced their ‘fear factor’ about planning a future outing to the theater.

RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

Listening to their story, I immediately realized the moment of serendipity, and couldn’t help but smile broadly and announce, “Oh, you are definitely in the right place!” further explaining to Eric and Aleia that the Arts Center not only presents exceptional performers such as Lea Salonga, we lead the way in sensory friendly programming aimed at welcoming families in similar situations to the theater. That was probably not what they expected to hear, but seemed pleasantly surprised, and I hoped, reassured that other wonderful opportunities awaited their family at the Arts Center. With sensory friendly literature in hand, the couple settled into the theater for Lea’s show.

Two girls (Lilly and Sophia) stand on either side of

Lilly and Sophia meet special guest Popsicle

While every family’s story is unique, the Mastroiannis illustrate why they and many others in our community need and deserve the nurturing and judgement-free environment of our sensory friendly programming to experience the arts together. Our sensory friendly series is woven into our season, but more important, it is part of our place in making the arts inclusive for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

OPEN DOOR TO SENSORY FRIENDLY ARTS

Like most busy families, the Mastroiannis constantly juggle and align their days. Eric explained that between school and many therapeutic needs, Juliet is scheduled seven days a week. In addition, Lilly and Sophia are involved in creating art, gymnastics, and working with media and technology.

Even with their full lives, they wanted to discover what the Arts Center could offer them as a family. As a starting point, they made room on their calendar to attend the Arts Center’s second annual Sensory Friendly Open House and Resource Fair on September 8 and hoped that Juliet would have a good time and feel welcomed and included. The free event gave them a chance to become familiar with the space, meet staff and volunteers, and explore the venue at an unhurried pace. From trying on costumes, to learning about props and staging, and testing out the lighting and sound technologies, the family made the most of the afternoon.

“What an awesome experience for our whole family!” Eric commented as they made their way around the interactive stations. The event seemed to be delivering on the promise.

However, the magic happened on the Main Stage, where a typically apprehensive Juliet let go of her worry of being in a new place. She danced and discovered a violin on a table set up as an instrument petting zoo to encourage musical exploration. Aleia braced for the instrument to get broken, but soon relaxed, as the charming Juliet revealed some of her own inner ‘theater gal.’

“All of a sudden, I heard the most beautiful voice coming from the stage,” remembers Lisa Rigsby Peterson, the Arts Center’s executive director, who was leading the Main Stage tour at the open house. “Then I noticed it was a mom singing to her daughter. It was Aleia!” In this moment, Aleia fulfilled her heartfelt wish to connect with Juliet through the arts.

Juliet is on stage in a blue dress with red flowers. She is facing the camera and has two fingers against her mouth. Her mother Aleia is kneeling on stage in a black sweater and white and grey striped skirt, with her back to the camera.

Aleia and Juliet, two ‘theater gals’

PAVING THE WAY FOR REMARKABLE EXPERIENCES

With growing confidence in our sensory friendly cultural experiences, the Mastroiannis are slowly getting to know the Arts Center. Later this month, we’ll welcome them to a sensory friendly performance of our annual tradition Home for the Holidays. Maybe this will be the start of a new tradition of celebrating the season while experiencing the arts as a family. Just a short time ago, Eric and Aleia didn’t think this was possible.

Through a wonderful twist of fate, we embrace the Mastroiannis as part of the Arts Center’s community. However, the Arts Center’s role in providing sensory friendly experiences is more than coincidence. Nearly seven years ago, we intentionally set out to create such a program that now paves the way for Juliet, her family, and many others to engage in the arts. The same mindful approach is true for our Community Impact programs that help us reach students, seniors, young children, and those experiencing early memory loss.

With your gifts of support to the Lone Tree Arts Center, these programs have flourished and enabled thousands to connect through accessible, inclusive, and affordable performing arts. Thank you for helping us make remarkable arts happen for everyone in our community!

