A Long Time Ago: The Eighties Strike Back
Orange venue, find showtimes
A Long Time Ago: The Eighties Strike Back is no stranger to the Orlando Fringe. It was in the Pink venue in 2011, and has made a triumphant return to the Orange venue this year with well-deserved success.
The show itself is a giant in-joke for those who grew up in the 1980’s or who have studied the culture religiously. The Star Wars characters are all played by their pop-culture counterparts – Leia as Breakfast Club Molly Ringwald, Luke as Marty McFly, Han Solo and Chewbecca as Bill and Ted, among others.
The music borrows classic 80’s hits and renovates them with new lyrics, such as “Video of the Evil Deathstar” and “Hoth is a Battlefield.” The cast all have great voices and comedic timing, which are imperative to come across in the large Orange venue. The script, written by Simon MacDonald, who also plays Obi-Wan Kenobi, gives characters full arcs and satisfies the audience by the finale – which doesn’t always happen in parody plays.
I haven’t seen any of the original Star Wars trilogy movies in a long time, making some moments difficult to understand plot-wise and many of the cultural references flew right over my head, being the millennial that I am. However, I was too busy laughing at Chase Ray Livingston’s Luke suggestively calling Vader “daddy” and a cheeky Kermit the Frog hamming it up to notice.
This show is worth seeing if you like 80’s movies, Star Wars, talented performers, or having a good time. Now we wait with lightsabers ready for the 90’s version of Force Awakens.
Read all of Watermark’s 2016 Orlando Fringe Theatre Festival coverage here.
