By Lily Jones

The power of nostalgia in pop culture is strong and constantly evolving. We see that especially in the 1980s. This decade saw the creation of most of today’s most influential media franchises, Video began to Kill the Radio Star, and information suddenly became available online.

There were also many childhood staples that would last for decades to come. In 1985, the Nintendo Super Mario Brothers video game was introduced to the public, Calvin and Hobbes debuted in newspapers, and The Goonies and The Breakfast Club made us laugh and helped to define childhood and adolescence for a generation.

It was also the year that brought us the Paramount movie, Clue, adapted for the stage by Sandy Rustin, which is playing for Ahmanson audiences this month.

There were also many important pieces of media from this time that were transformed to the stage –into musicals, movie musicals and jukebox musicals! Let’s look back into the past that has inspired the theatre of the present.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Last Ark released in June 1981, making archaeology cool and dangerous with four sequels, the latest released in 2023.

MTV debuted in August 1981 with the Buggle’s famous Video Killed the Radio Star, changing the way music has been consumed ever since.

The Broadway cast of The Outsiders. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

The Outsiders film was released in 1983, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, with a stacked cast of up-and-coming stars, like Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, and Ralph Macchio. The film developed a cult following and the creation of sequel TV series in 1990. The Outsiders premiered in 2023 at La Jolla Playhouse and opened on Broadway in April 2024, with twelve Tony nominations and four awards, notably Best Musical. The planned North American Tour should begin in 2025, starting in Tulsa to honor the original story.

The My Little Pony franchise was introduced in 1983 and remains prominent today, allowing for the children who grew up playing with the toys to share it with their own children.

The film A The Christmas Story was released in late 1983, evoking nostalgia for the era and for the past behind it, with the older Ralphie reminiscing on moments from his youth. Viewers connect so strongly due to its hilarious ability to capture the holidays from a child’s perspective. Widely considered a Christmas classic, we will never forget memorable lines like “you’ll shoot your eye out” and “I triple dog dare you!” This movie’s prominence has never dwindled, it is an active part of TV holiday movie marathons today, received a sequel in 2012, and was adapted into a musical in November 2012. This past season, in December 2023, we welcomed A Christmas Story, The Musical at the Ahmanson Theatre.

Transformers: Generation 1, the toy line by Hasbro and Takara Tomy, debuted in 1984 beginning a huge global film franchise.

Bruce Springsteen’s album Born in the U.S.A. was released in early summer of 1984, becoming the best-selling album of 1985.

Ghostbusters was released in June 1984, with a remake and two sequels in the past nine years.

The We Are the World charity single was recorded by over 43 popular artists and released in March 1985. It became the fastest-selling US pop single in history.

Casey Likes in the Broadway production of Back to the Future: The Musical. Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.

The highest-grossing film worldwide of 1985 was Back to the Future, released in July. This time travel movie embodied the essence of sci-fi and adventure, with quotable phrases like “Great Scott!” and “This is heavy, Doc” that evoke infectious nostalgia for the 1950s and 1980s pop culture. This movie achieved cult classic status with iconic aspects such as a time-traveling DeLorean and unforgettable characters Marty McFly and Doc Brown. In 2012, the stage adaptation began with a score by musical titans Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard. The musical adaptation premiered at Mchester Opera House in February 2020 and opened on Broadway in August 2023, with a national tour starting this summer. 

The cast of Just For One Day at
The Old Vic. Photo by Manuel Harlan.

Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert in both Philadelphia and London in mid-July of 1985 to raise funds for the famine in Ethiopia. It was one of the largest television broadcasts of all time, reaching 40% of the world's population and over sixteen hours long, bringing together the greatest musicians of several different eras. The show included Queen’s iconic performance, which was voted the greatest live performance in the history of rock in a 2005 music industry poll by the BBC. Freddie Mercury’s charisma and stage presence created one of the most memorable moments of the event. Other notable performers like David Bowie, The Who, U2, Elton John, and Paul McCartney bridged an influential gap from older English rock to new artists. The second venue saw The Beach Boys, Madonna, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Duran Duran, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, and Cher. The event was adapted to the stage in the jukebox musical Just for One Day which premiered at The Old Vic in London in February 2024. Just For One Day is scheduled to have its North American premiere in Toronto this in January 2025.

The Kiss of the Spider Woman film was released in late July of 1985 and set in a Brazilian prison, under the military dictatorship that lasted from the 1960s to the 1980s. The movie follows Luis Molina, trans woman with a passion for movies, and Valentin Arregui, a communist revolutionary who develop an unlikely friendship. William Hurt, who played Luis Molina, won Best Actor in the 58th Academy Awards. Argentine author of the novel, Manuel Puig, adapted his novel to a stage play. In 1993, it was later adapted into a Broadway musical, which won a whopping seven Tony awards. In 1996, Center Theatre Group welcomed Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Ahmanson Theatre. In December 2023, Jennifer Lopez was announced to star in a film adaptation of the musical, with Diego Luna and Tonatiuh as Valentin and Molina.

Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. was introduced in North America in October 1985 and, almost forty years later, 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie would break numerous box office all-time records including the second-highest grossing film of the year.

On December 13th, 1985, the movie Clue was released in theatres. Inspired by the board game, it was set in the 1950s. It had a smaller box office turnout but developed a cult following since its release. The enthusiastic and packed mystery-comedy included Tim Curry as the butler, Wadsworth, hosting a dinner party turned murder mystery. Tim Curry described the cult following of Clue as “a bit déjà vu for me, after Rocky Horror” in an interview with BuzzFeed in 2015. No stranger to cult-classics, Tim Curry starred as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Initially unsuccessful, Rocky Horror has become the longest-running theatrical release, inspiring fans and live amateur shadow-casts to act out the film during screenings. Since 1987, Sins O’ the Flesh at the Nuart Theatre has been putting on Rocky Horror in Los Angeles. Similarly, Clue has been performing with shadow cast performances, midnight screenings, and cosplaying fans at Sins O’ The Flesh several times every year since 2002, and across the country. 1985’s Clue was adapted to the stage in 2017, with the 2024 national tour stopping at the Ahmanson this month!

The Color Purple film was released five days after Clue, based on the book by Alice Walker published in 1982. This made Alice Walker the first black woman to win both the Pulitzer and National Book Awards. Its movie adaptation, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey, remains a cultural touchstone. Following the 1980s revival pattern, this 1985 movie was adapted into a Broadway musical in 2005 and received eleven Tony Award nominations. Its 2017 revival won two Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. Most recently, the musical was brought to the screen in the 2023 movie musical adaptation, allowing for a new generation to experience the impactful story.

The first The Magic School Bus book was published in 1986, later spawning a TV series in the 90s and a revival in 2017.

Beetlejuice was released in March 1988 and adapted to the stage in 2018. Beetlejuice The Musical featured music by Eddie Perfect and premiered on Broadway in April 2019 with eight Tony nominations. An upcoming sequel of the original film is to be released in September 2024 starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Jenna Ortega.

The World Wide Web is first invented in 1989, making the internet more user-friendly, kick-starting our digital age.

Nostalgia brings us a sense of joy in recognizing familiar characters and stories. We look forward to seeing you relive your nostalgia this summer with Clue at the Ahmanson Theatre!

The cast of A Christmas Story, The Musical at the Ahmanson Theatre. Photo by Craig Schwartz.