Give today to the Arts Center: https://www.lonetreeartscenter.org/give

Review: Classic Albums Live “Chronicle, Vol. 1”

header By Monica Jarrell, guest blogger

Chronicle, Vol. 1, also known as Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits, is a greatest hits album by Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) released by Fantasy Records in January 1976. Classic Albums Live honors the legacy of CCR by performing their Chronicle album without changing any of the music. Each song is played with every note and rhythm of each song perfectly replicated.

As the lights dimmed and the musicians unceremoniously came on stage, there was a hush that came over the audience as they anticipated the performance that was about to begin. The band members were not in matching costumes, or sequins or flashy attire. They are dressed in black and were all about the music. Without any introductions, the band began to tune their guitars and prepped to perform “Susie-Q,” the first song of the album.

Being a part of the audience, I found myself along with many others, bobbing my head, clapping and tapping my toes as we all sang along with the band. Once “Susie-Q” came to an end, the band performed “I Put a Spell on You,” followed by “Proud Mary” and “Bad Moon Rising.” Mike Slute, the lead vocalist, nailed the vocals. It was as if I was there in 1976 when the original album was released.

In the first half of the show, there was very little to no interaction between the band and the audience. Mike Slute explained at intermission that they rather play the music just like the original album. After intermission, during the second half, they took liberties.

The second half was kicked off with the second album. The band played “Run Through the Jungle,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” and many more. Lead guitarist Shane Honkonen blew the audience away with his ability to play the guitar, replicating each note as it was originally written and performed. It was mesmerizing to watch him play and I got lost in the music.

James Taylor, who played the bass and vocals, was very connected with the audience. He seemed to really enjoy himself. This translated to the audience. He joked with drummer Ryan Granville Martin, who also kept the audience entertained. Included in the performance were some local musicians. These musicians only met the band the day before. They were incredible together! One would have thought they were all on tour together. On percussion and sax was Eric Natsuhiro Jordan, Bill Stephens was on keys, and on trumpet and percussion was Dylan Vessel.

The night ended with everyone signing “The Midnight Special.” It was the perfect ending to an amazing show.

If you have not seen Classic Albums Live, you will want to check back often on the Lone Tree Arts Center web site. Classic Albums Live is an all-time favorite and performs here frequently. The next title they will perform is Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon on Saturday, June 8. Tickets for that performance are available here.

Preview: Classic Albums Live “Chronicle Vol. 1

header By Monica Jarrell, guest blogger

Did you enjoy listening to the songs of Creedence Clearwater Revival on your record player or on your 8 tracks when you were younger? The music of Creedence Clearwater Revival could be heard blaring out of car radios as they drove by or at roller rinks in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Classic Albums Live at the Lone Tree Arts Center is the only place where you can listen to the music of Creedence Clearwater performed with such accuracy, it’ll be as if you were in the recording studio when the original was recorded.

The Classic Albums Lives concert series was founded in 2003 in Toronto, Ontario by a musician named Craig Martin, who previously produced a series of boutique cabaret shows, including composing music for television and stage. Classic Albums live is a concert series in which musicians perform a classic rock album in its entirety and play each song in its perfection.

Creedence Clearwater Revival (often called CCR) was one of America’s greatest bands. The music of CCR reached across generations with their mix of “blues” and “rock and roll. ” Remember “Down on the Corner,” “Bad Moon Rising,” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain”? You can hear these classics and much more when you come to see Classic Albums Live on Saturday, May 11, 2019 at the Lone Tree Arts Center.

Before CCR, John Fogerty, lead vocalist, lead guitarist and primary songwriter, joined his brother Tom Fogerty rhythm guitarist, Stu Cook, bass and drummer Doug Clifford in 1959 and formed the band The Blue Velvets. They were later called the Golliwogs. Their musical style encompassed roots rock, swamp rock, and blues rock. They played in a Southern rock style, despite their San Francisco Bay Area origin, with lyrics about bayous, catfish, the Mississippi River, and other popular elements of Southern United States. They also wrote and sang political and socially conscious topics including the Vietnam War.

