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REVIEWS
Pumping Pop and Footloose Dancers
Reviewed by Wendy Shailer-Knight
Bare-chested young men, great ‘80s pop tunes and lots of laughs; “Footloose – the Musical” could be the perfect night out.
The Abbey’s able amateur company turned on a bright and energetic performance last night in this stage production of the cult ‘80s film.
All the classic songs from the original movie are here. The title track, ‘Footloose’, is a jazzed up version in the stage production without its hallmark twangy guitar rifts, but still punchy enough to produce nostalgia from the opening bar. There’s also ‘Let’s Hear It For the Boy’, with Renee Pink ably stepping into Denise Williams’ high heels for the piece. ‘Holding Out For a Hero’ and the showstopper, ‘Almost Paradise’. Show leads Andrew Jamieson as new guy Ren, and Carrie Green as reverend’s daughter Ariel, were outstanding in this duet, as they were throughout the show. These two have style, chemistry and magic voices.
The movie about a teen boy who brings dancing and pop music back to a town where they have been banned for years translates well into the musical genre.
There are pumping pop songs and more contemplative pieces. In its quiet moments the story asks important questions about how to respond to losing a loved one and how to get the right mix of faith and rules when bringing up teenagers. In its new songs, the musical sometimes suffers from the affliction of so many shows; that of turning songs into monologues to music. New songs that combine a great melody and pithy words are present too though, and one that particularly works well is country boy Willard (Richard Rewa) and his rendition of ‘Mama Says’.
It’s a well cast and entertaining piece and something of a showcase for the Abbey Theatre’s talented dancers, singers and actors.
“Footloose” doesn’t have Kevin Bacon dancing in tight jeans, but the cast and choreography make up for it with great dance numbers and a vibrant, youthful energy.
Also a blast is Pythia Horne as the blonde roller skating burger joint owner Betty Blast. Great to watch every time.
Innocent Musical Captures Wasp Life
Reviewed by John Ross
“Footloose” is a charmingly innocent musical, based in a small exclusively Wasp, middle-American town, where the only block to the pursuit of happiness by the young is a local ban on dancing. Forget rough sex, hard drugs, booze, criminal gangs, racial troubles, terrorism, foreign wars. Enter a young outsider, Ren from Chicago, a dancing addict. Eventually, the patriarchal local preacher has a change of heart, the ban ends and most people are happy. If only.
Scott Andrew has directed a good looking, efficient, well paced production, ably choreographed by Anoushka Vlcek. As the change agent Ren, Andrew Jamieson provides plenty of flair in acting, dancing and singing, with Carrie Green as the preacher’s ornery daughter Ariel likewise fine. Richard Rewa and Renee Pink offer plenty of vitality and comedy as stand-out local boy and girl, from with a substantial ensemble.
As the preacher, Paul Lyons sings well, yet could be, initially, outwardly colder and harder, as the frozen authoritarian his wife, ably played by Sue Philips-Paton, complains he has become.
Another area with room for improvement is the clarity of the words for much of the ensemble singing, which were hard to pick up on the first night.
Reviewed by Tracey-Lynne Cody
“Footloose – the Musical” revisits the 80s film classic ‘Footloose’. Exploring the universal themes of generational conflict and rebellious fruit born of fundamentalism and repression, the story begins when Ren McCormack (Andrew Jamieson) and his mother Ethel (Andrea Potts) move to Bomont, only to find themselves in a puritanical time warp. It’s illegal to drink or to dance in Bomont and popular music is frowned on. There’s little to get excited about – except perhaps church on Sundays when Reverend Moore (Paul Lyons) preaches up a vision of heaven that almost makes sense of their bland living.
But “it’s the shoemaker’s children who always go around barefoot”, and Ariel (Carrie Green), the preacher’s daughter, is fascinated with bad boys. Reverend Moore has become increasingly rigid since the death of his son Bobby and Ariel is looking for excitement and distraction from the staid, religious lifestyle he’s prescribed for her. When city slicker Ren bursts on the scene, it can only mean trouble.
Talented all-rounders, Green and Jamieson don’t disappoint when dancing or singing. While the chemistry generated between them in ‘Almost Paradise’ might have begun earlier in Act Two, the duo sang superbly. There was a sense they were still warming into these characters and could internalise these further to work with the intimacy of the Abbey Theatre space.
The supporting roles add considerably to the success of the show. Rusty (Renee Pink) and an endearing Willard (Richard Rewa) give standout vocal and character performances. Potts, with her rich vocal tone, gave a classy performance as Ren’s mother. Lyons and Sue Paton, as the Reverend’s wife Vi, provide a sensitive portrayal of real parents grappling with the changing world and the reality that bad things can happen to good people, even under God’s watch.
