The movie "Footloose" became a cultural phenomenon in 1984 making Kevin Bacon an A-list actor and launching several memorable top ten hits. The exuberant soundtrack and perennial story of teens rebelling against parents and authority figures who don't understand them struck the right chord with audiences at the time and is looked back on as a staple of the 1980s.This entertaining trip down memory hooked director Christian Carrara. "I listened to the music and I really enjoyed it. It seemed like a fun opportunity," said Carrara on directing the show.
When asked about which were some of his favorite songs Carrara said, "All of them! If I had to choose any particular songs, it would be the songs that were made popular in the 80s like: ‘Footloose', ‘Let's Hear it for the Boy', and ‘Holding Out for a Hero'. I feel that the audience will connect with them because they already know them, well at least those that like 80s music."
The story begins with Ren McCormack (Kevin Albanese) getting out his frustrations from his local job in the opening number of "Footloose". Due to financial difficulties, he and his mother Ethel (Rosellen Schussler) have to leave Chicago and move to a small town of Bomont, where his aunt and uncle live. Upon arriving in town Ren and his mother attend church and meet Reverend Shaw Moore (Dan Finkle), a conservative minister who is a town authority figure in the number, "On Any Sunday". In his sermon he denounces "rock and roll" music and dancing that it can lead to sin. After the service, the Reverend's daughter Ariel (Aubrey Malakoff) runs off to a gas station to meet her boyfriend Chuck Cranston (Adam Korner) in the song "The Girl Gets Around". However, the Reverend shows up and catches Chuck with his hands around his daughter, much to his displeasure as Rev. Moore considers Chuck unworthy of seeing his daughter.
At school Ren meets Willard Hewitt (Rory Baker), a slow-witted cowboy who takes an initial dislike to Ren. In "I Can't Stand Still", Ren blows off Willard and puts on an impromptu show with dance skills he honed back in Chicago and is witnessed by the school's principal (John Lucash). The principal angrily explains that dancing is illegal in the town of Bomont. Willard defends Ren, saying that he is new and doesn't know the rules. After the principal leaves, Rusty (Erica Boyea) and her friends Wendy Jo (Nina Marti) and Urleen (Kaitlin Geoghegan) explain to an amused Ren that dancing is illegal after Reverend Moore assisted in passing a town ordinance outlawing dancing. The law was prompted after a car accident involving four kids returning from a dance — one of whom was Rev. Moore's son. They then warn him to lie low unless he wants to get into even more trouble than he already in the song "Somebody's Eyes". Meanwhile Ariel clashes with her father and mother Vi (Mary O'Connor) over her dating of Chuck.
Ariel and Ren later bond over the mutual situations and hatred of the small town. She elaborates on how the law against dancing came about but this moment leads Ren to encounters with Cranston and Ariel's father that further cast him as a trouble maker. The next day Ren is picked on and laments that back home he could dance to alleviate stressful times. Through an off handed remark, he comes up with an idea to hold a dance in a neighboring town to allow the high school students to cut loose and make a statement to Bomont's town authority that dancing is not the evil that they make it out to be. The events leading toward the dance event becomes the driving force of the musical to show that the kids may know something that the "powers that be" don't.
While the music and the 80s nostalgia are appealing on their own, the movie and musical resonate on a deeper level which can also explain some of the story's enduring appeal. In the town council scene, Ren makes the case that dancing is featured prominently in the Bible and cites passages to support his position. Its this scene where the teen hero challenges the authority on their own terms and deal with loss that kicks the material up a notch as noted by director Christian Carrara "there is a bigger theme of acceptance of change and moving on from the pain of loss which is a theme that will probably never really die. Getting to the heart of that theme might be dated and hard to believe, but that is why it is fiction."
However, at its heart "Footloose" is a fun musical that will take audiences back to the 1980s and make you want to get up and dance. On recreating that 80s dance vibe Carrara said, "Since the musical takes place in the 80s, I did draw inspiration from the original. I wanted to stay true to the feel of the film and I feel that I have done that…One of the biggest challenges was bringing an energy of dancing to life without really dancing because dancing is illegal for these people. However, if I were to put a style to it, it would be Country meet Broadway... in the 80s"
About Somerset Valley Playhouse
Somerset Valley Players was founded in 1967 as a fund raiser for the local Elementary school PTA in Somerville. There was so much interest the group become a non-profit organization whose mission was (and still is) to provide quality theatre to the community. For 18 years, they put on 3-4 shows a year in various local schools and held fundraisers and benefits to raise money for our own home. In 1982, they purchased their current home in Hillsborough, a turn of the century 2 room schoolhouse. Now the playhouse produces 8-9 shows a year.
"Footloose the Musical"
Music by Tom Snow, Lyrics by Dean Pitchford
Directed by: Christian Carrara
Musically Directed by: Thomas Pepitone
Produced by: Daniel Schulze
Somerset Valley Playhouse
689 Amwell Rd, Hillsborough Township, NJ
October 24 - November 9
Friday & Saturday - 8PM
Sunday - 2PM
Adults $20 - Seniors/Students $18
Tickets can be purchased at online at their site http://www.svptheatre.org/
Cast
Ren McCormack - Kevin Albanese
Ethel McCormack - Rosellen Schussler
Rev. Shaw Moore - Dan Finkle...
Vi Moore - Mary O'Connor
Ariel Moore - Aubrey Malakoff
Lulu Warnicker - Marie Comerford
Wes Warnicker – James Houston
Coach Roger Dunbar - Michael Jarzyna
Eleanor Dunbar - Melissa Pinto
Rusty - Erica Boyea
Urleen - Kaitlin Geoghegan
Wendy Jo - Nina Marti
Chuck Cranston - Adam Korner
Lyle - Jay Hauser
Travis - Alexander Portera
Cop - Walter Maze
Betty Blast - Melissa Pinto
Willard Hewitt - Rory Baker
Principal Clark - John Lucash
Jeter - Jay Hauser
Bickle - Brandon Luckenbaugh
Garvin - Walter Maze
Cowboy Bob - Alexander Portera
Cowgirl - Tara Keelen
Ensemble - Allison Lamont
Ensemble - Lucinda Fisher
Ensemble - Amy Korner
Pit:
Keyboard I - Florence Simons
Keyboard II - Cassie Jarzyna
Guitar I - Meghan Doyle
Guitar II - Caty Butler
Bass - Thomas Pepitone
Percussion - Aaron Allen
Production Team:
Stage Managed by: Harriet Trainor
Stage Crew: Ileana McCabe