The band performed at the 1969 Woodstock Festival in Upstate New York. CCR was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Creedence Clearwater Revival’s music is still a staple of US radio airplay; the band has sold 28 million records in the United States alone. Rolling Stone ranked them 82nd on its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

The talented musicians of Classic Albums Live will thrill audiences, young and old, playing all CCR’s greatest hits including “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”. You will not want to miss the instantly-recognizable, toe tapping songs of one of the world’s greatest classic rock albums performed live on stage. You will be treated to an exact replication of the song’s as they were originally performed.

Purchase your tickets now, before they sell out!

Review: Oh SNAP!

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Oh SNAP!

By Kristi Andrus, guest blogger

If you are heading to Lone Tree Arts Center tonight, Sunday 5/5/19, at 7pm, for SNAP, you’re in for a treat. The show is silent, illusory storytelling with a mixture of shadow art, a disappearing door that leads to other worlds, or maybe dreamland, a very unusual juggler, bumbling mimes, and even a tribute to your favorite first-generation video games. It’s hard to explain, but it’s so much fun!

Eight Korean performers star in the contemporary magical mystery performance. The energy is upbeat, and I found myself rooting for the mimes, even though they never utter a word. They weren’t heroic necessarily, but good-hearted and resolute. The music is fun and appropriate – it’s scary during suspenseful scenes, and energetic when the action is frantic.

I took my three little ones, 6, 6, and 4, and they were mesmerized from start to finish. They kept saying “It’s so funny, mom. How did they do that?!” I especially loved not knowing what was next. Truly, when was the last time you couldn’t guess what was coming or how something ended?

The storyline flipped back and forth from the real (ish) world to the dreamlike characters, and it felt a little vaudevillian and little bit woo-woo. I think there might have been a subtle message in there somewhere, but with the kids, we missed it, or rather we embraced SNAP for its lighthearted comedic elements instead.

Highlights included:

The color-changing clown who had a magic Lego box that played cartoons (or is it animated episodes now?) and classic video games.
The cards that morphed to confetti and glitter and more!
The umbrella dances.
The paint studio shenanigans, especially the paint brushes that kept appearing in hands, the hand the crawled out of the painting, and the sneezes that made things disappear.

It was the perfect length and perfect tempo for families. Enjoy!!

Review: An Intimate Evening with the Ivy Street Ensemble

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By Theresa Allen, guest blogger

On April 26, 2019, the Ivy Street Ensemble presented a spirited evening of chamber music at the Lone Tree Arts Center. The performance celebrated the music of three, prolific, male composers, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ferde Grofé alongside the works of two modern, female, master composers, Rebecca Clarke and Maria Newman. Members of the Ivy Street Ensemble include Catherine Peterson on flute, Erik Peterson on violin, Phillip Stevens on viola, and Danielle Guideri on cello. All of the performers are also members of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.

The concert featured commentary by Betsy Schwarm, a local music historian, who warmly provided context and analysis on each composition for the audience. For those of us who were new to chamber music, Schwarm said that this form was written to be performed by three or four instruments in small intimate spaces, such as a living or drawing room. She said that in chamber compositions, no one particular instrument is the star, rather the music is an interplay of parts that showcase the strengths of each instrument.

The concert opened with “Serenade for Flute, Violin and Viola Op 25” by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Schwarm explained that Beethoven wrote this in 1801, when he was merely 30 years old. At the time, Beethoven was writing Mozart inspired symphonies and this playful, light, spirited piece reflects that influence. While chamber music may have been originally played in a drawing room, the Lone Tree Arts Center’s stage has wonderful acoustics and this beautiful, elegant music filled the room leaving the audience with the sense of having experienced something quite remarkable.

The second performance, “Two Pieces for Viola and Cello,” by Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) was constructed in two parts, the first a lullaby, a form most of us are familiar with and the second part was a grotesque, which Schwarm described as being quirky and irregular. Stevens and Guideri performed together giving us a beautiful, soft lullaby that was executed with dramatic precision and then a bright, lively, full-sounding piece for the grotesque movement.

The Ivy Street Ensemble then performed Table d’Hote: Humoresque, by Ferde Grofé (1892-1972), which was originally written in 1945. Schwarm explained that the title takes its name from the convivial gathering of people conversing around the main table in a restaurant, and as such, the performance evolves through many moods from cheerful to melancholy and back to lively. I noticed members of the audience listening so intently and silently that you could hear a pin drop.

