Cast shines on stage in “Back to the 80s”

Lincoln Burris was like many cast members before taking the stage for the district drama society’s production of Neil Gooding’s “Back to the 80s” that took place in the high school auditorium on Feb. 27, 28 and March 1.

“I was a little nervous. After I did it one time, it was really fun,” said the fifth grader. “I liked being on stage performing and seeing other people in my class perform.”

Caroline Eschbach and Ashlyn Spadaccini explained how they overcame their nerves before the show.

“I just went onstage and I was OK,” said Eschbach, a sixth grader who had one of the lead roles in the play. “I think we did really well. I really enjoyed how it came together, and I had all this fun with my friends.”

Spadaccini, a fifth grader, added, “I just said I could do it.”

Golding’s play took the cast and audience back to the 1980s with scenes, music and references to many movies and television shows such as “Dallas,” “Back to the Future,” “Ferris Buehler’s Day Off,” “Breakfast Club” and “Risky Business.”

The cast consisted of Eugene Brooks Intermediate School students and one Webutuck High School student.

“I’m incredibly proud of them,” said Kaylee Kelsey, district chorus teacher and drama society adviser. “They came in for rehearsals and were ready to go. They were hard working. They really pulled through on those last days.”

Kelsey received assistance from teaching colleagues Aaron Howard, set construction; Craig Wickwire, art club adviser and set design, and Eric Wiener, lighting design.

This is the second year that Kelsey brought back the production of a school play to the district. Students performed the comedy classic “Clue” in 2025.

“I think every year is going to get better and better,” said Kelsey. “We added some more elements for the cast and crew this year. We wanted to increase the difficulty level, but in the same breath, we wanted to make sure this was a reasonable play for the demographic of students we had.”

The cast is already looking forward to next year’s production.

“It was fun this year and I will do it again because I liked it,” said Spadaccini.