Drama Club Heads Back to the 80’s

The OHS Drama Club performed the radical musical, Back to the ’80s, on June 5 through 7. As people entered the gym they were sent back to the past with neon colors and favorite 80’s songs playing over the speakers. Performed by the students of Okawville High School, actors were in character as the graduating class of William Ocean High School as they lived through their final senior year-  representing the friendships, the heartbreaks, the first loves, and the excitement of growing up while they broke out in song to the biggest hits of the ’80s! 

Due to the pandemic, the production of the previous musical was canceled, questioning if the Drama Club will get to have a production for the next year. Director Amy Welch worked with the school to get Covid guidelines in place for the cast to follow, allowing the show to go on! Auditions started late winter and practices followed soon in March. For a month, the cast practiced numerous dance routines choreographed by Jimmy Gardner and Amy Welch for two hours, multiple times a week, before moving on to acting and singing. By May, the cast was falling behind in rehearsals but Welch knew they could pull together and put on a great show! “I had so much confidence in the cast,”  Welch said when asked how she felt a week before the show. The cast was able to put on an electric performance for the crowd each night! Due to the guidelines, the gym could not be at full capacity, instead only seating around 150 each night, but that didn’t stop people from coming.

Amy Welch said, “The crowd absolutely has something to do with the cast’s energy.” The difference in audience members was a big change for returning cast members. As a cast member myself,  everyone was eager to put on their best performance. It showed because each night the shows were sold out! Every performance was energetic and everyone had an amazing time!

Gallery • 10 Photos

Cast List

Hannah Miller – Tiffany Houston

Lucas Frederking – Corey Palmer (JR)

Maci Wolf – Elieen Raegan

Wilson Welch – Micheal Feldman

Nick Ruelevish – Mr. Fox

Alyssa Gavin – Mrs. Branigan

Grant Schleifer – Kirk Keaton

Jacob Funk – Alf Buehler

Bennett Krohne – Kurt Heckert

Dylan Clark – Billy Arnold 

Andrew Savard – Huey Jackson

Evan Miller – Lionel Astley

Sydney Tebbe – Cyndi Gibson

Tricia Rennegarbe – Mel Easton

Elli Kremmer – Kim Easton

Jared Juenger – Feargal McFerran

Megan Rennegarbe – Debbie Fox 

Madisyn Wienstroer – Laura Wilde

Jimmy Gardner – Corey Palmer (SR)

Chorus – Adysen Harre, Raelyn Obermeier, Mallory Bening, Taylor Hettenhausen, Lauren Hackee, and Paige Reichman`