A wave of ’70s and ’90s nostalgia comes to Chicago this summer when “Skates,” a new musical that channels the halcyon heyday of roller rinks, premieres at the newly renovated Studebaker Theater in Michigan Avenue’s Fine Arts Building. Originally slated to open in March 2020, the show had three preview performances before theaters closed due to the pandemic. Now it returns with the original co-stars, “American Idol” alumni Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young, and a cast of Chicago theater veterans and newcomers.
“Skates” follows Jacqueline Miller, a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter from Chicago, on a coming-of-age story spanning two timelines. DeGarmo plays the 29-year-old Jacqueline as she headlines her first national tour in 1994, while Young — DeGarmo’s husband and frequent musical collaborator — appears as her love interest, jazz saxophonist Blake Conrad, among other characters. When Jacqueline comes home for a special performance at her childhood roller rink, Windy City Skates, the action shifts back to 1977 and she meets her 12-year-old self (Emma Lord) — an encounter that helps the rising rock star remember her roots and stay true to herself.
In a recent interview, DeGarmo and Young raved about the music of “Skates,” created by another husband-wife team, Christine Rea (book/lyrics) and Rick Briskin (music/lyrics). In the ’90s timeline, Jacqueline’s songs have a “soul-rock vibe” in the vein of Sheryl Crow or Liz Phair, said DeGarmo. “They’re great pop-rock tunes that just make you want to jam out.” Disco riffs and grooves mark the music of the ’70s scenes, which “definitely gets people boogying in their seats,” she added.
With a live band playing on stage throughout the show, Young observed how “free and comforting it is just to hear and feel the live music.” He said, “If you love the saxophone, you’re going to hear some amazing saxophone; if you love guitar, you’re going to see some killer guitar.”
Both performers have built successful careers in musical theater; they met while appearing in a Broadway revival of “Hair.” Nevertheless, DeGarmo noted: “We’re singers first, and that’s how most folks know us. … Singing and music is our first love.” Young added: “The music [of ‘Skates’] won us over.”
DeGarmo and Young also spoke about the nostalgia evoked by a show about a roller rink. Growing up in Boulder, Colorado, Young used roller blades to get around town and spent many hours skating at the rink. “I’d put on my headphones … and I’d just keep doing circles until they told me I had to take a break. It was so much fun,” he recalled.
“A lot of folks that are our age and maybe a little older — we knew rinks as a safe haven,” added DeGarmo. “A lot of us may have been latchkey kids, or folks that didn’t really have somewhere to go all the time, but you did know you could go to the rink.”
Skating on stage requires some theatrical magic because traditional roller skates interfere with the sound balance and are too dangerous for performers. Costume designer Lindsay McWilliams created and patented platform boots that mimic the motion of skating, with the actors’ movements choreographed by Christopher Chase Carter.
“You actually have to use more leg strength and more foot and toe strength, because your brake is in the front, but at the bottom, it’s very slippery,” Young said of the skate boots. “So, you’re learning how to moonwalk in every direction.”
Getting back into these boots has been quite a journey since the show was forced to shut down more than two years ago. Making it through this period when they were unable to work required “lots of patience” and “faith that what’s meant to be, will be,” said DeGarmo. “We were just trying to figure out how to get the arts back on their feet when the world stopped,” added Young. “It wasn’t a two-week stop for us; it was 18 months.”
Although the show itself has not changed since 2020, “we’re in a different world as performers,” said DeGarmo. “Art is important to our social culture, so we’re all trying to be more cognizant of that as we finally do get the chance to make art and celebrate the human experience on stage for folks.”
The current cast of “Skates,” directed by Brenda Didier, includes several members of the original company and other actors who are new to the show. “I feel really lucky that we found some new spaces within the piece, within the material, that we didn’t get a chance to explore before, so launching off of that, now, with our new company — it makes every day exciting, and it makes it fun. Everyone’s so fantastic,” said DeGarmo. “And to have Christopher and Brenda, our fearless leaders, back with us again — their passion for the piece really spills out into the rest of the company.”
DeGarmo feels that the show appeals to all age groups from middle school and up; there’s “a little bit of something for everyone.” Young added: “It is the perfect show for people that grew up in the ’70s or the ’90s to reminisce and also to show their kids that are getting into their teenage years that they had a different lifestyle completely. … And the kids will really understand everything that the characters are going through, because they’re going through it right now.”
“If worse comes to worst, if none of that rings true — it’s just a good time, which I think a lot of us need,” said DeGarmo. “Yes, there is so much art that is making incredible impact culturally and socially for us. … Our show has its own place. Maybe we’re not changing the world’s viewpoint with ‘Skates,’ but we are reminding everyone: ‘Honor your 12-year-old self. Don’t forget who you are.'”
“Skates” plays May 24 to Aug. 28 at the Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave.; tickets $46-$99 at 312-753-3210 or skatesthemusical.com