• About
• Blog
• Links
• Sections
  • * Travel Pictures
  • Album Project
  • Assorted Pages
  • Animations
  • Electronic Music
  • Computer Games
  • Finance
  • Game Room
  • GSUMC
  • Graphics Primer
  • Honors Choirs
  • Music Sampler
  • Music Composition
  • House Remodeling
  • Programming
  • Retro Consoles
  • Reviews
  • Testing
  • Travel Resources
  • TSHS
• Updates

Hi-Tops
Published in 1985
Ernie and Debby Rettino

Download the Album (50 MB)

Preformed in 1987 by the GSUMC Youth Choir

---

Synopsis

Three angels are sent to Earth by Gabriel on a "fact finding mission" to blend in with the teenagers at a high school and learn first hand what peer pressure is. At the same time, Lucifer shows up to try to win some souls for his side. Chaos ensues, and so does a lot of music and dancing. All the main teenage characters, except the angels, are trying out to be in a band called "Hi-Tops". There are a few sub plots involving nerds, high school sweethearts, cheating on tests, taking drugs, etc.

---

Notes

• The writers sell a DVD and a Directors score on their website, but I don’t see any links to the music books for the choir. From a quick read of the psalty website the couple that crated hi-tops has since focused on a younger audience and hi-tops was their only teen production. They now focus on their Psalty brand and Hi-tops seems to go in and out of print frequently. I found no recent announcements of productions of Hi-tops.

Wikipedia
Wikipedia

The Official Music Video
YouTube

Ernie and Debby Rettino's Homepage
YouTube

---

Songs

1. Overture
2. Father of Lights
3. The Fight Song
4. Fads
5. Don't Think About the Consequences
6. Stand Back
7. The Love Song for Two Nerds
8. I Wanna Be in the Band
9. Nobody Knows What It's Like to be Alone
10. Take Off Your Mask

---

Memories

• Chalice Fike. Now that’s the way to start a musical. First song, first number, out of the park. Yep, I still remember it.
• The first musical without the "older kids". Time to carry the torch. No pressure, none… really.
• I remember being upset I could not get the low notes in the song Fads. Heck, I still can't.
• We got our cast picture in the newspaper, and somehow I missed being the picture. I still have no idea how I managed that one.
• I had forgotten the we switched out some of parts between the different performances to give me people a chance to shine. 2 points to whomever thought of that one. -2 points to whomever figured that "Tim as a Nerd" should remain the same. I'm really unsure how to take that, lol.
• Susan Chong. Solid as a Rock. I was so lucky getting to work with her.
• John Lytton? WTF? I knew John years ago from school, but never from church. Where heck did he come from and when did he learn how to sing?
• Jenny Anderson. Where are these people coming from?
• Rob Batten and Byron Lindey. Really? I'm sure these guys came out of nowhere. I wonder if this is how George and Jamie felt. I remember thinking, "it's going to be really hard getting a solo next year, I have to suck it up."
• Of little note, there is a song that was cut from our performance called "Nerd Love". I totally agree with the decision to cut this, but dang, I could have grabbed a double Solo/Duet and no one but George ever managed that.
• The never ending high notes in the last song. OMG, I can hit that note once, but you want me to hit it 10 times? Are you insane? (Side note: Years later I would be home from college one summer and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" started and I hit the high note. Just once, but damn that was great)
• And Finally, If you reading this far, you were probably there so I can say it now. I REALLY did not want to play Norman the Nerd. Somehow I missed the first meeting where everyone picked the parts they wanted. The next week when I came back, I "found out" that I "was chosen" to play Norman the Nerd. REALLY GUYS? You are supposed to give the part of Norman to the most popular person in the group, the jock, the cool guy, or the person that can pull the part off with tongue and check. You DO NOT look around the room and say "Hey, Tim's a nerd, he can play the part". Face palm. As Charles Dickens would say "It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times".
• Personally this musical had everything. There was the four musketeers, Amy, Julie, and Matt. It had the "just slightly older" crowd Susan, and Donny, and it had a host of the future players that would continue far after we had gone. Great people and great music. Not much more to ask.

---