Back to the 80s

The difficulty with juke box musicals, I feel, is that plot and characters have to be developed from the songs, rather than the other way round.  Constructing a musical from a limited selection of songs can put an impossible strain on the narrative thread.  Neil Gooding’s “Back to the 80s” largely avoids this problem by allowing itself a whole decade of chart hits to choose from, and then showcasing them in an American High School setting filled with stereotypes familiar from popular culture.  None of the characters here are especially complex, but that’s an advantage when you only have a week to explore them in rehearsal.  What you have is a show packed with fantastic pop songs and 80s nostalgia, and Odyssey Youth’s staging of it was a wonderful evening’s entertainment.

The band was excellent throughout, really capturing the essence of the many iconic songs in the show.  The musicians were sat on a raised platform at the very back of the stage, behind an open framework of LED strip lights.  These were used very creatively to frame individual singers, to form digital numbers in the style of a calculator display, and much else besides.  The flexible space in front of the stage included two raised platforms, which were intelligently used for more intimate scenes as well as to separate out featured singers in ensemble numbers.  There was little call for school-specific scenery or properties, but the set of lockers was exactly right.

With such a generic background the 80s look had to be conjured up through costumes and make-up.  They did not disappoint.  We were given all the requisite athletic team jackets, geeky sleeveless sweaters, denim co-ordinates and even a pair of leg warmers in typically garish colours; I particularly liked Mel and Kim’s oversized T-shirts, broad belts and patterned leggings.  Hair and make-up reflected the look of the times; signature “big hair” wasn’t much in evidence, but there were nods to the asymmetric and spiky designs that were also popular in the 80s.  The styling of the principals was further enhanced by a few period properties, notably an early mobile phone!

The whole company sang their way through the 80s repertory with gusto; the lyrics came over clearly, although this was perhaps helped by their familiarity, and even the most technically challenging melodies were performed with admirable accuracy.  The dance routines often made repeated use of some base steps, but were executed with precision; there were a few opportunities for the most capable dancers to show off their skills, such as the gymnastic moves on display amongst the cheerleaders, and the balletic interlude.

The show was the culmination of just a week’s intensive rehearsal, and the director and his production team did wonderfully well to achieve so much with this talented in company in so little time.  The ensemble numbers were often both effective and affecting: “We Are The World” featured some strong unaccompanied singing and a trademark tableau finish.  The curtain calls were unusually complex, with snippets of appropriate musical numbers accompanying the principals’ bows, and the standing ovation given to the company at the final curtain was very well deserved.

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