69 is worth a go!

Sometimes a show is so charming, so carefree and so joyfully performed that it breaks through every bad mood in the theater and reminds everyone—even those determined not to enjoy themselves—of what’s so great about the stage.

’69: The Sexual Revolution Musical is just such a show.

The entire production began as Don Horn’s—the founder of Triangle Productions and the writer/director of ’69—epiphany that the well-known guide to puberty Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask) would make for a thoroughly entertaining musical. Unfortunately, copyright laws stood between Don’s screenplay and its world premiere. A few tweaks later, ’69 was born.

Despite its scrambling, second-thought origins, the 1969 theme works well. For starters, Everything was published in 1969, which allows the script to incorporate the book without stretching too far. And in 1969, the NBC comedy sketch series Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In—to which ’69‘s set is a loving throwback—was at its pop culture peak. The infamous year is also responsible for the composers’ (note: there are four composers) use of the sitar (more of a nod to Revolver than the Indian subcontinent) and funk grooves, as well as the costumer’s fringe vests and beehive wigs.

What absolutely makes this show, though, is the cast and how much fun it’s having onstage. Steven Nash’s smile is as huge and endearing as they come (and it doesn’t quit for the entirety of ’69); Tom Stewart is the most lovable peeping tom with VD in the Portland Metro area; and Courtney Freed rocks the part of the red-haired temptress while delivering the show’s most impressive vocals.

Most notable, however, are Susannah Mars and Gary Wayne Cash—easily two of the most gifted stage performers in Portland, Ore. Each is fabulous in their own right (Mars, in particular, works the crowd in her solo number about menopause titled “Why Me?”), but the pair is responsible for ’69‘s stand-out scenes: the game show sketch “Wink at Your Wanker!” and the closing song about geriatric life and love once the sex is gone.

With its five actors playing something like 30 different roles, ’69 does lack a clear storyline or arc. However, the show is short—running only one hour and 20 minutes—and it holds the audience’s attention rapt until the final bow. It seems the mash-up of short scenes and the barely-there linearity are not detrimental to the production’s success but are, rather, contributing factors; in the end, ’69 is overwhelmingly refreshing.

On opening night there were issues with the lighting design (namely, the spotlight was either broken, incorrectly-timed or comically off-cue), but that can and will be corrected.

While this musical is most appealing to the parental generation, its humor is smart enough (and its cast engaging enough) to win over audience members of all ages. Anyone under 15, however, would probably be happiest left at home—preferably with a copy of the book that served as ’69‘s muse.