On November 11th and 12th at 7:30 p.m., the Uptown Music Collective will bring the first show of its 2022-2023 Performance Season, Girls Just Want to Have Fun: Ladies of the ’80s, to the stage of the Community Arts Center in Williamsport. This fun and exciting performance will pay tribute to 1980’s female pop standouts like Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Stevie Nicks, Pat Benatar, Olivia Newton-John, The Go-Go’s, The Bangles, and many more. This performance is sponsored, in part, through partnerships with Geisinger’s Janet Weis Children’s Hospital, Hudock Capital Group, and UPMC North Central PA.
The 1980s was a time of big hair, neon colors, digital keyboards and drum machines, MTV, Live Aid, New Wave, and FM pop radio. One of the most important parts of the soundtrack of that time period was the infectious pop sounds of the female artists who were scoring #1 hits like Physical, Mickey, Like a Virgin, Time After Time, and Walk Like an Egyptian, while at the same time breaking new ground in what had always been a male-dominated music industry. In Girls Just Want to Have Fun: Ladies of the ‘80s, students of the Collective will pay tribute to these chart-topping artists with a dazzling performance featuring some of the best young female vocalists in the area, backed by a group of talented young musicians, and a great sound and light show courtesy of a collaboration with the stellar crew at the Community Arts Center.
“This is a mix of artists and songs that we will be paying tribute to for the first time, mostly,” said Dave Brumbaugh, UMC founder and executive director. “The music is fun, while still being challenging from the aspect of reproducing the sounds and musical vibe of the time period. It’s going to be a great learning experience for all of the students involved, and, in the end, make for a great time for everyone who comes to enjoy the show.”
“We are extremely excited to kick off this massive performance season,” said Jared Mondell, assistant executive director of the Uptown Music Collective. “This will be the first performance season that all four debut UMC performances will be held in Williamsport’s beautiful Community Arts Center. In addition, we have adjusted our ticketing policy, moving away from our traditional general admission policy in favor of reserved seating for all concertgoers. This means you will be able to pick your seats when you purchase your tickets, which has been a request of our fans for a while.”
Girls Just Want to Have Fun will feature Collective students who have been diligently preparing for this event for more than three months. Along with the music, there will be a professional-grade light, sound, and video show, organized by the students, themselves, working alongside the professionals at the CAC. As with all Uptown Music Collective performances, the students are not only the performers but also the directors of the show. A group of younger students, or “Tech Monkeys,” will serve as stage technicians and spotlight operators. The cast for the show is drawn from the Uptown Music Collective’s much-heralded “Special Performance Group 1”.
This show is directed by Uptown Music Collective senior students Leah Batman (Laurel Springs School) and Stephanie Nappi (PA Cyber). The show’s leadership committee consists of UMC students Matthew Bellino (Danville Area High School), Izzy Butters (Loyalsock Township High School), Abby Colone (Loyalsock Township High School), Chase Cowden (Loyalsock Township High School), Connor Evans (Williamsport Area High School), Ben Feuerstein (Lewisburg Area High School), Gabreon Godin (Williamsport Area High School), Grace Godin (Williamsport Area Middle School), Sage Gurski (Danville Area High School), Brendan Kuriga (South Williamsport Area High School), Duncan Larson (Loyalsock Township High School), Jossian Lilley (Loyalsock Township High School), Cassidy Lutz (Loyalsock Township High School), Calistra Mahoney (Penn College), and Luke O’Brien (Loyalsock Township High School).
“This show is a great way to kick off our performance season,” said Lutz. “From the huge lot of synth and keyboard parts to the female vocal excellence, a ton of work is required to pull off this show. All of these ’80s songs I’ve had stuck in my head for days after hearing them on the radio, but didn’t actually realize how intricate and detailed they are. I am very excited to see how this show will turn out after the rehearsal process is over and we are on the stage performing the songs for a real audience!”
Additional partners and sponsors for this performance include Chartwell Hotels, KFC of Williamsport, Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships, The Kiessling Group of Janney Montgomery Scott, UPMC Health Plan, Lycoming College, Woodlands Bank, Marco Technologies, Williamsport Sun-Gazette, FASTSIGNS of Williamsport, Pennsylvania College of Technology, The Brickyard Restaurant and Ale House, The Stonehouse Wood Fired Pizza and Pasteria, Pepsi of Williamsport, The Hartman Group, Java Momma, Inc., and Beiter’s Furniture, Mattress and Appliance. Media sponsors include Backyard Broadcasting, Lamar Advertising, 92.1 WSQV, NorthCentralPa.com, The Graphic Hive, and Engage Media.
Tickets for the performance, which are $20 in advance and $25 at the door (plus fees), are available through the Community Arts Center box office (220 West Fourth St. Williamsport, Pa) and website (www.caclive.com). Live stream tickets for the Saturday performance are also available for $15 (plus fees). In addition to this show, tickets for the Collective’s entire performance season are on sale now at the CAC as well. Upcoming shows include Friends in Low Places: The Music of Garth Brooks & The Women of ’90s Country on January 28th, Free Bird: A Tribute to Southern Rock on March 10th & 11th, and The Show Must Go On: The Music of Queen on April 28th & 29th.
For more details about Girls Just Want to Have Fun, visit uptownmusic.org/ladies or call 570-329-0888. Check out the Collective’s official Facebook page, as well as other Collective social media outlets, for teasers, previews, behind-the-scenes info, and more from the performance.
