Beatniks

An incredibly ambitious and for the most part supremely successful rendering of the era of the 50s when literature and poetry were reinvented by the likes of Allen Ginsberg, Diane di Prima, Joyce Glassman, and of course Jack Kerouac. The music and lyrics are visceral and cutting, romantic and heartfelt, plaintive and forlorn. The creator/director Davia Schendel makes a strategic--and correct--decision to create a tapestry of the era rather than go deeply into the many stories that could each form their own musical.... full review

The show has a lot of talent and a lot of potential in its attempt to delve into the fascinating lives of the Beat Poet generation. ... full review

This ambitious musical salute to the creative "beat" generation born in the NYC Village during the 1950s centers on showcasing the women whose poetry and books played an important role in the movement towards self-expression. With none of the performers even alive in the 50s, somehow each manager to bring the spirit of the Beat poets to life, most recognizable being Allen Ginsburg and Jack Kerouac. In fact, this was the first time I ever heard about the contributions of the most important women in the movement.... full review

Excellent performances and good music about some fascinating characters and an interesting era.... full review

Very good show, could use some tightening up. Lots of effort and work went into this production & it shows. Having a live band is always a plus!... full review

[There were some story problems, but...] , it doesn’t need to be [perfect]… yet. This is a Fringe musical, in its second mounting (the first was in the UCLA Botanical Gardens). It still has a substantial gestation period and dramaturgy to go through prior to a major mounting. For what it is, the maturity was remarkable. The music itself was pretty strong, although a few songs sounded similar. I particularly liked the “Land of Cardigans” song about Barnard, and the number sung by Kerouac on the ukulele about the blues. For the most part, the songs seemed not to be novelty numbers; they did what songs in a musical should do — move the story along. I’ll note that the group developing this musical is all out of the UCLA Musical Theatre program; ... full review

Overall, the performances, music and costumes were well designed and really helped to establish the world and the feel of this vibrant historical time. The actual plot and characters could use more work and less generality to truly grab my heart and attention. ... full review