Footloose by Christian Community Theater ![]() In 1998, the story and songs were transformed into a stage musical that includes most of the hits from the soundtrack as well as several new songs created for the stage version. And thanks to some clever storytelling and fairly minor dialogue changes, and unlike the recent stage version of Saturday Night Fever, the songs actually worked quite well being sung by the stars rather than just being background music as they were in the film. Of course, the vast majority of the story is still the same. The young Ren McCormack moves from Chicago to the small town of Bomont with his mom after his father deserted them, but he finds life in the small town a lot tougher than the life in the big city that he had grown up with. Fitting into Bomont proves difficult, and his efforts are exasperated by the town’s religious conservatives who, following a fatal accident involving drunk high school youths a few years back, have outlawed dancing and rock ‘n’ roll. Ren leads a movement to have a high school dance, making lots of new friends, and enemies, along the way. The most notable enemy being Rev. Shaw Moore, father of the girl Ren likes and of a son who died in that fatal accident. The new stage story has its strong and weak points. It successfully focuses more on the relationship between Rev. Moore (Cris O’Bryon) and his wife Vi (Penny Harville) who have grown distant since the death of their son. Vi’s solo Can You Find It in Your Heart was touching and beautifully sung by Penny. Unfortunately the story misses much of the conflict and love between Rev. Moore and his daughter Ariel (Emily Bender) that was so poignantly presented in the film. As it turns out, the biggest gains in the story were the elaborations on the best friends of Ren and Ariel – Willard (Justin Parks) and Rusty (Jen Grinels). Both characters have all the best comedic lines of the show, and both of these extremely talented actors became instant fan favorites with their handling of those lines, their hilarious body language, and those hick-ish accents. Justin Parks is a riot as he learns to dance while Jen Grinels belts out Let’s Hear It for the Boy with her singularly amazing voice that, along with her comedic flair, helped her earn a “Billie” two summers ago for her role as the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Their romantic relationship – such as it is – is one for the ages as she can’t stop talking, he can’t complete a whole sentence any better than he can dance, and they have yet to be out on a date even though they’ve been “together” since kindergarten. Other strong points include Emily Bender’s sometimes saucy, sometimes sensitive portrayal of Ariel, Ariel’s other quirkily amusing friends Wendy Jo (Sarah Sumner) and Urleen (Renee Rebold), Kristen Howarth’s Dolly Parton-ish looking and singing rendition of the country-western Let’s Make Believe We’re in Love, and Kristi Hannink as Betty Blast – the roller skating-challenged boss of the meals-on-wheels Burger Blast who needs quite a bit of assistance from her assistants. But perhaps the biggest draw to this show is the dancing. Chris Howe dazzles with a variety of acrobatic moves. Not to mention his closest friends who join him in a rousing Mama Says. And the whole stage springs to vibrant life by an outstanding dancing ensemble in such numbers as On Any Sunday, Heaven Help Me, Let’s Hear It for the Boy, and the electrifying finale of Footloose. Overall, CCT's Footloose makes for a fun and lively evening of entertainment. Although the entertainment actually gets started long before the show begins, and even before you reach the theatre. You take a shuttle up to the top of Mt. Helix, and we happened to be entertained by a couple of Christian Youth Theater students going by stage name “The Bubblegum Twins” who delighted as CYT/CCT historians, tour guides of Mt. Helix, standup comics with great improvisational skills, and a cappella singers. The two up-and-coming stage/shuttle actresses made the trip seem so much quicker, and ended the memorable shuttle ride with a medley of Footloose tunes to get you right in the mood.Rob Hopper San Diego Playbill ~ Cast ~
Ren McCormack: Chris Howe Rev. Shaw Moore: Cris O'Bryon Willard Hewitt: Justin Parks Ariel Moore: Emily Bender Vi Moore: Penny Harville Ethel McCormack: Kristin Bauer Garvin: Mick Bonde Bickle: Bryan Briney Jeter: Robb Beus Lyle: Ritchie Gonzalez Travis: Jimmy Christiansen Chuck Cranston: Jon Lorenz Urleen: Renee Rebold Wendy Jo: Sarah Sumner Rusty: Jen Grinels ~ Townspeople ~ Coach Roger Dunbar: Don Evans Eleanor Dunbar: Christi McClure The Cop: Keith Pearson Wes Warnicker: Stephen Kiley Principal Harry Clark: Paul Plunk Mrs. Clark: Sherry Evans Cowboy Bob: William Reilly Irene: Kristen Howarth Lulu Warnicker: Tawndi Wohlwend Betty Blast: Kristi Hannink Cameo: Debbie Stevenson ~ High School Ensemble ~ Haley Beckwith Carrie Briney Brian Buxton Justin Caster Angela d'Avignon Mandi Esau Casey Finley KC Grulli Devonne Hanke Ryan Hansen Joey Huth Luke Jacobs Whitney Jacobs Erika Jermasek Amy Kiley Jessica Lieber Jhon Lombere Aaron Long Alana O'Bryon Brylan Ranscht Amy Russell Janie Underwood Liz Yarris Director: Travis Russell Musical Director: Janie d'Avignon Choreographer: Jason Russell Costume Designer: Tamara Myers Lighting and Scenic Designer: David Kievit Conductor: Harvey Tellinghuisen Stage Manager: Steve Mull |