This is part of an ongoing series of theater reviews of local high school productions, written by local high school students, that will appear on AnnArbor.com. This week, Greenhills School's Ella Firnhaber (see bio at end of story) reviews Dexter High School's "Back to the 80s," which ran this past weekend.

Opening with a focus on Nicole Ferguson as the teenage daughter of Corey Palmer, "Back to the 80s" takes a trip into the memories of Corey, who's reliving his middle school years in the 80s.

Corey Palmer is the classic, not-quite-popular but not a social outcast kid that’s just looking to get the girl — in this case, Tiffany Houston. However, the school heartthrob, Michael Feldman, continually thwarts him in this quest. This plotline is shadowed by the love affair between two teachers, Mrs. Branningan and Mr. Cocker, and the trials of the school outcasts.

Although this is a story that seems to have been done a thousand times, any predictability was broken up nicely by perfectly choreographed dance numbers, set to music known and loved by almost everyone who loves pop culture. Hit songs such as “Footloose” and “I’ve had the Time of My Life” were complemented with both new dance moves and ones that stayed true to the original movies the songs were in. Some of the acting seemed a tad unrealistic, and perhaps the performers could have used slightly more time in rehearsal - which could very well be attributed to “opening night jitters." A few performances, though, such as that of Mrs. Birmingham, played by Caroline Buckley, and Eileen Reagan, played by Lorna Mosher, stood out and seemed authentic.

The set and costumes were very professional-looking and fit the mold of the '80s very well. I particularly enjoyed the giant boom box that served as both a background to the set and a platform for performers to dance on, and the car that rolled smoothly across stage during a scene in which the antagonist received a car for his birthday. The costumes, meanwhile, were what everyone thinks of when they think of the '80s, which was backed up nicely by the outrageously large and curly hairstyles.

One thing that took away from the performances, however, was the microphones, or rather the lack of working microphones. Having chose to sit close to the front, I could still barely hear most of the singers, as their microphones had an annoying tendency to go in and out during both the musical numbers and the dialogue.

Overall, though, I thought this theatrical trip back in time was a relatively enjoyable experience, although did not contain much deep meaning or a thought to leave the theater with. It was rather an entertaining trip down one man’s memory lane with a few surprising, but not completely unexpected, twists and turns along the way. The Dexter High Drama Club put forth a commendable effort in bringing this show to life, and they looked like they had fun while doing it.

Ella Firnhaber is a sophomore at Greenhills High School. She has ambitions to be an actress or a journalist when she hits adulthood. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to music, singing, reading, watching movies, swimming, and hanging out with friends. She would describe herself as a hopeless romantic, creative, and rather shy.