Footloose

Footloose is a musical riven with tension: rivalry between teenage boys, emotional tension between teenage boys and girls, power tension between adults and teenagers, and a tension of values between husband and wife, with the Reverend and Mrs Shaw. It also has storylines of love, empathy, support and inspiration, and so places a big demand on the song and dance and the emotional truth of the acting. This production rose to the challenge and met it magnificently. It covered the gamut, from big rousing numbers to intense, intimate scenes and the contrasts between these heightened the impact of the show and the story, which was both dynamically and yet subtly realised through great direction and choreography, great sets, lighting and costumes, and great performances whether acting, singing or dancing.

Above all there was an energy, almost like electricity, which crackled throughout. This was exemplified in the opening scenes. The opening number (Footloose) was spectacular and strong, with nearly the whole cast on stage. There was a bright look in both the lighting and the denim and ‘tie-dye’ costumes; the energetic singing and dancing were spot-on and the action moved with an impressively quick change to the church interior scene. This built from the Reverend Shaw Moore’s cheerful dignity in his sermon, which gradually became more earnest, through the song On Any Sunday which started with the Reverend and Ethel in a lovely harmony and moved into their being joined by the full-on chorus of the church choir for a big, powerful ending. The pacing through these scenes was perfect, the contrasts of mood were effective and striking, and this quality was maintained throughout the production.

Also consistently striking and effective were the sets and the lighting devised for them, whether it was the church with its pews, choir stalls and clever lighting effect for the church window, the Burger bar, the school with its row of lockers, the kitchen of the Moore family, the Junk Yard (which was stunning and brilliant) or the Train Bridge, which was a beautiful creation. The scene changes were amazingly smooth and quick - congratulations to the backstage crew. The costumes were excellent and the orchestra was superb. Their playing of Holding Out For A Hero, for example, was masterful and, like so many of the songs, had the audience tapping their feet. The music not only had great energy in the big numbers, it was also interesting and creative. The arrangement of The Girl Gets Around, for example, had something of a moody, minor key feel and Somebody’s Eyes had wonderful harmonies.

Both the Adult Ensemble and the Young Ensemble were impressively tight, full of energy, skill and athleticism. The Footloose number at the end, with amazing dance moves in high heels performed by the female characters, followed the rousing Holding Out for a Hero, was one of the high-points of the show. The cast was strong across the board, in acting, singing and dancing.

Ren and Ariel were excellent as the ‘romantic’ leads. Ren displayed utter commitment and conviction to the singing and to the role, and was very convincing in it, with extremely athletic dancing and a bold and daring move when, on roller skates, he was pushed forcibly backwards by Chuck. The fall was cushioned, of course, but to do it backwards was courageous. The scene in Ren’s kitchen between Ren and Reverend Moore was moving and the acting was very strong indeed. Ariel was superb, whether acting, singing or dancing and Holding Out For A Hero was a highlight of the evening. Also excellent was the interaction between them. The scene with the two of them by the railway was very powerful and moving, and their Almost Paradise duet under the railway bridge in a later scene was absolutely beautiful with lovely harmonies.

The other characters all gave strong performances, which was so important in making the story and the deep emotions believable - Chuck’s well-expressed feelings of envy and jealousy, for example, provided a foil for Ariel and Ren’s burgeoning love, and Ren’s feeling of dislocation in his new environment. Ethel singing Learning To Be Silent with Vi was super, Ariel’s three friends made a great trio and Willard’s acting was very impressive, full of nice expression and subtle gestures. His singing of Mamma Says was a high-point.

Stand-out performances were given by Reverend Moore and Vi Moore. The roles are not easy ones and both actors showed outstanding maturity and ability in delivering them. Their acting and singing were superb. The Reverend’s rendition of Heaven Help Me brought out all the emotion in this challenging song and Vi’s performance of Can You Find It In Your Heart was absolutely stunning.

As a consequence of the quality of the direction and performances, the powerful and moving themes of the story were put across to the audience clearly, powerfully and movingly. This was an amazing production with great depth - well done to everyone.

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