Packemin Youth Takes Chatswood Back to the 80’s

Following the success of their inaugural sell-out production, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Packemin Youth Productions returns in 2016 with the musical Back to the 80’s, featuring over 60 talented young Sydney performers and special guest star Mark Simpson(Hairspray, The Rocky Horror Show) as Mr Cocker. This musical includes favourite hits from the 80’s including ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, ‘Man In the Mirror’, ‘500 Miles’, ‘Love Shack’, ‘Kids In America’, ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’, ‘Footloose’, ‘Material Girl’, ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go’ and more.

Join Corey Palmer and the graduating class of William Ocean High School as they live through their final senior year. Experience with them all the highs and lows of growing up; the fun, the heartbreak and the teenage angst - think Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Karate Kid and The Wedding Singer!

Set in 1980’s USA and against a backdrop of the biggest pop hits of the time, Back to the 80’sis the ultimate throwback to the era that brought you the Rubik’s Cube, Max Headroom and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. This totally awesome musical will take you on a journey back to a time when bubble skirts and blue eye shadow were cool and Michael Jackson and Rick Astley were the Kings of Pop.

Writer / Producer Neil Gooding explains his inspiration for Back to the 80’s.

“I was walking with a friend through the streets of Melbourne when I heard one of the biggest hits of the 80’s (I think it might have been ‘Footloose’), and it occurred to me that nobody had actually written a musical at that point in time using the songs of that era. This was prior to movies like The Wedding Singer etc, but I just felt like the cycle was about to start where the 80’s would suddenly move from being viewed with disdain, to them becoming retro and adored again. That night, I went home and wrote down every movie, song, TV show and pop culture icon that stood out to me from my childhood. Then, the rest all just started to fall into line. I looked at all the teen movies of the 80’s, and most of them had almost the same set of characters, and basic plot lines. So, this was the basis of the stage show.”

And does the show reflect his own great fashion and hairstyle moments from the eighties?

“It may surprise you to find out that I was a very unfashionable teenager.  One thing that has always stuck with me was the Hypercolour T-shirts. They were just the most ridiculous idea. Particularly when people were still wearing them even after they had stopped being Hypercolour. But I never actually owned one of them. My least favourite attempt to be fashionable was definitely when I decided to try and get a “prickle cut” in about year 8 because a lot of other people were doing it. This was basically where you got your hair to about medium to length, and then just put gel in it until it stood straight up. Mine looked ridiculous, and had fallen down by about 10am each day!!”

Director Jordan Vassallo says of working with all the aspiring performers and creators in this Packemin Youth production, “It is so rewarding to see a new generation start a love affair for the theatre and performance. Every time we audition a new cast I am constantly blown away by the calibre of talent we have to choose from.

“Since joining the creative team during The Wizard of Oz, I have seen over the years some performers develop and improve with every audition. Their passion for the arts burns so bright that you can see it in everything they do on stage.

“As the director it is such a joy to know that what we are creating in the rehearsal room is not only a great show for the audience, but amazing memories and moments that the cast and crew will draw from over and over again.” 

And Jordan’s favourite eighties fashions and hair?

“Favourite hair has to be the Mullet. However as I am Maltese and have curly hair, I prefer the Cullet aka the ‘curly mullet.’ Fashion trend would have to be the double denim and leg warmers.”

Packemin Productions are well known for their Pro-Am shows at Riverside Theatres, Parramatta and The Concourse, Chatswood. Their previous productions include The Wizard of Oz (starring Jimmy Rees, Laura Murphy, Luke Joslin and Adam Scicluna) , Hairspray (starring Jon English and Wayne Scott Kermond), Annie (starring Amanda Muggleton, Chris Horsey and Rodney Dobson), Beauty and the Beast (starring Scott Irwin, Donna Lee and Adam Scicluna), The Phantom of the Opera (starring Ben Mingay, Johanna Allen and Erin Clare) and their most recent sell-out season of Mary Poppins (starring Penny McNamee, Shaun Rennie, Sam Moran, Kate-Maree Hoolihan).

Back to the 80’s

The Concourse, Chatswood

Dates: 8 Jan to 23 Jan 2016

Tickets: From $37

Bookings: www.theconcourse.com.au or phone 02 8075 8111

Director – Jordan Vassallo

Musical Director – Rachel Kelly

Choreographers – Cameron Mitchell & Craig Nhobbs

Creative Supervisor – Neil Gooding

Musical Supervisor – Peter Hayward

www.packemin.com.au

Images: Mark Simpson, Lana Domeney, Cameron shields and the cast of Back to the 80’s.