Directed by Austin Chronicle’s 2023 Critics Pick Champion of Comedy, Rochelle McConico! Nostalgia: 90s Rewind is the story of a 1990s family like in Full House, Family Matters or Step by Step using your memories of the 1990s to inspire the show!
**Content warning: The 1990s were a tumultuous time! This show will feature the light and the dark of the 1990s, it will feature the joy of the 90s and there also may be discussion of tragedies that happened so keep that in mind when deciding to join us on this journey!**
We all know the trope of the classic 90s family sitcom: an impossibly large family, related in various ways (as well as some hilarious neighbors) encounter a difficult situation, experience some hilarious mishaps and blurt out a catch phrase or two. Sure the family had their arguments and troubles but at the end of 30 minutes, everyone had talked it out, had a big hug and learned something.
Nostlagia: 90s Rewind is an improv show where we take on those tropes but using the full lens of the 1990s. The 90s were so much more, so much more wild, so much more charged and nothing was ever solved in 30 minutes. The Berlin Wall fell, The Gulf War began, the World Wide Web changed everything, The Los Angeles Riots rocked the nation. The effects of event in the 1990s still reverberate today with so many of us still wondering “Can we all get along?”
At the top of the show, the creators of Nostalgia: 90s Rewind will have a conversation with the audience about their memories of the 90s that will illicit suggestions for our improvisers. These performers will use this conversation with the audience to create a family of characters who play with and grapple with the themes brought up by the audience conversation.
“I wanted to create a show that allowed me to laugh with others about some of the movies, TV shows, etc. that madeup a formative time in my life – the 90s,” says Rochelle McConico, director and creator of Nostalgia: 90s Rewind. “I want to hear gasps, some oh nos, some awwws, some laughter, some clapping from the audience. I’m hoping to hear a wide-range of reactions as we take them on a journey.”
As for what experiences Rochelle herself could explore in the 1990s: “You know I never got that track suit jacket that Chili wore in the TLC Baby Baby Baby video. It’s the Sliding Doors of my life.”
Expect an edgy, heart-warming and hilarious experience when you see “Nostalgia: 90s Rewind”!
Nostalgia: 90s Rewind came about as part of the Hideout’s diversity show-runner initiative created by our director of diversity outreach Mykel Jewell. So far the diversity initiative has produced: The Selena Sing-A-Long Show, Stranded, So You Think You Can? and KillerTown. This is the first time Rochelle has directed with the Hideout and we’re so excited to have Nostalgia: 90s Rewind grace our stage!