Circa 21’s ‘Bikinis’ Is Frothy Summer Fun In Rock Island
The Bikinis is running through Aug. 24 at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, Rock Island. For showtimes, tickets and more info, call (309) 786-7733, ext. 2 or see www.circa21.com
Coming on the heels of “Jersey Boys,” Rock Island’s Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse has unfolded the beach towel for another fun bit of nostalgia, this time featuring Jersey girls, in “The Bikinis: A New Musical Beach Party.” If you remember the frothy, fun, goofy beach movies of the ’60s and Elvis’ ridiculous but lighthearted movies, you’re going to get a kick out of “The Bikinis,” because it’s imbued with that same kind of bubbly amusement.
Set in 1999 (doubling the nostalgia), the show is framed around a reunion of the cult ’60s girl group of the same name, featuring Jodi (Sarah Lounsberry), Annie (Kirsten Sindelar), Karla (Taylor Fryza), and Barbara (Joelle Smith), getting back together to take one more trek through their songbook and memory lane, ostensibly for a charitable cause, but also to gain some sort of closure and perspective on their lives and legacy.
The plot gives each of them a time in the spotlight, and there’s plenty of rehashing of times good and bad gone by between them, and — spoiler alert — all is smoothed over and well by the time the sun sets on this nostalgic trip back to the beach.
The humor is straight out of Frankie and Annette films, the dialogue is pretty lightweight, and the characters are fairly anodyne for this genre. But really, much like Elvis’ movies, the plot is just a fluffy framework for what people are actually there to see, which is the musical performances, and in that regard, “The Bikinis” is well worth your time for some well-done summer fun.
The songbook is a spin through the poppier side of the ’60s, with everything from “The Shoop Shoop Song” to “The Twist” to “These Boots Are Made For Walkin” to, naturally, “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.” The women in the cast all do a great job tackling the numbers and they’re all cute and likeable, making “The Bikinis” a fun and sunny couple of hours. It’s perfect summer fare, with great music and some goofy humor mixed in, and isn’t that what you want from a summertime show? Definitely give it a spin.
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