JS80: Footloose
Junior Stage 80 take to the stage again this year with their foot-stomping version of Footloose. The 1998 stage musical is based on the film of the same name from 1984 which featured Hollywood stars: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow and Sarah Jessica Parker. The hit musical first came to the stage on Broadway before doing a US tour and venturing to Australia and finally making an appearance in the UK in 2004.
The musical tells the story of Ren McCormack, an ordinary city teenager from Chicago, who thinks his life is over when he is forced to move to the small town of Bomont in the middle of nowhere with his mother Ethel. Once there the pair attend church and meet the minister Shaw Moore who is very conservative and regularly preaches about the dangers of ‘Rock and Roll’ following a fatal car accident involving some local youths. Ren soon becomes friends with the Minister’s daughter Ariel. The two of them, together with their friends Willard and Rusty plan a dance to alleviate the teenagers’ pressures. Met with resistance from Rev Moore and the Town Council, the group are determined to put the town’s ghosts to rest and put life back into Bomont.
The original Broadway production was nominated for 4 Tony Awards and A.C. Ciulla won the award for Best Choreography in 1999. Packed with classic 80s hits including ‘Holding Out for a Hero’, ‘Let’s Hear it for the Boy’ and the unforgettable title track ‘Footloose’, the show is full of electrifying dance routines guaranteed to get you to your feet.
