by Mary Fioravanti
Last weekend, the Bonners Ferry Summer Youth
Theater presented “Back to the 80s …the
Totally Awesome Musical!”
“Back to the 80s” was chock full of hilarious
scenes that brought back memories of what life
was like living as a high schooler in the
1980’s. The musical portrayed all of the
different clicques you would find in an
 average
high school, such as the popular kids acting
cool, the nerds trying to steal some attention,
and then of course the group stuck in the middle
torn between both- but aren’t quite either.
Nonetheless, all of the aspects of high school
drama were captured in the forms of love, anger,
sadness, and laughter.
The musical was written by Neil Gooding with
original musical adaption by Scott Copeland. The
performance included many of the popular 1980’s
hits, for example “Video Killed the Radio Star,”
“Walking on Sunshine” and more.
The musical director, David Carpenter, and his
wife Dawn Carpenter are a pair of the reasons
why productions such as this show are possible…
but they are not the only two working to make
this particular show a success. The beginning
rehearsals for “Back to the 80s” started way
back in April, but didn’t really start to be
consistent until June, when school was already
out. The size of the “Back to the 80s” cast is
about 20, with varying ages. The group consisted
mostly of high school teenagers. The youngest
performer was only 11 years old, and the oldest
is a past high school graduate. One cast member
actually drove up here all the way from Spokane
to participate in the musical. Everyone worked
very hard and has been excited to share their
hard-earned talents with Bonners Ferry.
Months were dedicated to this show with regards
to choreography, costumes, music, and
rehearsals. The
cast would like to give immense thanks to Mr.
Carpenter for directing the show and Dawn
Carpenter for the hours and hours spent on
costuming, as well as Charlie Spradlin who
worked with Dawn on costuming and fitting every
cast member. Together, David Carpenter, Charlie
Spradlin, and Abby Eliassen managed the lights,
mics, and music in the booth - a very
challenging task. McKaela Spradlin has
choreographed almost every show for Mr.
Carpenter for the past 5 years, and has done
another impeccable job with this show! The “Back
to the 80s” cast would also like to give a
special shout out to Abigail Quesnel, the music
instructor, Anita Johnson and Cassie Smith for
helping with hair and makeup, and those who
volunteer during the performances helping with
the door and baking/selling goodies.
When asked why the Carpenters undertake summer
theater for the youth, they responded: “Dawn and
I (David) started doing summer theater in
Bonners Ferry nine years ago. We recognized the
need and benefit of performing arts. Both of us
were performers from an early age. I truly love
the performing arts and believe it can be an
experience that will stay with the performers
for a lifetime. As a director, I see an immense
amount of potential in every one of the
performers. It is so exciting for me to see a
performer step outside of themselves and let the
magic happen. I believe our mission statement
says it best: Bonners Ferry Summer Youth
Theater’s mission is to foster lifelong
confidence on and off the stage. Finally, on
many occasions performers/students have
commented that performing has helped to increase
their confidence in the classroom and beyond.”
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