McCoy production combines ’80s music and high school memories

By Chris Brown on May 3, 2018.

NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER
Juliana Ford, Ben Cox, Parker Hope and Evan Wallin act out one of the opening scenes of ÒBack to the 80s.Ó

cbrown@medicinehatnews.com @MHNBrown

It’s “Family Feud” time.

If you asked 100 people what the best days of their life were there’s a good chance high school will end up being No. 1 on the big board.

If you asked 100 people what the most memorable decade for music was there’s a good chance the 1980s will end up being No. 1 on the big board.

So a musical about a man looking back on his high school days in the 1980s is almost a surefire hit.

Monsignor McCoy High School has just that coming up next week with “Back to the ’80s,” showing May 9-11 at 12:30 p.m. and May 11-12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Medicine Hat College Eresman Theatre.

The musical follows Cory Palmer, a 30-something man looking back on his high school days and watching his younger self go through it all.

“Cory is not one of the most popular kids in the school so he’s going through all sorts of things,” said director Pat Weisgerber. “He’s trying to get the girl of his dreams, he’s running into some problems with the more popular kids in the school and the challenges that come with that. And he’s discovering himself and finding himself and how he fits into the world.”

Of course it all happens with a backdrop of bright colours and big hair, and to a soundtrack that includes Bon Jovi, Cindi Lauper, Michael Jackson, Rick Astley and more.

Reliving high school can be a fun time for some, but not everyone has the same fond experience and some in high school now aren’t exactly having the time of their life. There’s a lesson in the show for those kids that they can take forward to after graduation.

“Looking back on your high school experience and realizing that from the different challenges and the different things that you go through you learn about life,” Weisgerber said. “You learn about dealing with people, you learn about how to be kind to people, how to work through any of those difficult times.”

As many aspects of the production as possible are student-led, with just a few exceptions. Three staff members at the school are playing the adult roles, Isaac Risling, who graduated last year, is working with the live band and Helen Snortland, well-known in Medicine Hat for her vocal coaching, is working with the singers.

Tickets are $15 and are available through http://www.mhcbe.schoolcashonline.com or the McCoy office.