In That ’60s Show, signature tunes of the 1960s shine brightly in the talented hands of Beckie Menzie and Tom Michael. From their welcoming pairing of “Happy Together” and “Got to Get You Into My Life” to their benedictory closing which pairs “With a Little Help from My Friends” and is especially enriched by Tom Michael’s bittersweet delivery of “Softly as I Leave You” (incorporating the fascinating new dimension of parting between performer and audience), the duo finds the depth and heart of every song. Their medley of Everly Brothers tunes goes beyond pop pap: “Bye Bye Love” doesn’t sound so naïve: it’s about loss. In this interpretively gifted duo’s offering, the lyrics to “All I Have to Do Is Dream” ring with sensuality and desire. Parts of their ‘60s parody medley are quite funny: “Good Morning, Starbucks” and “By the Time I Get Some Kleenex” (“….I’ll be sneezing) are particularly so. Menzie plumbs the raw elements in “Me and Bobby McGee,”—much so —in her chest-to-the-wind piano accompaniment. That ’60s Show also reminds us that the social changes, so associated with the 1960s, continue today. When they share Dylan’s words, “Come Senators, Congressmen/Please heed the call/Don’t stand in the doorways/Don’t block up the hall,” those sentiments are as much connected to these days as they were to those ’60s.

Carla Gordon
Cabaret Scenes
April 3, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org