'A powerhouse performance to a standing ovation' - Back to the 80s at the Tipp Excel

I went along to the musical Back to the 80s which was performed by the members of the Tipperary Excel Youth Theatre at the Tipperary Excel on Friday, August 4.

The musical from the book by Neil Gooding, with additional material by Stuart Smith, takes place as a flashback through the eyes of Corey Palmer (Daniel Ryan) narrating his senior year of high school and the trials and tribulations involved with being a teenager in the 80s, and centered around Billboard’s top songs from the 80s.

Under the experienced direction of Michael O'Donoghue, the professional guidance and instruction of the Chorus Mistress & Assistant Director, Nicole Butler, and the skilful choreography of Ellie O'Donnell, this show entertained from the opening right through until the final curtain call.

The show opened with Daniel Ryan as Corey Palmer Senior in the present, reflecting on his final year at school back in the mid-1980s. Daniel set the scene very well as a rather shy and humble Cory Senior, who invited us to join him on a journey of reflection through his senior year.

The opening number saw the stage filled by a highly energetic (and very colourful) ensemble who performed a rendition of Kim Wilde’s Kids in America.

This was a perfect opening number with great vocals and polished choreography.

Cormac O’Donovan played the role of Cory Palmer Junior to perfection.

His awkward, stumbling, shy character won the hearts of the audience as we followed him on his journey to impress and ultimately win the heart of Tiffany Houston, played by the wonderful Madeline Blackwell, who is remembered particularly for her performance as Esmerelda in Tipperary Musical Society’s production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Again on this occasion Madeline did not disappoint with a polished performance which was augmented by her beautiful singing voice as evidenced in numbers such as Mickey, Get Out My Dreams and Lost In Your Eyes.

Cory was supported and encouraged throughout by his loyal friends Alf Bueller and Kirk Keaton (John Bradbury and Conor O’Donoghue respectively).

The warmth of these three characters along with their great talent, was evidenced when they succeeded in cheering up a rather wounded Eileen (Niamh Kelly) through their performance of Don’t worry, Be Happy. Cormac O’Donovan as Corey and Lee Kinane (Featured Male Singer) with their performance of The Glory of Love showed strong vocal talent and maintained the emotion of the song.

Cory’s Star Wars dream sequence came to life in front of our eyes along with Darth Vader and lightsabers!

Tiffany Houston (the object of Cory’s affections) and her best friends (Cyndi, Mel and Kim played by Katy Judge, Sarah Grace Ginty and Abbie Shannon) were introduced to us in the early stages of the show as girls, simply wanting to “have fun”.

They were a ray of sunshine on stage with the female ensemble as they performed Cyndi Lauper’s timeless Girls Just Want to Have Fun.

We were treated to a great routine and vocals, which was delightful to listen and watch. The girls’ performance was quickly matched by the principal boys (Michael, Billy, Huey and Lionel played by Noah Hayes, Dara O’Sullivan, Matthew Kinane and Ahmed Aydi) and the male ensemble with the highly energetic Footloose. They impressed us with their punchy routine and strong vocals.

Noah Hayes was very convincing in his role as the arrogant, smug and yet widely popular Michael Feldman.

His self importance was epitomised as Tiffany, Cyndi, Mel and Kim adorned him during their vibrant cheerleader performance of Hey Mickey.

He clearly revelled in the attention and who could blame him!

One of the outstanding characters in the entire show was Feargal McFerrin III (played by Marko Grubor), the hugely intelligent and socially shunned, school-geek. This lovable character was brought to life by the very talented Marko Grubor, who captured Fergal's insecurities and idiosyncrasies perfectly.

Video killed the Radio Star was a huge hit amongst the audience and he had the whole audience in the palm of his hands whenever he was on stage.

I said this of Madeline Blackwell in my review of the Hunchback of Notre Dame and I say it now of Marko Grubor - A star is born. He is a natural performer and his movement on stage had the audience in fits of laughter.

He is one to watch for the future.

Cole Flanagan, in the role of school teacher Mr Cocker, commanded the stage with a strong presence. He led the closing number for Act 1 with Man in the Mirror, and did so with a great vocal performance.

Not to be outdone, his on-stage, on/off partner, Aisling Corbett (in the role of conservative English teacher Miss Brannigan) provided an equally polished and perfected performance and they both led the whole ensemble in a highly charged chorus.

The characters of Eileen Reagan, Laura Wilde and Debbie Fox (perfectly staged by Niamh Kelly, Neasa Kiely and Eabha Morrissey) were really impressive with the highly energetic Walking on Sunshine, which had the audience clapping and singing along in a real feel good performance.

Corey Jnr (Cormac) and Miss Brannigan’s (Aisling) version of Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart was another great performance along with Eileen (Niamh) and Tiffany (Madeline)’s rendition of Debbie Gibson’s Lost in your eyes. Katy Judge as Cyndi also gave a great performance of Madonna’s iconic Material Girl.

Like all good things though, this show had to come to an end, and what better way than with Dirty Dancing’s The Time of my Life.

For the finale the stage was flooded with music and emotion, with the entire cast delivering a powerhouse performance to a standing ovation.

It was clear that every single performer was having the “time of their life” in a show that will be forever etched on their memories.