Bombshells

I flew to Miami to attend the world premiere of the new musical, Bombshells, book, lyrics and music by Jeannette Hopkins, and found a terrific show with a powerful theme: communion among women. The original stories are in the book, "Dish and Tell: Life, Love and Secrets," by the Miami Bombshells, a group of six women who met to interact and share their ongoing experiences. Hopkins took the tales and added sharp dialogue, lively original melodies, and lots of humor. The jokes range from chuckles to guffaws.

The show has a good-looking cast of pro singers with voices that fill the theater, and the material ranges from a number about what it means to be a stepmother to a hilarious one about sex toys to a very moving section in Act Two about the death of a parent. It has a great universality to it, and it's all well staged by director David Arisco, with fine arrangements by Artie Butler.

This is a first-rate theme musical, and Hopkins is a Broadway-level, smart, funny, insightful song writer who can twist words with great originality and flair.