Wadsworth Off Broad Street Players Take A Trip To The Past With ‘Back To The 80’s’

Haley Reedy, Online Editor-in-Chief • March 20, 2024

The cast of Back to the 80s during their bows. The cast has been running dress rehearsals from 5 p.m to 10 p.m. the week of the show. Photo courtesy of Lauren Sieber.

The Wadsworth Off Broad Street Players have been working since January to rehearse and prepare for the Spring Musical ‘Back To The 80s’. The musical has multiple plot lines of a typical high school while using 80s music to move the plot along.

**From left to right (Lauren Sieber, Zac Klaehn, and Graham Young). This scene displays the prom scene in the musical.** *Photo Courtesy of Lauren Sieber.*

The plot is told from the perspective of Corey Palmer Sr. looking back on his high school years set in the 80s. There are plot lines of love triangles, sneaky romantic teachers, and meeting new kids.

“We’ve been rehearsing since the 3rd week of January, we auditioned the second week back from winter break,” said Lauren Sieber, a senior at WHS who has been in the theater department since her sophomore year. “We’ve rehearsed 2:45 to 5 in January and February, but in March we’ve been 2:45 to 5 up until last week when it started to get intense.”

The rehearsal times during the week leading up to the show are turned from 2:45 to 5 p.m. into 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. dress rehearsals.

Something unique about this musical is the costumes. The performers are wearing thrifted costumes from things used in previous shows or items found in thrift stores.

“It depends on the show and the time period,” said Jasmine Krug, a senior at WHS who has been in the theater department since her freshman year. “For older set shows, we’re not going to find those clothes in thrift stores but if it’s a show set in the 70s, 80s, or 90s where it’s stuff we can find, we have to buy our own costumes.”

Something else that is unique to this show is the set. Although the musical is set in a high school, the set is displayed as a giant boombox spanning across the whole stage. Typically, the Pit band will play below the stage. However, the boombox has a rectangle cut out of it where the pit band will be performing live while on the stage.

**The set for the musical is a boom box where you can see the Pit Band through the center. The set construction was done by Adam and Melissa Virgei.** *Photo by Haley Reedy.*

There are many seniors involved in the making of this musical. They are listed at the end of the article.

“It’s like closing a chapter, it’s bittersweet because you think about all the memories and how you’ve grown…it’s all just coming to an end,” Krug said.

Sieber also feels the same bittersweet feeling as Krug.

“For me, we’re leaving behind such a great group of people that we aren’t going to see anymore in the way we have for the last three months,” Sieber said.

The musical will be performed this week March 21 through March 23 at 7 p.m. in the Wadsworth High School Performing Arts Center, PAC. Ticket prices vary based on lower or higher level seating, 10 dollars for lower level and 8 dollars for higher level. Senior citizens and district staff can watch for free in the upper level. Tickets are available for purchase at the door or can be bought using the link below.

https://www.payschoolsevents.com/events/details/31702

Congratulations to the seniors participating in the spring musical!

Cast

Corey Palmer – Graham Young

Michael Feldman – Noah Tefteller

Huey Jackson – Seth Baarstad

Cyndi Gibson – Jasmine Krug

Feargal McFerrin III- Zac Klaehn

Eileen Reagan – Lauren Sieber

Ensemble – Riley Wenger

Crew

Stage Manager – Danielle Merced