“The Bop She Bops!” will take the stage from Thursday through Saturday at the Ohio Theatre.
Submitted Photo from the Ohio Theatre
LIMA — The newest musical to take the Ohio Theatre stage will feature pop songs from ’60s girl groups, a load of talent on display and a message that might hit home.
Theatre co-owners Michael Bouson and Joe Correll developed “The Bop She Bops!” in their Nashville days and are set to bring an updated version to the stage with three 7:30 p.m. shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the theatre’s main auditorium.
“I think one of the things the audience will be most impressed with is our performers performing all of the music live on stage,” Bouson said. “Our cast is pre-recording some tracks to play along with, but all of the instrumentation is being done by them. And the talent we have lined up for the show is very impressive.”
The talented cast, featuring two mother-daughter duos, includes Stacee Brown, Tryna Brown, Danielle Denison, Kristin Lee and Virgo Lee as a group of women who come together to perform at a fundraiser.
“It’s astonishing to me that these women are here in Ohio with this immense talent and tremendous musical education and they’re sharing it with an audience,” Bouson said. “Some of the songs sound just like recordings. The costumes are hilarious with beehive wigs in the second act. We’re never mocking because the whole point of the show is female empowerment and how it is contrary today to what it was in the ’60s.”
The music provides an interesting backdrop for a narrative that shows women claiming their legacies as female entertainers and putting their own spin on the music.
“If the audience takes away anything other than a smile on their face and sore feet from dancing, it should be that you should never underestimate the power of a woman, especially in a group of five or more,” Bouson said. “They can accomplish anything and they will. These women are so talented and funny and they execute the jokes we’ve written for them so brilliantly.”
Bouson said the show was almost forgotten from the first time he and Correll put it on stage in Nashville because of involvement with a bigger production at the same time.
“This is one of those forgotten gems that we dug out of the trunk and revisited,” he said. “We figured out how to make it with a message for today’s audience and for these specific women and I’m really proud of what we’ve come up with. It’s super fun and touching in places and there are quite a few surprises.”
The entertainment will not be the only thing to look forward to, as the dinner theatre will also offer a menu based on meals cooked by ’60s housewives, with a twist.
“We’ll have homecooked meals for the buffets featuring meatloaf, shredded chicken over mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, corn and green beans and all those familiar favorites,” Bouson said. “It’s very high end and it’s not something you’re going to get anywhere else. But I think that just adds to the whole evening if you’re eating the same food the characters would eat.”
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Ohio Theatre website at bit.ly/3XwlfOn.
Only three performances will be available, but if they sell out, the theatre will stage the show again following its summer break.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
