YOU’LL BE DANCING IN THE SHEETS ALL OVER AGAIN
Sitting in a movie theater, in 1984, we teens were spellbound by the original film version of Footloose — and not because it was an amazing story or full of brilliant acting performances (spoiler alert: it wasn’t). Recall that MTV had begun to mesmerize us less than three years earlier; along those lines, Footloose gave us enough of a plot to tie together a bunch of terrific MTV-like videos. Let the critics say what they wanted (and boy did they) about the storyline; the soundtrack was outstanding: six songs hitting the top 40 and two of them (the title track and “Let’s Hear It for the Boy”) receiving Oscar nominations. Arguably, Bonnie Tyler’s brilliant “Holding Out for a Hero” should have gotten nominated over those two.
Why was this critically dismissed movie such a hit? It’s simple message of celebrating fun and overcoming adversity resonated with young people through great music. We were still on the tail end of having eaten up Flashdance a year earlier and were ready for the next big-screen, youth-oriented dance/music sensation. Throw in Kevin Bacon’s charm and tickets flew as we ate up music by Tony Snow, Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins and Jim Steinman.
With music trends changing quickly, it was easy by the late 90s to get nostalgic for this fun, fluffy film, full of dance energy. This motivated screenplay writer Dean Pitchford to adapt it with Walter Bobbie into a 1998 Broadway production, which sticks fairly close to the movie plot. Pitchford also wrote the simplistic lyrics to all of the songs both new (music by Tom Snow) and old (pop-rock hits also include “Almost Paradise”). The silly and sweet-natured musical gets a rebirth at Wildsong this month.
Dance-loving Chicago teen Ren (Chase Lowary) and his mother Ethel (Rachel Mink) have fallen on hard times after Dad passes. The two have to move to the tiny town of Beaumont, to live off the generosity of Ethel’s sister Lulu (Ava Castenada) and her husband Wes (Michael Miller). To Ren’s shock, dancing of any kind was made illegal in Beaumont five years prior, due to the potent influence of Reverend Shaw Moore (Michael Harrison) who preaches the evil of dancing. With the help of Ren’s new friend Willard (Greg Ashcraft) and the defiant minister’s daughter Ariel (Nicola Barrett thru 3/25, then Jennika Grace), Ren sets out to loosen up this conservative town with a whole lot of music and dancing along the way.
There are a few plot differences from the movie, but the biggest difference is that no one sang anything in the movie; every hit song was a background to a scene or dance routine. Thus, Pitchford had to come up with mechanisms to have characters sing the hit songs. For the most part, it works, especially with co-directors Rachel Mink and Brooke Aliceon looking for almost every opportunity to find camp in this not-so-believable plot. A great example, leading to laughs every time is the school principal, also played by Ms. Castenada, whose quirky physicalities are reminiscent of Gilda Radner. Another smaller difference is that, in Act I, early sections border on rock-opera, as characters successfully fill in the background to get the plot moving.
Musically, it’s not one of Wildsong’s strongest productions. In a number of places throughout the show, performers who are solid in their lower ranges seemed to be forcing the higher notes. Conversely, one of the givens at Wildsong is the weakness of the sound system (which they are fundraising to replace), yet, for this show, catching every line was easy – perhaps because the music isn’t as complex as other shows they’ve done, like Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd back in January.
Mr. Lowery makes for a likeable Ren, with his effervescence showing most strongly in the lesser-known number, “I Can’t Stand Still.” Ms. Barrett and a trio of back-up singers give a Nashville stage-like twist to “Holding Out for a Hero.” It makes little sense and yet is delightful.
Go in knowing that it’s corny, improbable, and that you could drain spaghetti through the holes in the plot. But with lively energy, Aliceon’s well-executed choreography, and a tongue-in-cheek, poking-fun-at-itself tone throughout, the entertainment value is undeniable.
photos by Brooke Aliceon
Footloose
Wildsong Productions
OB Playhouse (in Ocean Beach) 4944 Newport Ave in San Diego
Thurs-Sat at 8; Sun at 2
performance dates and times vary; see website for specificsends on April 7, 2024
for tickets, visit Wildsong