Exciting ‘Back to the 80s’ opens at Excel Centre, Tipperary Town

Following on from the wonderful success of last year’s production Sister Act, The Excel Youth Theatre Group are back on the stage of the Simon Ryan Auditorium in the Excel Centre in Tipperary Town this evening Wednesday, August 2 for their latest production Back to the 80’s. A pop culture trip down memory lane, Back to the 80’s tells the story of Corey Palmer and his senior year of high school: his best friends, the class bully, and the girl he loves.

In the present day, Corey takes us back to William Ocean High School, watching himself and his friends Kirk and Alf start their bid to be senior class president and vice-presidents, only to have the opportunity stolen by bully Michael Feldman. To make Corey’s life worse, Michael has also stolen away Tiffany Houston, Corey’s longtime crush. But this isn’t the only relationship on the rocks: teachers Mr. Cocker and Ms. Brannigan are fighting in their not-so-secret romance, Michael is posing as new girl Eileen’s mysterious secret admirer, and Tiffany’s friend Cyndi doesn’t want to give admirer Billy the time of day.

Add in a charity concert for Africa, a Star Wars- inspired dream sequence, and a final showdown between Michael and class geek Feargal McFerrin, and Back to the 80’s is a non-stop collection of music for all ages. The jukebox score includes a wide variety of popular hits such as “Video Killed the Radio Star,” “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” “Love Shack,” “Footloose,” and “The Time of My Life.”
Directed by Michael O’Donoghue, Chorus Mistress and Assistant Director is Nicole Butler and Choreographer is Ellie O’Donnell.

The show features many well-known local teenagers who have been prominent in previous productions of the Excel Youth Theatre Group, together with lots of new faces who are making their debut in this production of Back to the 80’s, including 17 year old Madeline Blackwell as Tiffany. Madeline starred as Deloris in last year’s Sister Act and was recently awarded the AIMS Best Actress Award for her performance as Esmerelda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Tipperary Musical Society.

Tickets for Back to the 80’s are currently on sale at Tipperary’s Excel Box Office in Tipperary Town. (062) 80520