After a successful run of sold-out shows last year, Respect: the Women, Their Music, Their Stories has returned to the Omaha Community Playhouse. This two-hour musical event features notable songs from some of the most influential female voices from the 1960s to the 1980s. The performances will have audiences dancing in (and out) of their seats.
At the show’s preview on June 8th, the audience was packed and buzzing with energy and not subdued when the houselights came down. That high energy remained through the duration of the show.
Respect did not call for extravagant design concepts for the stage and costumes. Jim Othuse’s simplistic scenic design served the show and was elevated by his lighting design. Lindsay Pape’s costume designs were period appropriate. The performers wore short, 60s style dresses in bright colors for the first act and changed into stunning floor-length gowns for the second act.
The show truly began with each of the seven performers introducing themselves and their sounds with verses from Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.” The show was less of a play and more of a concert. In between songs, the performers told the audience about the female musicians, giving notable facts or anecdotes. This dialogue, while insightful, felt over-rehearsed and unnatural. But this show is really not about the dialogue; it’s all about the music.
The show runs approximately two hours with a brief intermission. For those two hours, the performers were giving the audience everything that they had, and the audience was loving it. People in the crowd were standing, clapping, and dancing throughout the performance. One song that really got the audience out of their seats was DJ Tyree’s rendition of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary.” The energy both on and off stage was high.
The upbeat songs were not the only ones to impress the audience. Personal favorites include Gladys Knight & the Pip’s “Midnight Train to Georgia” performed by Dani Cleveland and Jon Hickerson and Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” sung by Doriette Jordan.
Both acts ended with the performers and the audiences singing along to the titular “Respect” by Aretha Franklin. Music fans both young and old will love this fast-paced, high-energy celebration of the female musicians who defined music for decades.
Performances run through Sunday, June 25. For tickets and more information, visit omahaplayhouse.com
