Big Hits, Big Hair

The '60s are stereotyped as the era of hippies and flower power, but that stuff didn't sprout until 1969. There were nine full years of non-hippie '60s, and the early years were dominated — musically speaking — by the girl group. The Shirelles and the Supremes reigned, um, supreme in those years, followed by the more soulful women of Motown such as Aretha Franklin and the primal rock & soul force of nature that is Tina Turner; then came Janis Joplin and the wave of hippie chicks. Beehive the '60s Musical celebrates the entire gamut of female songstresses with 40 songs from the era, two of which were written especially for the revue. The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis ends its season on a series of high notes with Beehive, which plays Tuesday through Sunday (March 16 through April 10) on the Browning Mainstage at the Loretto-Hilton Center (130 Edgar Road; 314-968-4925 or www.repstl.org). Tickets are $18.50 to $73.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: March 16. Continues through April 10, 2011