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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Good chemistry
abounds in formulaic ‘The Bikinis’<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
review will appear in the News-Herald</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> on 7/5/13<B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><o:p></o:p></B></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN>If you’ve seen the jukebox musical “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” which
was recently performed at the Beck Center for the Arts, then you’ve seen “The
Bikinis,” currently in production at Actors’ Summit in
Akron.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Both shows <SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">recycle Top-40 tunes from the
recent past and interweave them with a skeletal storyline that is the flimsy
hook on which the performance of each standard song is hung.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN>Both shows target audiences
old enough to have heard these songs on 45 rpm</SPAN><SPAN class=st><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #222222"> vinyl
records</SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">
and who are nostalgic enough to accept the plays’ rose-colored, candy-coated
reflections of the times in which those tunes were
recorded.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">In
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN>“The Marvelous Wonderettes,” which opened off-Broadway in 2008, four
female best friends provide the evening’s entertainment at their 1958 senior
prom and, later, at their 10-year reunion.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Between the f</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>our-part harmonies in period songs that include<SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"> “Mr. Sandman,” “Sincerely” and 31 others,
we learn about </SPAN>Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy and Suzy’s <SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">dreams and aspirations.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN>In “The Bikinis,” which was written in 2010 by Ray Roderick, James
Hindman and Joseph Baker, four female best friends form a girl group in the ‘60s
and reunite in 1999 to help save the Jersey Shore trailer park where it all
began.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Between the f</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>our-part harmonies in <SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">period
songs that include “It’s In His Kiss,” “It’s Raining Men” and 29 others, Jodi,
Barbara, Annie and Karla offer a sentimental journey through 30 years of the
American music scene. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN>How sentimental? The entire Woodstock experience is captured in one
song.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>By Melanie (not <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Joan Baez or Janis Joplin).<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And the song, “Lay Down,” was never
performed at Woodstock. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The music
of the Vietnam era is reduced to a sing-a-long of </SPAN><SPAN
class=watch-title><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #222222; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"
lang=EN>Bobby Darin’s “Simple Song of Freedom.”<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><FONT size=3>Although “The Bikinis” is familiar, formulaic and super
schmaltzy, this Actors’ Summit production under MaryJo Alexander’s direction
embraces these qualities without wincing and without apology, and offers up a
superb production.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><FONT size=3>This is due to the four wonderful performers and their
tight on-stage band under Deborah Ingersoll’s keyboard stewardship and with Mark
Bussinger’s beat and Brian DelBianco’s bass. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Paula Kline-Messner, Mary Anne
Prevost, June Lang and Chanda Porter </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN>create distinctive and appealing personas backed up by singing voices
custom-made for this type of performance.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Collectively, they beautifully navigate the harmonies these ageless
classics require as well as the recognizable girl group choreography and corny
banter they are handed.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>When placed
as the lead vocal, each of them nails their parts.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><FONT size=3>Best of all, their on-stage chemistry allows the audience
to buy into the pretense of them being best buds with a long history.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is essential in order to get past
the aspects of this jukebox musical that are not so easy to forgive and forget,
and allow the music – which is the real star of the show – to take center stage.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN>“The
Bikinis” continues through July 21 at the Greystone Hall at 103 S. High Street,
Akron.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, which range
from $25-$30, call </SPAN></I><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">330-374-7568
</SPAN></I><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN>or
visit </SPAN></I><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><U><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><A href=""><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue">www.actorssummit.org</SPAN></A></SPAN></U></I><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">.
</SPAN></I></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>