By It was Friday night and people were gathered to see “The Beach Café,” at the Daniel Recital Hall. During the third performance, Rebecca Butkivich took the stage. Her wardrobe looked like a five-year-old child had picked it out. She wore shiny, purple nylons and nerd-like glasses, but her performance was nothing but spectacular.
Cal State Long Beach students of the Cole Conservatory program put on “The Beach Café,” at the Daniel Recital Hall. The hall was filled with talented singers, musicians and dancers.
If you weren’t there, what a shame! The show was filled with good entertainment from beginning to end. It didn’t matter what your definition of good entertainment was, “The Beach Café” had something for everyone. Some sang to make the audience laugh, others not so much.
Butkivich performed “My New Philosophy,” along with Sean Fitzpatrick. Though Fitzpatrick was a striking young fellow, it was Butkivich’s excellent comedic timing that made the number as good as it was. She sang with character, making her performance one of the best of the night.
It seemed like “The Beach Café” was striving to make itself relatable to the times by including songs about Facebook (“Be My Friend from ‘Edges”) and text-massage breakups (“Hot Mess in Manhattan”). These numbers were downright hilarious.
And just when you thought the show couldn’t get any better, out came Becky Hasquet. She wore her heart on her sleeve and gave the audience “Oh Henry!” She had this amazing Disney Princess-like voice. She sang to an imaginary Oh Henry bar that was inside an imaginary vending machine. She kept the audience laughing and in the end received a standing ovation.
The gamut was wide. “The Beach Café” had performances for just about anyone. There were rock numbers like Desiree Quiles’ cover of Paramore’s “Misery Business,” and soul numbers like Becca Bishop’s sweet retention of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie.” And every now and then a choir would take the stage to perform an a cappella number – but if you were still looking to get your money’s worth ($10), there was more.
A gorgeous chamber choir sang “Duh Tvoy blagiv,” a gorgeous Russian-style number. There was a short skit in the middle of Act two, titled “The Odd Couple” with Margaret Boles and Catherine Faris. The two did an incredible job with their characters, delivering funny like after funny line.
“The Beach Café” was an awesome show that prided itself in being diverse, relating to any age group and any taste of music.
CSULB has real talent. The students of the CSULB’s Cole Conservatory program will be putting on another show in the spring. Be sure not to miss that one.
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