It’s almost forty years since Kevin Bacon came to the fore in the hit movie ‘Footloose’ and the popularity of the hit songs and feel-good story shows no sign of diminishing. The concept of a small, American town that has banned dancing (and effectively merriment) under the domination of a patriarchal religious leader has echoes of the novel ‘Babette’s Feast’ by Isak Dinesen. In fact, it is more or less the same back-story to the psychedelic Beatles film ‘Yellow Submarine’. All these works have taken the notion of a world with life made stale after the banning of music or dancing (worth remembering that this effectively happened for real in England in the 1550s under Oliver Cromwell’s puritanical regime!). ‘Footloose’ adds another dimension because it is also a study of coming to terms with tragedy and grief.
Even if you have never seen ‘Footloose’ on stage or celluloid, you probably know some of the songs even if you did not know it. The score includes numbers by Kenny Loggins and Jim Steinman amongst others. Not surprisingly, most numbers sound written for dancing to, and the large stage used to full advantage with tables and chairs was used to great effect. The very youngest age group did little dancing but were nevertheless given some prominence. In ‘Holding Out For A Hero’, against a backdrop of spirited singing and dancing by older members, a charming array of the little ones in a plethora of super-hero costumes provided a nice complement.
This was the youth edition of the stage musical, featuring different age groups. A large cast of around 130 convincingly brought over the effect on stage of a populous town, which must have taken some choreographing. A simple but effective two-level set was used to good effect as both a railway bridge and a platform for leaders to address crowds, but the main effect was those vibrant costumes with occasional props such as a mobile burger bar. The show might have been a youth edition but it was nevertheless almost an hour and a half long and pulled no punches with the story.
What really made the show was the acting, with performances across the board showing maturity and confidence beyond the actors’ actual ages. The direction was slick, the dancing dynamic and all the set used effectively but it was in the one-to-one exchanges that brought the story powerfully to life.
Sam Jeffries was well-cast as Ren, the dance-loving city boy coming to terms with having a father who deserted him, with Megan Voss giving a powerful performance with vibrant delivery of songs as Aeriel, who it transpires has had her own tragedy in losing her brother. The most interesting character however was the Reverend Moore, played by Jake Oliver, who even in dance scenes kept a straight face.
‘Footloose’ is in many ways Moore’s journey, who as both spiritual and civic leader of the town, has kept the town in a state of mourning after some of its youths (including his son) had died in a car crash on the way home from a dance. The scene with Ren and Moore together in which the minister was forced to come to terms with his inner hurts, was particularly well handled. The scenes with Ren and Aeriel on the railway bridge were also both touching and effective with the back-story fully revealed.
This was a very enjoyable production of ‘Footloose’ with full justice done to all the songs together some great dance sequences. It was also an object lesson in bringing together groups of different ages, where everyone got a chance to shine.
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 13.7.23
on - 13.7.23
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