Students go 'Back to the 80s'

Cavan audiences with an appetite for student musical are about to be served up some fine fayre as Transition Year students from three of the county town schools present an exciting and entertaining show.

‘Back To The 80s’ is a musical by Neil Gooding and it will be performed by students of St Patrick’s College Cavan, Loreto College Cavan and the Royal School, every night from April 10-13 in St Patrick’s College Cavan.

 

 

From the era that brought the world the Rubik’s Cube, Max Headroom and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles this is a show with a little something for everyone. In the style of movies such as Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Karate Kid, Back to the 80s is a nostalgic romp through the greatest hits of the decade.
The show following the trial and tribulations of the protagonist, seventeen-year-old Corey, who is madly in love with his next-door neighbour, Tiffany Houston. She is one of the coolest girls in the school, but she is too busy mooning over Michael Feldman, the hottest guy around.
Michael and his friends are athletic and good looking – the kind of guys that Corey and his two best friends dream of being. However, while they may not be the coolest guys in school, they are still one up on Feargal McFerrin, III, whose best friend is his computer and who believes the crazy notion that one day, CDs will replace cassette tapes.
Throw in a Star Wars dream sequence, high-energy dance routines, the obligatory 80s party scene, copious amounts of blue eye-shadow, twenty cans of hairspray, as well as some of the most popular songs ever written, and the result is a musical that will delight and amuse audiences of any age.
“Excited more than nervous at this stage,” Gwen Brady show director says of her charges as they commenced their dress rehearsal on Monday morning. 
“It’s basically a High School Musical. It literally takes people back to the 80s by following the life of a senior High School student and the ups and downs of his year,” Gwen explained. 
The director said there has been a lot of effort put in so far: “It’s a universal story and the music is a key driver of the story. Featured songs include Footloose, Time Of My Life, Walking On Sunshine, Dancing On The Ceiling and Kids In America. Our cast are mostly transition year students from St Patrick’s College Cavan, Loreto College Cavan, and the Royal School.”
The job of musical director for the show falls to Ciarán Tackney. The set has been created by the Art and Construction Department of the school under the guidance of Leon Lynch and Declan Burns.
The Cavan schools’ production comes complete with an impressive trailer on YouTube featuring some fancy footwork by members of the cast: “The promo was put together by tradition year student Conor Gannon. It’s just to build the excitement about it. We have posters gone up around the town. There has been massive excitement, rehearsals have been ongoing since last October. They have upped the gears in the last couple of weeks,” Gwen explained.
“It’s going to be a great nights entertainment and will really appeal to a very wide audience. We are hoping that as many people as possible come along to support the students, because it really is a wonderful show,” the director concluded.
Tickets are €10 and are available from Eason, Cavan and the school office in St Patrick’s College Cavan. Show starts 8pm, doors open 7:30pm.