Footloose

Footloose is a musical adapted from the film of the same name.  It features iconic songs such as ‘Let’s Hear it for the Boy’ and ‘Holding Out for a Hero’ as well as the title track.  It is a musical I know very well, having stage managed two productions of it, as well as seeing many different versions of it over the years.  It was a pleasure to be back at the Memo for this production.

The company opted for a basic set with projections in place of a larger, more intricate set.  I liked the projections.  They were well designed and in focus.  Lighting enhanced the production greatly.

I am a firm believer in the fact that the strength of the opening sequence sets the tone for the whole production.  The ensemble set a very high bar, particularly in ‘On any Sunday’, and continued to be very strong throughout the production.  Congratulations to everyone involved and to musical director, Jason Venables, in creating an excellent sound.

Joshua Neal did a great job as Ren McCormack.  He sang well and was a good mover.  He had a great character throughout and led the cast with strength throughout.  He worked well with everyone in the cast and understood what was going on with the character. 

Opposite him, Charlotte Charles as Ariel delivered a performance full of power, despite her diminutive stature!  Excellent vocals, great character.  She was the perfect Ariel.  Well played.

Odysseas Moraitis gave a good, comedic performance as Willard Hewitt.  I really liked his character. Good job.

As bad boy, Chuck Cranston, Noah Richards-Taylor really went for it!  He really gave it his all and those hips had a mind of their own! 

Annie Donnelly and Bethan Horwood played Vi Moore and Ethel McCormack.  They both had lovely characters as mothers trying to do right by their rebellious children.  I must say a huge congratulations on their beautiful vocals, along with Charlotte Charles in ‘Learning to be Silent’.  This was a real highlight for me - absolutely beautiful!

As Reverand Shaw Moore, Rob Howell Jenkins had a tough task in delivering a complex character.  I thought he did a lovely job.  He sang well and showed different sides to the character during the performance.  Well done.

Ellie Thomas (Urleen) and Ellie Osborne (Mary Jo) both worked hard throughout the production.  They sang and moved well.

As Rusty, Heather Williams gave a performance full of character, with fantastic vocals. ‘Let’s Hear it for the Boy’, particularly the last few notes, was another number of real strength in this production. so much so that my eight year-old daughter, who was my companion for the evening, leaned across after the number and said ‘that was awesome’.  A first class performance Heather, well done.

All other named characters performed well.

I was impressed with the choreography.  It was slick, well delivered and appropriate for the size and ability of the cast.

The company used backing tracks for this production.  Sometimes they overpowered the vocals or the dialogue but generally sound balance was good.  The use of tracks did mean there were some timing issues however.  Some passages of dialogue were rushed on other occasions there were large pauses before the next portion of singing began.  It’s a difficult balancing act between the cost of a live band and using backing tracks but I do feel that a bit of the magic is lost without live music.

This production had everything I wanted from ‘Footloose’.  Bags of energy, excellent vocals and brilliant dancing.  Fern (daughter) and I had a lovely evening.  Thank you.

 

The views in this report are solely of the author.

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