In the summer of 1984, a little movie with a big soundtrack took the world by storm and launched a young up and coming leading man (for whom at the time you’d be pressed to find movie connections of two degrees) into the stratosphere as the ubiquitous megastar Kevin Bacon. Filling out the cast with veteran actors like John Lithgow and Dianne Weist along with breakout performances from young actors like Lori Singer and Sarah Jessica Parker, Kenny Ortega’s Footloose defined a decade in both music and fashion. A generation of young men (this critic may have been one of them) flipped up their collars, rolled up their sleeves, spiked their hair, and danced á la young Bacon, and the Billboard chart-topping soundtrack went solid platinum with the biggest hits for superstars of the day like Kenny Loggins, Bonnie Tyler, Sammy Hagar, Annie Wilson, Mike Reno, and Deniece Williams.
In 1998, a musical version hit Broadway with the movie score intact, plus new songs by film composers Dean Pitchford and Tom Snow and a book by Pitchford and director Walter Bobbie that failed to capture the dynamic energy of their solid gold source. Over the last decade, Pitchford and Bobbie reworked their script, most notably for a phenomenal Kennedy Center concert engagement, and cut a majority of the music written for the adult characters, strengthened the mother’s duet, and added a severely-needed second act opening number, streamlining the show by condensing it more resemble the original material. It is this concise and structurally superior version that Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre presents this run.
Everyone knows the plot. City-boy’s father leaves, forcing him and his single mom to move to a small town where dancing is banned. City-boy wants to dance and butts heads with the locals, most notably the autocratic preacher whose rebellious daughter sparks his interest. Audience familiarity with the iconic score and characters can work both ways, but director Jerry Vess’ cast all land solidly on their insubordinately dancing feet.
Matthew Walter as Ren McCormick has all the rakish charm of a young Kevin Bacon coupled with a ferocious live stage energy. He commands center stage from the start of the high octane opening number, and carries the bulk of the show on his taut shoulders, excelling with musical moments from his new “I Want” song, “I Can’t Stand Still” (literally, as he showcases a constant barrage of fancy footwork and across-the-stage acrobatics), to recreating 80s classics like Kenny Loggins’ “I’m Free” and love duet (with Danielle Kellner), the quintessential power ballad and theme of a thousand 80s proms, Mike Reno and Annie Wilson’s “Almost Paradise”. By the time he takes on the town council in an impassioned and well-prepared plea to abolish the anti-dancing ordinances in order to have a school prom, he has hit his stride as leading man. (After this performance, picture local audiences playing “Six Degrees of Matthew Walter”.)
Kellner adds a girl-next-door presence to defiant daughter-of-a-preacherman Ariel Moore but contrasts it with strong bad-girl vocals on Bonnie Tyler’s “I Need a Hero”. She gets solid backup from BFFs Rusty (Cailey Smith), Wendy Jo (Tatiana Andolz-Cassanova), and Urleen (Tia Silver), who also act as an ersatz Greek chorus with an eerie take on Karla Bonoff’s “Somebody’s Eyes” in a montage where the new boy in town can’t seem to avoid ruffling all the locals’ feathers. The trio also get the show off to a lively start as their Chicago-verse counterparts with the ubiquitous title song.
As bad boy Chuck Cranston, Jayden Maduro successfully playing against type, adds a dark contrast to Walters’ pop star energy and Kellner’s comparatively mild daddy issue defiance. He’s a rock star in his own right slaying Sammy Hagar’s “The Girl Gets Around” exuding a playful, impish charm which quickly turns to a dark, intimidating cringe as Ren eases onto his turf.
Jim Diamondidis steals the show in the plum role of choreographically-challenged, tongue-tied, quick-fisted, dimbulb, good ol’ boy Willard Hewitt. He’s a delight to watch bloom under Ren’s amiable tutelage till he gains the confidence—and some fancy moves, to Smith’s vocal delight, in “Let’s Hear It for the Boys”—to the point where he eventually puts down the fists and puts on his dancing shoes with the confidence to be the guy of Rusty’s dreams.
Like the original screenplay, the adults fare less well with material, mostly being sidelined as figures of the establishment for the young leads to rebel against. E. Lee Nichol, at the top of that pyramid in John Lithgow’s role as conflicted antagonist Rev. Shaw Moore, a powerful preacher with even more powerful connections who can rule a congregation—and even a small town—but can’t control his own daughter. Nichol oscillates nicely between autonomy and concern with experienced vocals in between.
Ellen Quay fills Diane Weist’s heartwarming role as his loving wife Vi, torn between being a supportive wife and a sympathetic mother. Her solo “Can You Find It in Your Heart?” is the best new addition to the pared-back adult segment of the score. With Crista Drysdale as Ren’s put-upon mom Ethel, their former duet, “Learning to Be Silent”, a whiney throwaway in the original version, actually becomes an emotional moment with the wise addition of Ariel, which brings a deeper vocal richness to the piece and makes it a trio feminist anthem of women who are stifled by the men in their lives: a husband, a father, and a brother-in-law/landlord.
Set designers Vess and Peter Kaiser utilize an array of side walls (painted in bright decorative 80s patterns of the day by Gigi Kingsland) with added panels to duplicate all the iconic settings of the movie, from high school to church to country western palace to Ariel’s train track hideaway, which is ideal for the movie-like cuts from scene to scene. Their only flaw is that the narrow doorways and entrances make for some very awkward and slow set changes.
Costume designer Linda Ridge outfits her cast in fun, appropriate 80s small town chic like the movie, with some hard-core Texas for the out-of-town country bar line-dancing segment and small town glam for the jubilant dance finale.
Music Director Ginny White gets great sound out of her company, and, as always, Ken Kimble impeccably conducting his always stellar musicians rocks the legendary score so that it still carries the same impact it did at its heyday—at least it did for this child of the 80s.
The production team as a whole knows how to strike the right balance between present-day sensibilities and paying homage to an institution. Vess keeps the screenplay-like scenes flowing, especially in this revised version’s tighter, abbreviated second act, and choreographer Lynda P. Fitzgerald has created exuberant dance numbers reminiscent of the Anita Mann/Solid Gold era. She gets strong work from her light-footed ensemble, And they highlight their work with just the right amount of salutes to the original—Kevin Bacon’s burgundy prom tux, Lori Singer’s red cowboy boots, some of 80s master Kenny Ortega’s more memorable footwork woven into the iconic numbers—that both the modern audience and the hard core 80s purists can find something to appreciate. In the end, they wisely turn the piece over to the undisputable, proven star—the immortal 80s soundtrack—and let the nostalgia work its magic.
So dance while you can in Bomont. Or if you can. The entire run of the final show of ASGT’s 2023 highly successful season is technically sold out before it even opened but stay in touch about cancellation tickets for the chance to relive the ultimate soundtrack of the last great age of top 40 music. #EverybodyCutFootloose
Running Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission
Footloose plays through September 3rd 2023 at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre— 143 Compromise Street in Historic Annapolis, MD.
Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre’s Footloose has the unique problem of being SOLD OUT for the entirety of the run. Please *DO NOT* call the box office as they do not maintain a stand-by/waitlist.
However, if tickets are returned, they will be released immediately for purchase and can be found here. Check there frequently for re-released tickets.
