Back to the ‘80s play to be performed by youth theatre

THG/Julie FInk
The cast of the youth recreation theatre’s Back to the ‘80s.

The youth summer play titled Back to the ‘80s by David Spicer Publications, sponsored by the Hammonton Parks and Recreation Department, promises to provide a fun filled evening for everyone.
Children from first through twelfth grade will perform at the Hammonton High School Performing Arts Center on September 11, 12 and 13 at 7 p.m.
Back to the ‘80s is a musical memoir narrative told through the eyes of Corey Palmer, a senior of William Ocean High School, who is now in his 30s.
The audience is treated to experience the fun, the heartbreak, the loves and the loneliness as the students of William Ocean High School live out their senior year all set to the biggest hits of the ‘80s, according to www.davidspicer.com.
Some of the songs to be performed include “Material Girl,” “Walking On Sunshine,” “Kids In America,” “Love Shack,” “Total Eclipse Of The Heart,” “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go,” “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” “Video Killed The Radio Star,” “Footloose” and many more.
According to Committee Member Mary Young, the play, is set up like the popular 1980s television show “The Wonder Years.”
Then 17-year-old Palmer, played by Harrison Hitman, is madly in love with his next-door neighbor and one of the coolest girls in the school, Tiffany Houston, played by Brianna Delash.
However, Houston barely notices this, as she is too busy mooning over the hottest guy around, Michael Feldman.
Feldman is an athlete and good looking, the kind of guy that Palmer and his friends wish they could be.
However, while they may not be the coolest guys in school, they are not Feargal McFerrin III, played by Ryan Young.
McFerrin’s best friend is his computer and is the school nerd and spreads stories of a world one day that has CDs and the World Wide Web, Young said.
According to Young, the play treats the audience to fun and high-powered dance performances, and through the play they become in-tuned to the realization by Corey Sr., played by Nick Peterson, that his high school years were really not as bad as they seemed.
“Once it was all over, he realizes that the things he experienced were not as much of an issue as he thought,” she said.
The 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 make this musical performance one that will delight and amuse an audience of any age, according to the website www.davidspicer.com.
Director Lynn Pistone is an alumni of the program and feels that it is an exciting experience to come back and direct.
“The tables have turned now and I am directing the children that were younger than me in the program who were watching me perform. Now I can help them perform and they can bring my vision to life making the program bigger and better than it had been,” Pistone said.
According to Pistone, the play will transport the audience back in time when they were growing up in the ‘80s. They will recognize the songs and the fashion.
“The message of the play is that although they may have lost touch with friends from high school, the memories will allow those times to live on. Those memories will always be with you,” she said.
Pistone is a graduate of Washington College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree.
She has an extensive background in theatre, as well as, television and film with appearances on an episode of “The Sopranos,” an HBO series and in the movie Inside Man by Universal Pictures.
Ashley Brimgfield is the Assistant Director and is presently attending school to complete her degree.
She has an extensive background in both theatre and film, having appeared in several films including Reality Bites by SNJAPA Films, The Happening by 20th Century Fox and The Lovely Bones by Wingnut Films.
“They both have performed in many theatre presentations and started performing with the recreation theatre while they were in grammar school. So it is nice to have them continue their career and return to now direct and assistant direct our performances,” Young said.
The Stage Manager for Back to the ‘80s is Dana Giglio, a graduate of Albright College with a degree in Stage Management. The musical directors are Josh Totora, with a Bachelors of Arts in Theatre from Rowan University and Harriet Lombardelli, the music teacher at Warren E. Sooy Elementary.
The Hammonton Parks and Recreation Department sponsors a play each summer with a cast of first through twelfth graders, according to Young.
“Everyone gets a part. If the kids come out they will get a part,” she said.
The program has provided her own son a foundation of encouragement and excitement.
“It is a program that has had a wonderful impact to my son’s life. It is a great intergenerational thing. The older kids take the younger ones under their wing; it is a wonderful thing to see,” she said.
The youth recreation theatre program is run by committee members Mary Young, Jeff Young, Larry and Lisa Peterson.
Tickets for Back to the ‘80s are $10 general admission and $8 for seniors. They will be sold at the door.