A sassy female chorus burst on to the stage from the outset and kept up their commitment throughout. The male trio add touches of physical comedy with a pelvis-dipping “push up” routine and the ever-present female trio in ‘Somebody’s Eyes’ (who were starting to get a little spooky) were strong in their roles. Pythia Horne is delightfully eccentric as roller skating Betty Blast.
The choreography by Anoushka Vlcek is well pitched for the cast, varied and creative (given the limits of the space available) with the best dance numbers being saved ‘til last.
Whether you were a fan of the movie or not, strong ensemble work from a vocally strong, committed company make “Footloose” worth seeing.
Reviewed by Bobbie Nicholls
Dean Pickford, who wrote the screenplay of the 1984 movie ‘Footloose’, has rewritten the story as a musical, including familiar hits such as ‘Footloose’, ‘Holding Out For a Hero’ and ‘Let’s Hear It for the Boy’, plus 14 other songs, most of which have energetic dance routines.
When his father leaves the family, Ren (Andrew Jamieson) and his mother Andrea Potts) move from Chicago to a small town with rigid rules enforced by the Reverend Shaw (Paul Lyons), Coach Dunbar (Phil White) and Principal Clark (Jeremy Matthews). Dancing has been banned since a post-dance car crash five years earlier killed five local teenagers, including the preacher’s son. But what else is there for the kids to do? Ariel (Carrie Green) rebels against her father’s restrictions and runs with the town’s wild boy (Jared Gardner) until she meets Ren, who seems to run up against the rules, no matter what he does. The theme behind the story is summed up in one scene between Ren and the Reverend, in which the older character explains what it’s like to lose a son, and Ren admits that he misses his father.
All the cast are good, the leads are exceptionally well cast. Their acting, voices and singing cannot be faulted. The dancing is very, very good, especially the men, and the choreography fits the situations. Two highlights feature shy local boy Willard (Richard Rewa) at the Country and Western Dance Hall where he learns to dance and sing. Willard’s love interest ?Rusty (Renee Pink), and her sidekicks Urleen (Raelene Watts) and Wendy Jo (Erin Simmons) are a delightful trio, particularly in their harmonising. Paul Lyons is a great preacher and Sue Philips-Paton, as his wife, partners him well. Both have great voices, but her clothing appears in appropriate for a Reverend’s wife, which is a pity since the rest of the cast are well costume.
Long scene changes were distracting on the opening night, but these should become streamlined as the season progresses.
The Abbey has chosen a fun production for its Christmas show with a talented cast who give it plenty of zing.
Reviewed by Richard Mays
As far as late model musicals go, “Footloose” is reasonably articulate. Bearing in mind the stage show is based on the 1980’s movie, of its type the libretto is relatively thoughtful. Within its prescription plot of misfit teen from the city transported to a foreign planet – the American Biblebelt burg of Bomont, falling out with the locals, falling in love with the reverend’s daughter, and overturning a town ordinance against dancing, “Footloose” has surprising resonance. With the ‘80s back “in”, the production with hit songs from the ear, slots without fuss into modern dress, language and sensibility. To be truly now, it lacks on major accessory – cellphones, and this keeps it firmly in a kind of pre-tech time lapse limbo.
Cleverly shoehorned onto the restrictive Abbey stage, and given some flashy moves by Anoushka Vlcek, the energetic full chorus numbers constantly threatened to over whelm its confines. While some of the sets and changes looked superfluous, they were generally well managed by the crew, and covered by bridging music from Al Warren’s fluent and suitably restrained six piece band. Even so, the first act saw inevitable microphone imbalances, muffling leads Andrew Jamieson and Carrie Green.
As the transplant from Chicago, Jamieson overcame the initial lack of mic presence with a smooth, assured vocal and physical performance, without ever compromising the youthful directive required by the character. Green as Ariel, wayward daughter of the Reverend Shaw Moore, seemed uncharacteristically subdued vocally, but did deliver an inspiring ‘Holding Out For a Hero’ that held its own against a high camp male chorus with its Village People overtones.
Renee Pink’s Rusty shone throughout, especially during her excellent rendition of ‘Let’s Hear It for the Boy’. Growing in stature throughout as the emotionally repressed preacher, Paul Lyons finished with a towering ‘Can You Find It In Your Heart’. As Willard, Richard Rewa made the most of the humours ‘Mama Says’. Jared Gardner impressed as the punkish strutting Chuck, and Pythia Horne made an indelible impact as Betty Blast.
A little more co-ordination, some fine tuning of the sound system, and this feel-good musical has what it takes to really cut loose.
