Years ago, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when I still lived in Northern Indiana, I was a music reviewer for a now-defunct website called Indie-Music.com. During that time, I discovered a band that would become one of my favoritest of all time, Velvet Chain.
I won’t go into their discography, their appearances on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (two!), or how I listened to Live at the Temple Bar on repeat for two years.
But hopefully you’ll understand why I was thrilled when I learned that Velvet Chain lead singer Erika Amato was in The Bikinis: A Musical Beach Party at The Winter Park Playhouse. The last I had heard, she was living in New York, and now she was down here?
I had never been to a musical review like The Bikinis before, so this was going to be a first for me.
Think of it as a one-woman show, but with four women and they all sing hits from the ’60s and ’70s.
It’s the year 2000, and sisters Jodi (Erika Amato) and Annie (Katrina Johnson), cousin Karla (Rebecca Jo Lightfoot), and best friend Barbara (Tonya Phillips Staples) are performing a benefit concert at the Sandy Shores Trailer Park Mobile Home Resort. It seems that Sandy Shores is going to be sold to greedy real estate developers to make. . . condos! (EWWWWW!)
So The Bikinis get back together, 35+ years after they formed, to raise the money to pay an attorney to fight the developers and save Sandy Shores.
During their musical beach party, the four singers tell the story about how they formed a beach music girl group in the early 1960s in Sandy Shores, New Jersey. They were going to be big stars one day, but it turns out there’s a lot to becoming a famous group, including changing tastes, changing lives, and growing up.
The Jersey Shore girl group got their start at age 14 when they sang “It’s In His Kiss” at a talent show, and things took off from there.
We learned about what life was like for four girls on the beach in the 1960s, what the movie “Beach Blanket Bingo” did to the music scene, and how that all tanked a couple years later during — and thanks to — the Summer of Love.
As they tell their story, we learn that Sandy Shore residents are evenly split about the decision whether to sell or save their homes. The greedy condo developers are offering $250,000 per home, which was a lot of money in 2000. (Today, that may get you a dozen eggs.)
Jodi thinks everyone should sell, but Annie wants everyone to stay in the home she loves. They put on their show, tell their stories, and update us on what they’ve done in the last 35 years (Karla got married to her first love; Jodi is an attorney, divorced, and has two boys; Annie put her career on hold to take care of their mother; and I don’t remember what Barbara is doing, but she did meet an old crush recently).
At the end of the show, they ask the residents of Sandy Shores to vote on their fate and future.
The vote is tied! 193 – 193.
Except there’s one vote left. One vote to decide the fate of the entire Sandy Shores Trailer Park Mobile Home Resort. One vote will decide which 50% of the Resort is going to be unhappy with what happens.
It turns out that Jodi — Take the Money and Run Jodie — is the deciding vote, the one who will decide to fight the developers or accept their huge offer. But she’s having doubts. Will she vote with her heart and save Sandy Shores, or will she vote with her head, and make $250,000 for each resident of Sandy Shores?
If you want to find out which way she voted, you’ll have to go to the Winter Park Playhouse at 711 Orange Ave. between now and February 22 to find out.
(Hint: It’s a feel-good musical. How do you think it turned out?)
The singing was amazing and all four women could carry a show in their own right. When I was a music reviewer at Indie-Music.com, I specialized in reviewing women singers of all genres. I’m still pretty good at it, so I knew I was hearing four stellar performances by four talented women. (My favorite was still Erika though; Team Velvet Chain forever!)
While I didn’t grow up in the early 1960s, I certainly recognized all the songs they performed in the first half of the performance. And I’ll bet nearly the entire audience knew those songs from their own teenage years.
But it was when they got to Act Two and the 1970s that the music really came alive for me. I was a kid in the 1970s and my mom loved most of the songs The Bikinis performed, especially Melissa Manchester’s “Midnight Blue.”
As they sang it, I flashed back to playing in my living room in Muncie, Indiana, while she sang along with Melissa on the record player. “And I think we can make it/One more time/If we try.”
It was a sweet way to remember her, years later, and it choked me up a bit to suddenly remember that song and her voice. Thank you, Bikinis, for the nice memories.
It doesn’t matter if you grew up listening to these songs, or listened as your parents or grandparents played them, fondly recalling their own summer fun. The Bikinis is a great show for anyone who remembers or dreamed of having fun in the sun, playing on the beach, and listening to memorable music that everyone knows even today.
Cast and Crew
- Jodi – Erika Amato
- Annie – Katrina Johnson
- Karla – Rebecca Jo Lightfoot
- Barbara – Tonya Phillips Staples
- Director – Desiree Montes
- Music Director – Christopher Leavy
Remaining Showtimes and Tickets for The Biknis
- Sat, Feb 1st, 2025 at 7:30 pm
- Sun, Feb 2nd, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Thu, Feb 6th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Fri, Feb 7th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Fri, Feb 7th, 2025 at 7:30 pm
- Sat, Feb 8th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Sat, Feb 8th, 2025 at 7:30 pm
- Sun, Feb 9th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Wed, Feb 12th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Thu, Feb 13th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Fri, Feb 14th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Fri, Feb 14th, 2025 at 7:30 pm
- Sat, Feb 15th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Sat, Feb 15th, 2025 at 7:30 pm
- Sun, Feb 16th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Wed, Feb 19th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Thu, Feb 20th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Fri, Feb 21st, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Fri, Feb 21st, 2025 at 7:30 pm
- Sat, Feb 22nd, 2025 at 2:00 pm
- Sat, Feb 22nd, 2025 at 7:30 pm
Ticket prices
- $47 Adult Evening
- $45 Senior Evening (62 and over)
- $42 Matinee (All Adults)
- $20 Industry (Theatrical Industry)
- $20 Student (15-25 years old – ID Required)*
- $20 Active Military (ID Required)
*Students must be at least 15 years old to be admitted to a Mainstage performance.
Special Rates:
- $23 Thursday Night & Friday Matinee Preview (Opening Week)
- $2 off Groups of 10 or more (for regularly priced tickets)
Photo credit: Winter Park Playhouse