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The audience could not contain themselves from singing along, or even dancing in their seats. And they did not scrimp on applause.

Friday and Saturday night’s performance of the in-house production Jukebox Time Machine revealed students’ eclectic mix of musical and acting talent to the delight of their parents and their high school drama teacher, Kevin Shea, who wrote and directed the play and was also the stage manager.

Shea stressed how impressed he was with everyone involved in the production, which was a student-produced play. “The performances were done really well especially, the all-student band,” he said.

The 30 high school students took members of the ACS community on a musical journey though time. The in-house production Jukebox Time Machine followed a group of four ACS students who find the key to the underground storage area and decide to check it out. While down there, they find an old jukebox, which precipitates an argument about different music genres. This caused the strange jukebox to start working and then the students are joined by a mysterious stranger takes them back in time to experience different generations of music with the help of numerous singers and band members, through which they learn about friendship and being true to themselves.

Shea first came up with the idea at a previous school but felt it was perfect for ACS. “I felt it was a good format for this school as we have talented students but with very eclectic abilities and tastes,” Shea said. “We used every single student that expressed an interest, and then found a place for them (acting, singing, dancing, playing instruments, or helping with one of the many backstage positions). We even had students create the posters and fliers.”

It was hard not to sing along as the entire cast shared their talents with the audience. From a classical version of “See You Again” by Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa that included a flute, piano, and violin, to rocking out with the live band to “(you gotta) Fight for Your Right (to party)” by The Beastie Boys the students wowed the crowd with their music. There was even an original piece of music called "If You're Up to the Test" written and performed by high schooler Riwa Saab. It really was a trip through time, with so many different eras of music being represented. “Fly me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra was warmly embraced by the audience and all of them were dancing along in their seats as the cast led the crowd in the Village Peoples classic “YMCA.” The show ended with fantastic covers of more recent songs “Make you Feel my Love” By Adele and “Wanna Be” by the Spice Girls. The eclectic mix of music really went perfectly with the students’ skill sets and created a wonderful evening for everyone who attended.

“I am proud of the fact that so many kids with so many other commitments managed to get together and put on an entertaining show. I really am proud that everything was done by students.” Shea said, also acknowledging teachers’ support as well: “The help from Jim McLean, Sharon Rogers, Joe Feia and Nick Thornton were instrumental to our success. I want to thank them as well because we would not have been as successful without their help.”