History Theatre / BackToTheEighties

* {{Nerd}}: Corey Jnr. and co, and Feargal and co. Corey is a more relatable and realistic example; Feargal plays the stereotype to the hilt.

This work provides examples of:

** Eileen fell in love with Feargal after he defended her and they got married. Feargal's crazy predictions came true and he became a key contributor in creating the World Wide Web.

** Micheal tried out for the pro football league, but a [[GroinAttack groin injury]] [[CareerEndingInjury forced him into early retirement]]. He has had two wives and four kids, and is a now a Baptist Minister in New Orleans.

** Corey still hands out with his high school friends every now and then. Kirk has married a girl he met in Disneyland, while Alf seems destined to remain a bachelor to his grave.

** Eileen fell in love with Fergal after he defended her and they got married. Fergal's crazy predictions came true and he became a key contributor in creating the internet.
** Cocker and Brannigan were able to let bygones be bygones and walked down the aisle together. They still teach at Ocean High to this day, where Cocker is now principal.

** Eileen fell in love with Feargal after he defended her and they got married. Fergal's crazy predictions came true and he became a key contributor in creating the internet.
** Cocker and Brannigan were able to overcome their differences and walked down the aisle together. They still teach at Ocean High to this day, where Cocker is now principal.

''Back to the Eighties'' is a strange variation on the JukeboxMusical by Neil Gooding where instead of using all songs from one band, only songs from one decade ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the 80s]]) are used. The musical focuses on the senior year of fictional American high school William Ocean High, particularly an uncool kid named Corey Palmer with a crush on popular girl Tiffany Houston, a hatred of popular guy Micheal Feldman and rather unfair feelings of superiority towards loveable nerd Feargal [=McFerrin=] III.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Alf Bueller is described as "destined to remain a bachelor" and also blows Corey a kiss at one point.
* BSODSong: "Centerfold", for Mr Cocker. "You Give Love A Bad Name (Reprise)" to a lesser extent.

* FlashBack: The entire show is basically a series of flashbacks had by the narrator, Corey Palmer Sr.

* HigherSelf: The show is narrated by Corey Palmer's older self ("Corey Senior" in the script).

* JerkJock: Micheal Feldman.

* LemonyNarrator: Older Corey is not above mocking his younger self and his ex-classmates in his narrations.
* LoveTriangle: Corey and Micheal both have a crush on Tiffany.

* PresentDayPast: Depending on the production, this can seep in with Corey Senior. His scenes are often played as modern-day, but he's a thirtyish guy who went to high school in the late 1980s - he can't be much later than about 2000.

'''Micheal:''' Oh yeah? Then defend ''this''!
* WaxingLyrical: Micheal leaves fake love letters in Eileen's locker, all of which are made up of lines from famous songs put together.

* HigherSelf: The show is narrated by Corey Palmer's older self.
* JerkJock: Micheal Feldman

-->'''Feargal:''' These are not just hands; they are defensive weapons!\\

* ShoutOut: Oh boy. For starters, every single character (even ones we don't see on-stage) is named after a famous 80s personage. Then there are on-stage conversations about Series/TheATeam, the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, VideoGame/{{Pac-Man}}, SpaceInvaders, Franchise/StarWars etc. And some scenes are clearly an AffectionateParody of similar scenes from Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff and TheKarateKid.

--> '''Feargal''': These are not just hands; they are defensive weapons!
--> '''Micheal''': Oh yeah? Then defend ''this''!

* ShoutOut: Oh boy. For starters, every single character (even ones we don't see on-stage) is named after a famous 80s personage. Then there are on-stage conversations about Series/TheATeam, the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, VideoGame/{{Pac-Man}}, SpaceInvaders, StarWars etc. And some scenes are clearly an AffectionateParody of similar scenes from Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff and TheKarateKid.

* ShoutOut: Oh boy. For starters, every single character (even ones we don't see on-stage) is named after a famous 80s personage. Then there are on-stage conversations about Series/TheATeam, the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, PacMan, SpaceInvaders, StarWars etc. And some scenes are clearly an AffectionateParody of similar scenes from Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff and TheKarateKid.

* ShoutOut: Oh boy. For starters, every single character (even ones we don't see on-stage) is named after a famous 80s personage. Then there are on-stage conversations about Series/TheATeam, the TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, PacMan, SpaceInvaders, StarWars etc. And some scenes are clearly an AffectionateParody of similar scenes from Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff and TheKarateKid.

* ShoutOut: Oh boy. For starters, every single character (even ones we don't see on-stage) is named after a famous 80s personage. Then there are on-stage conversations about Series/TheATeam, the TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, PacMan, SpaceInvaders, StarWars etc. And some scenes are clearly an AffectionateParody of similar scenes from FerrisBuellersDayOff and TheKarateKid.

* ShoutOut: Oh boy. For starters, every single character (even ones we don't see on-stage) is named after a famous 80s personage. Then there are on-stage conversations about TheATeam, the TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, PacMan, SpaceInvaders, StarWars etc. And some scenes are clearly an AffectionateParody of similar scenes from FerrisBuellersDayOff and TheKarateKid.

* DontSingAlongIfYouDontKnowTheWords: Micheal leaves fake love letters in Eileen's locker, all of which are made up of lines from famous songs put together.

* BetterThanItSounds: yes, the entire thing is one big ExcusePlot for some cheesy songs and the odd IncrediblyLamePun. But it's also [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious]] if performed right.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: There's a StarWars-based dream sequence put in there for no apparent reason.
* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Feargal's fight with Micheal
* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: Corey, Alf and Kirk singing Don't Worry Be Happy to cheer Eileen up. [[ItMakesSenseInContext It works in context.]]
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: This is a show that includes You Give Love A Bad Name, Walking On Sunshine, The Final Countdown, Footloose... the list goes on.
* VerbThis:
--> '''Feargal''': These are not just hands; they are defensive weapons!
--> '''Micheal''': Oh yeah? Then defend ''this''!

* HamAndCheese: This is one of the few shows ever written which was ''intended'' to be performed by an [[WorldOfHam entire cast]] of [[LargeHam Large Hams]].

* DodgeThis:

* TheGhost: Mr Miyagi, the Japanese teacher/Martial Arts instructor. Although we do hear his voice, once.

* HamAndCheese: This is one of the few shows ever written which was ''intended'' to be performed by an [[WorldOfHams entire cast]] of [[LargeHam Large Hams]].

* BadassBookworm: Feargal eventually turns into one of these after taking martial arts lessons.

* ThoseTwoGuys: Alf and Kirk, Corey's best friends. Laura and Debbie could be seen as a female variant.

''Back to the Eighties'' is the story of Feargal [=McFerrin=] III, the greatest genius the world has ever known. He's a master of karate and friendship. He later invents the Internet. There's also some stuff about a pair of pedophile teachers and an average joe named Corey Jr, but nobody cares about that part. Nope, Feargal has it all. He truly is the greatest American hero. Also, he sings "Video Killed the Radio Star", which makes him a very intensely great character.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Feargal's entire life is a giant crowning moment of awesome.
* BadassBookworm: Feargal
* CreepyOldMan: Mr. Cocker
* ChickMagnet: Feargal
* ADateWithRosiePalms: Corey Jr. is very vocal about his love of "self-service".
* XanatosGambit: The ending, where Feargal kills Mickey.