We then heard a thrilling rendition of Mozart’s (1756-1791) “Quartet for Flute and Strings in D Minor, Op. 285” which was written for the flute as the lead. The first movement was a lilting serenade that transitioned into a soft, sad mood that allowed the audience to appreciate the mastery and genius of Mozart.

The last work that the Ivy Street Ensemble performed was “Pennipotenti for Flute, Violin, and Viola” composed by Maria Newman (1962). Schwarm noted that Newman is from Los Angeles and is the daughter of composer Alfred Newman as well as related to Randy Newman, the musician. Composed in 2005, the title of this composition means “the power of feathers,” and Newman created in four movements representing birds. The first movement, “The Dipper,” soars bewitchingly light and playful, the second movement “The Hummingbird,” is fast and furious, the third movement, “The Snowy Owl” is quiet with its deeply moving harmonies and textures, and the last movement, “The Falcon” is complex, contemporary, and full of energy and power. Newman’s piece was a splendid ending to a delightful evening of beautiful music sprinkled with charming stories by Betsy Schwarm.

In addition, the Ivy Street Ensemble also generously gave each member of the audience their latest CD, Serenades: Then and Now. If you’d like to learn more about the Ivy Street Ensemble, you can visit their website at http://www.earwarp.com

Preview: Ranky Tanky

header By Theresa Allen, guest blogger

Get ready for a rich evening of storytelling though song when Ranky Tanky takes the main stage on Friday, April 26 at 8 p.m., at the Lone Tree Arts Center. Ranky Tanky brings the rich tradition of Gullah music of the Carolina coast and infuses it with its own spirited influences of jazz, funk, gospel and R&B. The evening will feature tender lullabies, playful game songs, and elegiac spirituals.

The members of Ranky Tanky include Quentin Baxter on drums and percussion. Baxter is a Grammy-nominated performer and producer of music. Quiana Parler brings her beautiful vocals to the group. Parler studied opera as a child and then gospel, pop and R&B. Clay Ross, founder of Ranky Tanky, performs vocals and guitar. Charlton Singleton, whose family comes from the Coast, plays on the trumpet and Kevin Hamilton performs on bass.

Gullah is a tradition of food, art, music and other cultural references that are deeply rooted in West African culture and have significantly influenced American culture. Gullah tradition has given us songs like “Kum Bah Ya” and “Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore” as well as influenced George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God and children’s literature like Br’er Rabbit from Uncle Remus Songs and Sayings.

Join the Lone Tree Arts Center as it “gets funky!” (a loose translation of Ranky Tanky), on Friday, April 26. Tickets are on sale now from $25 to $45 and can be purchased at www.lonetreeartscenter.org. The Lone Tree Arts Center is located at 10075 Commons Street in Lone Tree. Free on-site parking is available.

Preview: Ivy Street Serenades

An Evening of Classical Music with the Ivy Street Ensemble

By Theresa Allen, guest blogger

Colorado’s own Ivy Street Ensemble will be performing on Wednesday, April 17 at 7:30 at the Lone Tree Arts Center. Whether you’ve heard them on Colorado Public Radio or seen them perform in Denver, the Ivy Street Ensemble features nationally-known violinist Erik Peterson performing with fellow chamber musicians Cathy Peterson on flute and Phillip Stevens on viola.

An Evening of Classical Music will feature the enduring compositions of Beethoven and Mozart along their influences in the works of Ferde Grofé who composed the Grand Canyon Suite, Alberto Ginastera and his Impressions de la Puna as well as the works of Maria Newman. This intimate evening of chamber music will be narrated with stories about the pieces that you’ll hear by Betsy Schwarm, a local music historian, who regularly gives talks for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.

The Ivy Street Ensemble has been performing together since 2001, and they are all members of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Dedicated to instilling a love of music in the next generation, the Ivy Street Ensemble also gives back to our community by engaging children through performances at local public schools.

