A re- review of Legends of the 80s

A Postcard Re-review by Caroline Russell-King

I was invited back to see Legends of this 80’s for a second time because when the show opened I didn’t see the entire creation as one of the seven cast members was sick

Show – Legends of the 80’s

Playwrights/Composers – Lee Siegel et al (music and lyrics from 48 iconic songs…)

Production Company/Theatre space –(professional) Stage West

Length – 2 ACT (2 hours, 10 minutes, one intermission.)

Genre/s – Musical Revue (or as I call them Wiki Concerts)

Premise – A sampling of songs from the 1980’s featuring legendary artists Prince, Billy Joel, Axel Rose, Slash, Janet Jackson, Freddie Mercury, Steve Perry, Pat Benatar, Tina Turner, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Annie Lenox, Cindi Lauper, Whitney Houston, George Michael, Elton John, and Gloria Estefan linked together with snippets of information about the level of success the song reached.

Why this play? Why now? – A real crowd pleaser especially for those of us who were in our 20’s in the 80’s. The audience were participating and responding with great enthusiasm. I don’t recall the last time I’ve seen an audience respond so well to the performers. The other thing that was fun was seeing the outfits some of the audience wore.

Curiosities – Opening nights are traditionally the days critics go to see the shows. This is useful if there are great reviews and standout quotes which can be used by the marketing department. Other theatres use good reviews as part of proof of success for granting agencies and sponsors.  Having worked in professional dinner theatre on 70 shows over nine years I’m reminded of how shows evolve over long runs. Few theatres in Calgary have runs longer that three weeks – what would change to the Calgary ecology if there were longer runs for all.

Notable Moment – George Michael had the audience captivated by every move.

Notable writing – The script. which is the glue between the songs, is still problematic but the lyrics by all those award-winning, stadium selling out, hall of famers makes for a fabulous evening.

Notable performances – This ensemble is excellent. The show is both tighter and more relaxed in all the right ways. Sometime, forced audience banter is painful, this was definitely not the case. Tina Turner, Axl Rose, Freddie Mercury, Steve Perry, Elton John, Cindi Lauper, and George Michael were all shining stars.  

Notable design/Production – Lighting Designer David Smith gives us a great show. Sara Turner, who has to call a show with over one thousand cues, should come out and take a bow. Costume Designer Leslie Robison-Green’s costumes are fun reminders of what we all had in our closets.

Notable direction – Ken Overbey integrates iconic steps and moves into his choreography.

One reason to see this show –This is undoubtedly the best of themed concert shows I have seen at Stage West. Grab your neon scrunchies and Bruce Springsteen bandanas and get your tickets.