Stage

The ‘80s are back! Local stages load up on nostalgic romps this month

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Characters we love: Men play the fiery Southern ladies in Re-Designing Women at Onyx.
Jacob Coakley

Break out the leg warmers, fire up the boombox and get the sitcom laugh-track ready, because the ’80s are back in a big way onstage this month.

The campy Re-Designing Women, a completely unauthorized stage play that brings the four tart-tongued Southern feminist designers from the classic ’80s sitcom into the age of reality TV, plays at the Onyx July 10-13 and 16-18. While the show might not have an ironically quotable catchphrase, its fierce attitude and iconic characters were “appointment viewing” for writer Jamie Morris. “I grew up in West Virginia, and even though we weren’t the Deep South I still knew these four women—Julia, Suzanne, Charlene, Mary Jo—and identified with them,” Morris says. “Powerful and opinionated, they got their voice from creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who dealt with some rather groundbreaking themes such as HIV/AIDS.” Morris’ show brings the characters back for fans, and he hopes to introduce them to a new generation. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that men play all the Women, which Morris believes “heightens the comedy and ups the camp factor.”

Next up is Avenue Q at Las Vegas Little Theatre, which runs July 10-26. While Q wasn’t written until the early ’00s it has its feet firmly planted in the ’80s, placing characters that grew up in that lost decade in the modern world, with puppets explaining how to deal with new adult conundrums in warm-and-fuzzy songs like “The Internet Is for Porn” and “If You Were Gay”—which puts two very familiar puppet roommates in a new light. The Las Vegas Little Theatre production has rented the official puppets from the show’s licensing agent, and brought in a puppet wrangler to teach the cast how to bring them to life. “Rehearsal might have gotten a bit more foul-mouthed than your average rehearsal, but given the show, it was encouraged,” says Walt Niejadlik, co-director of the piece along with Gillen Brey. “We’ve had a blast working on this show and can’t wait to get it in front of an audience.”

<em>Dirty Dancing</em> is just as steamy onstage.

Dirty Dancing is just as steamy onstage.

Finally, say it with me, “Nobody puts Baby in a …” If you know how that phrase ends, then you’re the perfect audience for Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story on Stage, which cha-chas its way into the Smith Center July 14-19. The musical re-tells the story of Baby and Johnny and their summer-camp romance built around steamy dance numbers. (Which my grandma called “sex in jean shorts,” while obsessively renting the VHS copy from the convenience store down the street.) The show features many of the movie’s popular songs, and a dance corps sure to heat up the Smith Center.

It’s all frothy summer fun that proves you can’t keep a good decade down.

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