Musical takes fans back to the eighties
By John Earp
Last week in the Jal High School Auditorium, the JHS Drama Department put on their first ever musical, “Back to the 80’s.” The students and staff involved in the production invested several months of hard work preparing for the performances, which were on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. Set in fictional William Ocean High School, the story was of classic teenaged high school themes of romance, social life, and music, including also some heartache, betrayal, unkindness and pettiness. For those among the audience who actually went through high school back in the 1980s, the musical numbers constituted a walk (or dance) down memory lane. The show was a lot of fun to watch, and the students and staff participating all seemed to have a lot of fun performing it for the audience.
As all musicals do, the performance told a story, punctuated by numerous hit songs from the 1980s. These included, “Kids in America,” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Mickey,” “”Video Killed the Radio Star,” “Believe It or Not,” “Let’s Hear It For the Boy,” “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Man in the Mirror,” “Love Shack,” “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” “Walking on Sunshine,” “Centerfold,” “Lost in Your Eyes,” “Never Gonna Give You Up,” “Material Girl,” “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” and “I’ve Had The Time of My Life.” Soloists included Luna Garay, Grace Earp, Miranda Olivo, Ethan O’Rear, Damien Maes, Sebastian Zavala, Ebany Aguilar, Cadi Richard, April Peugh, Geoff Hess (who also served as Director), Luis Amador, Jorge Duran, Ezequiel Diaz, Abraham Vasquez, and Miki Savoie. Ensemble singers included Yocelin Avila, Sasha Price, Jose Barazarte, Angel Contreras, Solyeli Ramos, Edwin Lucero, Neveillene Vega, and Maria Martinez.
Production assistance came from numerous students, staff, and parents. Alyssa Cervantes and Geoff Hess ran the sound. Angelina Diaz, Rihanna Rangel, Gysselle Garcia, and Geoff Hess ran the lights. Jayden Walker ran the curtains. Choreography was directed by Miranda Olivo. Vocals were coached by Terri Ragland, Miki Savoie and Geoff Hess. Lights and technology were handled by Shelley Snow. Hair and makeup was accomplished in a collaborative effort by Miki Savoie, Jaime Earp and Gina Muniz. Taylah Mata put together the programs.
Director Geoff Hess expressed his “tremendous gratitude to all parents, staff, students, administrators and everyone else that contributed to making our show a success.”
The next musical by JHS Drama (which you definitely won’t want to miss!) will be the classic 70s movie and musical, “Grease,” depicting high school life in the 1950s.