This Year’s Bentley Musical is ‘BEEHIVE – The 60s Musical’ The show runs from March 9-11 in Keller Theatre on the W&L Campus.
The Department of Theater, Dance and Film Studies and the Department of Music at Washington and Lee University are pleased to present their annual Robert O. and Elizabeth M. Bentley musical “BEEHIVE – The 60s Musical.” Performances will take place in the Keller Theatre on the W&L campus on March 9-10 at 7:30 p.m. and on March 11 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are required. You can order your tickets online or call the Lenfest Center box office at 540-458-800. Box office hours are Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
BEEHIVE is a non-stop, energetic celebration that uses music to tell the story of six young women coming of age in the 1960s. A love letter to girl power, the show spotlights the powerful female voices of the decade with timeless hits including “My Boyfriend’s Back,” “Be My Baby,” “Chain of Fools,” and “Proud Mary.” But beyond the contagious songs, BEEHIVE also highlights the struggles of the decade and asks the audience to consider whether we are still fighting some of these same battles 60 years later.
Written by Larry Gallagher, the script gives the six women the freedom to be multidimensional characters who are simultaneously kind but selfish, short-sighted but generous, and who experience successes and failures as they grow up and learn what it means to be a woman living in a tumultuous decade.
“Women’s empowerment, and specifically the idea of women not as a monolith but as independent humans who love and live and want different things, drew me to this play,” said Jenefer Davies, chair of the Department of Theater, Dance, and Film Studies and artistic director of the W&L Repertory Dance Company. “The music the women sing is a shared soundtrack of their lives, but even as the music evolves throughout the 1960s and the girls themselves grow and change, they accept and love one another. They are the original girl squad.”
The show is directed and choreographed by Davies, with musical direction by W&L music lecturer Patrick Summers. Leading the cast as the BEEHIVE girls are Kate Fisher ‘23, Ana Montano Martinez ‘25, Cate Brien ‘26, Elise McPherson ‘26, Meaghan Endres ‘26 and Zaria Daniels ‘26, with Mikie Sanchez ‘26 and Christy Childs ‘26 featured as dancers, and Alec Sirois ’25 as the DJ. Daniel Reiter ‘26 is the assistant director, Emily Moran ’23 serves as the backstage manager, and Michael Allen ’23 and Noah Shelton ‘25 are playing as part of the band.
As of March 1, the Lenfest Center’s ticketing system, AudienceView, is down for an indeterminate period of time. Upcoming performance reservations are being taken by the Box Office. Patrons can contact the Box Office in person during operating hours, or by calling 540-458-8000 or emailing boxoffice@wlu.edu. The Box Office will need a performance date and time to reserve, as well as the patron’s contact information and email address. The box office hours are Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
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