Come hear this elegant and eclectic concert of early and modern classical compositions. Tickets range from $30 to $40 and can be purchased at http://www.lonetreeartscenter.org. The Lone Tree Arts Center is located at 10075 Commons Street in Lone Tree. Free on-site parking is available.

Review: Beehive the 60s Musical

Photo by Danny Lam

By Monica Jarrell, guest blogger

Beehive the 60’s Musical

Created by Larry Gallagher

Director/Choreographer: Candy Brown

Musical Director: Dr. Michael A. Williams

If you have not seen Beehive the 60’s Musical at the Lone Tree Arts Center, you still have time. It will be showing from April 3rd through April 13th. Call soon to reserve your spot.

This is one musical you do not want to miss. It is based on the songs from the 60s, with the all-female cast performing songs originally sung by women during that era. By showcasing the women’s music of the ‘60s, Beehive shows us the influence of the female social issues and political feelings of the time.

The show opens to the voice of a radio announcer. The band is on stage, inside the working rooms of a radio station. It feels like we are part of a radio show. The stage is decorated in a ‘60s theme with 45s records hanging from the ceiling.

The first performance is the introduction of the 6 powerful female vocalists. They are dressed in the big swing dresses of the ‘60s, talking on corded phones and of course they all have big beehives and kitten heels. The number is a high energy song “Round the Beehive/Lets Rock.” This first act has everyone in the audience singing from the start.

The ladies introduce themselves by singing the name game. They even had some people from the audience participate. This is where the party gets started.

Jasmine is played by Piper Lindsay Arpan who is a choreographer, singer and performer. She has been seen in Reunion ’85, Home for the Holidays, Guys and Dolls in Concert, Ragtime and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Her dancing ability is as impressive as her singing talent.

Patti is played by Valerie Igoe. Valerie is making her debut to the Lone Tree Arts Center. Her credits include Annie, The Full Monty, Rock of Ages and 42nd Street.

Karen Jeffreys plays Alison. Maybe you saw her in My Way: Tribute to Frank Sinatra, Camelot, Winter Wonderettes, Reunion ’85, South Pacific in Concert and Home for the Holidays.

Melody Moore stars as Laura. Melody has been in numerous off-Broadway shows including Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Queenie in The Wild Party and Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Gina is played by Sheryl Renee. Sheryl’s career highlights include singing the national anthem for President Barack Obama. She has appeared on stage shows, a radio host and numerous theatrical productions. Sheryl stole the show with her performance of Tina Turner.

Wanda performed by Sharon Kay White serves as the show’s narrator. She offers bits of fashion advice and information about the era to give greater insight to each song. Wanda’s credits include performances all over the world including the Arvada Center, Lake Dillon Theater Company, Aurora Fox Arts Center, Country Dinner Playhouse and many more.

As we move through the decade, the music and the costumes shift dramatically. The six powerful performers make their way through the early ‘60s with songs such as “It’s My Party” By Lesley Gore, “I’ll Never Change Him by Annette Funicello, “Sweet Talkin’ Guy” by The Chiffons, “To Sir with Love” by Lulu, “My Boy Friend is Back” by The Angels and “Then He Kissed Me” by The Crystals.

Beehive then moved through to a more edgy time of the ‘60s with full or partial renditions of songs like “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore. For those of you who do not know this song was thought to be a game changer for the women’s movement in the ‘60s. Other numbers included: “Baby I Love You” by Aretha Franklin, several selections from Tina Turner (“River Deep, Mountain High” and “Proud Mary” and “Chain of Fools”).

The costumes changes were incredible as the decade rolled out on stage. The beehive was gone, and long hair, go-go boots and mini skirts are now seen. The women on stage convey to the audience the changing attitude of the women of the 60s.

Next up was Janis Joplin (Karen Jeffreys). This performance brought down the house with “Cry Baby” and “Me and Bobby McGee.” She looked, acted and sounded the part, with boa feathers and all. If Janis was a favorite of yours, you will want to see to this.

The show combines nostalgia with girl power. The ‘60s was a time when proper behavior gave way to youthful rebellion and a newly awakening generation pushed to be heard through their music.

Make plans to see this show before it is gone.