Young performers go ‘Back to the 80s’ in musical

Photos: Back to the 80's rehearsal

Ohio’s abundance of water parks makes it easy to melt away your cares
10:55 a.m.
Taste of Cincinnati expected to draw 500,000 people
5/24/12
Local ingredients key for bartender
5/16/12
Hamilton theater group presents ‘History of America’
5/16/12
How well do you know Kings Island?
5/13/12
> More headlines

By Eric Robinette, Staff Writer Updated 4:35 PM Tuesday, July 20, 2010

HAMILTON — Someone already invented a hot tub time machine, so instead, Encore Youth Theatre came up with a jukebox time machine.

The company, which every summer unites kids from several Hamilton-area school districts to put on a high-quality stage show, this year presents “Back to the 80s.”

Depending on the era one lives in, that’s the equivalent of either accelerating a Delorean to 88 miles per hour, or taking your MP3 player, selecting an 80s mix and hitting “shuffle.”

The show plays at 8 p.m. July 29 through 31 and also at 2 p.m., on July 31 at Parrish Auditorium at Miami University Hamilton.

The title of “Back to the 80s” is an homage to “Back to the Future.” The typeface of the title on the script matches that of the film, and there’s even a Delorean on stage. However, the show is not literally a time travel story. As the director's assistant, Jonathan Kuhl, explained, the show doesn’t have much of a plot per se.

“It’s about this middle-aged man who flashes back to his senior year, kind of. I think of it as ‘Saved by the Bell’ when (lead character) Zack would stop the action and talk to the audience. It’s a very high energy show with popular 80s songs.”

They include “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” “Man in the Mirror,” “Kids in America,” “Material Girl,” “Footloose,” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us” and “Walking on Sunshine,” among others.”

This being a high school show, the cast is divided into cliques, including the “All American kids,” the jocks, the nerds and the popular cheerleaders.

Katelyn Fox, who just graduated from Hamilton High School, plays the head cheerleader, while Olivia Yokers, also a recent Hamilton High graduate, plays the new girl in town.

“Everyone can find themselves in this show,” said Yokers who pointed out that the cliques get their own numbers. For instance, the nerds sing “Video Killed the Radio Star,” which, as every trivia buff knows, is the song that launched MTV, back in the decade when they played videos. The cheerleaders get to sing Toni Basil’s “Mickey,” whose video featured cheerleaders.

Director Chris Beiser said “There are 26 songs with an 80s mega-mix at the end. You get your money’s worth. It’s just mindless summer fun,”

The music is “so familiar to people. Even if you weren’t born in the 80s, the 80s songs are around today,” Fox said.

Kuhl echoed those sentiments, saying he wasn’t sure at first if he would know all the tunes.

“When I figured out what songs were in it I said, ‘I know all these songs, and I wasn’t alive in the 80s!” he said.

Tickets for the show cost $15 for adults and $12 for children under 12 and seniors. Call (513) 675-5437 for tickets.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2836 or erobinette@coxohio.com.