We're bringing the musical back to the Los Al mainstage!
Our last mainstage musical was in the Spring of 2019. We managed to get our next musical in for the next school year, but it was a Black Box production.
That means that for our seniors, the last musical was their freshman year. Of our freshmen from that year, there are only two students who were in that show who join us this year.
Here's what that means...we have almost 40 students on our stage for BACK TO THE '80s. And only two have ever been in a musical with us. Thanks to the strangeness of the past two (almost to the DAY) years, we are starting our program back from the ground up.
This show is an opportunity. A chance for our students to try their hands at designing, directing, choreographing, and performing in a musical. And what better way to have fun than a crazy list of 80's music set in a nutty, over-the-top 80's storyline. We are using brand new students in our program, and teaching them how to create something they can be proud of.
Let's make this more difficult. Let's somehow manage to put this entire show together in less than SIX WEEKS. Normally, with a seasoned cast and crew, we would use eight weeks for a musical production, but thanks to our late start of the semester, and a bunch of COVID cases, these students have shown up (when they weren't in quarantine) with smiles on their faces, the work ethic of lions, and the determination to produce a show they can be proud of. While I've been listening to many teachers lament about the work ethic (or lack thereof) of their students, I count myself as incredibly lucky to get the chance to work with these students. Even though this is new territory for them, they have been so eager to learn, work, and perform.
I am humbled to work with these students who put themselves out there to design and build the set, shop for costumes, design lights, figure out mic charts, direct their peers, choreograph a million dance numbers, and get up on the stage and perform their hearts out. They make my job worth it.
I hope you enjoy the show. A student told me, when I announced the show, that they "loved the oldies!!!" I hope those of you in the audience who are of this generation enjoy the blast from the past, and those younger...you enjoy the "oldies."
Stacy Castiglione
Los Alamitos Drama Director
