After 35 years, some of their hairstyles and waistlines have changed.
But their love of music -- and spending time together -- hasn’t changed a bit.
A group of friends who danced and sang together as teenagers in the late 1970s and early 1980s are reuniting to reprise roles that they originally performed as part of the Upstairs Youth Agency, which was once a youth ministry of St. Monica and the former St. Augustine parishes in the City of Rochester.
They will perform "Second Time Around: A Musical Revue" at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14 and at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 on the Nextstage at Geva Theatre in Rochester. Tickets are $20, and several tickets remain for the performances. Call the Geva box office at 585-232-4382.
Amy Klein-Doyle, a former cast members who is now an associate producer for the musical, said she long has wanted to put together a reunion show. After an August 2009 reunion picnic for cast members successfully drew more than 50 people, she enlisted the help of Sister of St. Joseph Sheila Walsh, the former religious-education director for St. Monica, and Tony Falzano, Upstairs Youth Agency’s former youth director and songwriter, to put on a reunion musical.
Klein-Doyle said she believes the musicals hold a special spot in the hearts of former cast members because they played a large role in cast members’ formative teenage years.
"We love the songs, and we still sing them today," she said.
Klein-Doyle, who works in food service at Geva, helped arrange for the show to take place at Geva as a fundraiser for the theater’s educational programs. The show also marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Father Ed Zimmer, who served as pastor of St. Monica from 1970-79 and St. Mary Parish in Auburn from 1979 until his retirement in 1992.
"(Father Zimmer) was extremely excited and supportive of everything we did," Falzano said. "His spirit lives on in this show."
A large contingent of parishioners from Auburn are planning to attend the show, said Father Robert Schrader, an original cast member who has served as an associate producer for the January show.
"It’s a benefit, it’s a tribute and it’s a reunion; it’s a lot of experiences rolled into one," said Father Schrader, who was assistant pastor at St. Monica from 1978-81 and who also served several Auburn parishes from 1992-2004. He now is pastor of Rochester's Peace of Christ Parish.
St. Monica and St. Augustine parishes first teamed up to do a Broadway-revue show called "Memories," which was performed at St. Agnes High School in 1976.
The show was such a success that the parishes next connected with Falzano, then a 23-year-old songwriter who was hired as youth director for the Upstairs Youth Agency. Parish officials asked him to write a song for the next show, and Falzano replied that he thought he could write the whole show.
"It was just the defining moment in my life," recalled Falzano, who moved in 1983 to Nashville to pursue a songwriting career; he later moved back to the area and now maintains songwriting as a part-time passion.
Falzano's songs were featured in four original musicals, "Good News," "Prophet," "City Streets" and "Spare Me the Flight," done by the Upstairs Youth Agency. The agency performed a total of 12 musical over seven years in the late 1970s and early 1980s. These productions were jointly funded and sponsored by the City-County Youth Bureau, the Diocese of Rochester and the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation and were open to Catholics and non-Catholics in the City of Rochester.
"There was a need for teenagers to have a leisure-time activity that would give them something constructive to do when they weren’t in school," Falzano said.
Many of the original cast members are returning to star in the new production, and several new faces have been brought in as well. The show is directed by Ken Klamm and choreographed by Dawn Fullerton Quatro, who was part of the original cast of teen performers. In addition to Sister Walsh, who is producer of the show, associate producers are Kathy Bentley Langton, Klein-Doyle and Father Schrader. The show also is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph.
The cast even boasts a long-distance member who lives in Los Angeles and performs with the famed Agape International Choir, who has been able to arrange his travel schedule to attend rehearsals and the performances.
Falzano said it has been wonderful to reconnect with the teens he knew and relate to them on an adult level.
"It’s a wonderful outlet to go back and breathe these moments in again that they experienced in earlier part of their life," said Falzano, who now works as a banker and teaches in the visual and performing arts department at Monroe Community College. "They are appreciating what they had in an earlier part of their life."
Sister Walsh said she has enjoyed seeing how her "kids" have turned out and how they continue to stay in touch with each other.
"They’ve grown up into absolutely dedicated, enthusiastic, strong people," said Sister Walsh, adding that she hopes the musical could be performed at additional venues as a fundraiser.
She noted that the dedication of cast members has been evident as they juggle commitments to make time for rehearsals. One busy cast member is Michael Kelly of Fairport, who works full time as a local attorney and has four children: 14-year-old Keegan and 10-year-old triplets Jack, Riley and Caroline.
Although he has had to make time for rehearsals, Kelly said he looks forward to the chance to reconnect and reminisce with friends.
"Most of us look the same, except when the time comes to read the script and everybody pulls out their reading glasses," he quipped.
