Disco rules!
TAG rocks the 80s
by Christopher Key
Hindsight isn’t always 20-20. Sometimes it provides a soft focus lens that makes a rather painful decade seem more palatable. Skagit County’s Theatre Arts Guild proves that nostalgia is even better than it used to be with their production of Back to the 80s, opening this weekend at McIntyre Hall in Mount Vernon.
Director Jane Skinner has done the impossible: make that decade a fond remembrance rather than a source of cringing embarrassment. She does it with a huge cast of (mostly) young actors who generate enough energy to light Las Vegas for a year.
Appropriately enough, the music, lyrics and book were all written by an Aussie named Neil Gooding. He doesn’t quote from his fellow countrymen and 80s icons The Bee Gees, but one has to suspect a certain influence.
The rock-solid backbone of this show comes from an awesome band led by Musical Director Dave Lyon and his wife Shelly. They’re the Northwest’s answer to the Captain and Tenille. Except, of course, they’ve got soul.
There are so many outstanding performances in this show that I dread leaving someone out who deserves mention. But that’s what I get the big bucks for and fools rush in, as they say.
Andrew Azure serves as the narrator of the show, looking back on his rather traumatic high school days with the perspective of relative maturity. His younger self is portrayed with charming awkwardness by Peter Grace. The unattainable object of his high school affections is Tiffany, an 80s name if ever there was one. Rylee Small delivers a sensitive performance as the cheerleader who gets shafted by the jock.
Don't worry. Be happy. Skagit County's Theatrical Arts Guild makes the 1980s seem like a smiley face. Photo credit - Christopher Key
That jock is played by Jeff Huschka with swaggering bluster. His Gang of Four is wonderfully subservient, but Gabe Guevara stands out by channeling Vinnie Barbarino to perfection.
Tiffany’s cheerleader cohort, Cyndi, is the ultimate Material Girl. Olivia Shrum is as snarky as they come and does something Madonna never managed to do. She can act.
No 80s high school class would be complete without a nerd and Derrek Larson takes the role delightfully over the top. His girl geek comrades are Selena Tibert and Ashley Hanson, both totally rad.
Is there a fascinating new girl in school? Of course. And she’s played by the always astonishing Emily Lester. Just to complicate matters, there’s also a romance between two of the faculty members. Lindsey Bowen is sensationally hot as the teacher the male students fantasize about and Tim Brown is the equally hot object of the female students’ dreams.
The choreography is brilliant and was created by Terence Kelley. Vocal coach Aaron Wagner deserves immense accolades for making this group sound like Broadway professionals. Steven Craig’s set design utilizes the McIntyre stage to the fullest and is handled by a very accomplished backstage crew.
This is the first TAG show I’ve had the privilege to review and I hope it won’t be the last. Make your reservations now by calling the McIntyre Hall box office at 360-416-7727 or 866-624-6897. You can order online at www.mcintyrehall.org.
Back to the 80s plays April 9-18 and will make you believe that we actually had fun way back then.
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