wordplay: orangepeelmoses.com
image: Terry Shapiro 

    It may be hard to put a price tag on one’s memories, but that won’t stop nostalgia connoisseurs from assigning a specific dollar amount.  Face it, memory lane is a toll road and people happily fork out good money to relive their rose-tinted youth.  The good news for baby boomers is that 50s girl group homage The Taffetas does it justice…as far as I know.  A nod to one time real life girl groups like The Chordettes, The Fontaine Sisters and The Maguire Sisters, The Taffetas channels four singing siblings making their “Spotlight on Music” television debut.  Reyna Von Vett, Elizabeth Welch, Juliana Black and Melinda Dickson play flesh and blood goody two shoes Kaye, Peggy, Cheryl and Donna, respectively.  Early on, Donna innocently implies there’s a certain famous horse tuned into the program.  Her sisters are quick to clear up any confusion regarding the identity of the influential individual viewer in question.  Regardless, the humorous tone has been set.  Then again, the dialogue’s primary function here is either breaking up the musical numbers, or tying them together.  And it’s got its work cut out for it, as The Taffetas running time is chock full of four part harmonies.  The only breaks other than dialogue come in the form of commercials, mostly for products you can’t even buy anymore. 

Even still, The Taffetas is a real “kick” to sit through.  Although all four dames alternate on lead vocals, Dickson’s Donna is unforgettable for a number of scenes including one where she dances on the grand piano and another where she dons a coonskin cap and brandishes a shotgun.  She really “razzed our berries,” for sure.                            

Tuesday-Sunday @ Garner Galleria Theatre

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