Bringing the Beach to the Big Stage: “The Bikinis” in Review

If you want to hit the beach from Gainesville, you’re looking at a drive upwards of an hour and a half. The Hippodrome Theatre’s current production of “The Bikinis” attempts to shorten that time significantly.

Is it a bit cruel to tease the landlocked city of Gainesville with a musical taking place along the beaches of New England? I’d say so. However, “The Bikinis” does a good-enough job at entertaining its audience, even if it’s not the most groundbreaking musical performance you’ll see in your lifetime.

“The Bikinis” is technically billed as a musical, although I would hesitate to call it one. When most people think of musicals, they think of a play where music and songs are used to help further the plot. “Oklahoma!” popularized the idea of a musical in the 1940s, and shaped how we think of the genre today. “The Bikinis” is not a musical in this sense. Yes, there are plenty of songs broken up by a couple minutes of dialogue here and there, but don’t expect the songs to push the story along.

Instead, “The Bikinis” is more of a prolonged cover band performance. The story of “The Bikinis” is of a group of older women returning to a trailer park for a 1999 New Year’s Eve reunion performance. Through the musical’s two acts, the cast of four women recount the early days of their girl band and sing covers of songs from the ’60s and ’70s, with a few originals sprinkled in.

I say all this because it would be a mistake to walk into a performance of “The Bikinis” expecting much in the way of story or plot. In between songs, you’ll get a taste of backstory explaining the band’s journey from being just a bunch of high schoolers singing at weddings to getting their first record made. There’s even a few jokes tossed in as the friends tease each other during their performance, and some of the jokes genuinely had me laughing out loud. Just know that “The Bikinis” is first and foremost a mishmash of covers spanning a few decades that only dips its toes into the genres of comedy and drama.

As for the covers themselves, I’m happy to say that they are mostly top-notch. There are a few duds, but overall, I’d say the cast of exceptional vocal talent kept the show from ever feeling too boring or like it was dragging on. The show really shines when each cast member is given a chance to take the lead and sing solo.

Wydetta Carter has a particularly powerful voice that really gets to shine when she has the spotlight. Unfortunately, while each cast member sings beautifully on their own, the same cannot be said for the parts they sing together. There were a few times where they really seemed to struggle harmonizing and I couldn’t help but think that they would have been better off leaving that part to one single singer instead of all four.

Each actress in “The Bikinis” four-member cast does a tremendous job at complementing the other three. Each seems to have a specific role to fill, and each shows up and brings 100 percent to the performance. Wydetta Carter has the powerhouse lead voice, Melanie Souza has the dance moves, Catherine Fries Vaughn has the jokes and Kelly Atkins has the host personality that brings them all together. It’s genuinely fun to watch them play off one another when they’re not singing and dancing, and these moments made up some of the best parts of the musical.

While all four women are great at acting and singing, the same cannot be said about the dancing. Going into any musical, there is an expectation of a few dance numbers, but those are few and far between in “The Bikinis.” The performers spend a surprising amount of time two-stepping behind a standing mic and very rarely venture off the podium to use the rest of the stage. Even when the cast does try to step it up and bust some moves, those moves are tame at best. Souza gives it her all and helps make simple dance moves entertaining, but she can’t carry the choreography all by herself.

This lack of movement is not relegated just to the dance moves, but to the blocking as well. It was disappointing to see the cast seemingly hidden behind their mics at the back of the stage most of the musical. I’ve always enjoyed the way plays and musicals at the Hippodrome find a way to use the venue’s limited space creatively, but that same creativity was lacking in “The Bikinis.” A great performance from a cast can take a musical far, but lackluster set design, choreography and blocking can drag the final product down to something less than special, which is what I’m afraid happened with “The Bikinis.”

At the end of the day, I would not say that my time watching “The Bikinis” was time wasted. The singing was enjoyable and all the actresses were talented, but when your source material is mediocre overall, it doesn’t leave you much to work with. If a couple dozen ’60s and ’70s covers is something that peaks your interest, then by all means give “The Bikinis” a chance. But if you’re like me and that premise isn’t particularly appealing, you might be better off letting this Hippodrome production pass you by.

“The Bikinis” at the Hippodrome will run from June 1 to June 24 with seven shows a week (no shows on Mondays). Friday, June 15 is Pride Night at the Hipp, with the theatre promising something special to commemorate the event. You can buy tickets to the show here.

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