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  • 1.  Footloose

    Posted 01-10-2020 00:06
    I teach at a very conservative school.  Wondering if I can cut "The Girl Gets Around" and just use some dialogue to get the point across that Ariel is rebellious

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    Melinda Carlson
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  • 2.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 01-10-2020 12:48
    contact R&H  I'm sure that other folks have asked... maybe they have options.   

    Honestly though...  it is soooo much better than either film version as far as content and 'uptight people reactions'  you can probably just leave it.

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    [Drama] [Dan] []
    [Drama Teacher/Director]
    [Dublin Coffman HS]
    [Dublin] [Ohio]
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 01-11-2020 05:54

    I did Footloose last year. I'm not a fan of cutting anything, especially a song. 

    Have you thought about taming down the choreography? 

    Honestly, Girl Gets Around was the least of my worries when I did it. I was more worried about Chuck Cranston and the Burger Blast scene where he barges in as well as the one where he beats up Ariel before Almost Paradise 

    We actually took a community spin on this and my publicity team focused on domestic violence and unhealthy relationships. It's incredibly prevalent throughout the show with Reverend, Wes, etc. We did a shoe drive for a battered women's shelter and talked a lot about what it looks like. It was a great success and my students learned a lot. Plus the administration was okay with it because of that spin. 

    Break a leg!



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    Karen Wiebe
    Drama Director
    Burlington KY
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 01-11-2020 08:21
    Completely agree. How conservatives is this place? I just did this show in May for a similarly conservative community and I didn't even consider that song grossly sexual. You can get away with a lot depending on how something is staged. We did it as more playful but still got across the central idea. As for her abduction, we just staged her runaway as a cross when Chuck then comes from behind to take her offstage where we left whatever happened after unseen. We can control a lot on how a thing plays. I removed a little language but that's it.

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    Steven Couch
    Madison OH
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 01-11-2020 11:24
    Thank you guys.
    All of this helps me think it through. Any other input to help would be appreciated.

    I always have my students write a response paper after we close our show describing what they learned about life and redemptive qualities they saw through the story line and characters.

    The idea to use it to raise awareness for abuse or women’s needs is fabulous.

    Thank you....

    Sent from my iPhone


    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 01-11-2020 12:14
    I will say that one thing I said to them in the rehearsal process is that this was a show that really didn't have any bad guys. It is easy to paint the preacher as some villain, but the reality is he is just doing what he thinks is right because he is grieving and his family and town are struggling. To play both Ren and preacher as characters that you want to root for in their own way makes their confrontation later so much more compelling and the final resolution where he joins them at the dance and they realize they can come together that much more cathartic. It also erases any "anti-small town bias" that the script may inherently have (big town guy rescues dumb small town). Honestly, the only real "bad guy" is Chuck Cranston, in my view. I was not a fan of the movie at all - always thought it was slight and dumb. Grew up in the '80s and never watched it until audition time, and never really liked the soundtrack either. But it is perfect musical theater material if handled correctly, and I truthfully think the stage show is better than the original material. I found new appreciation for it. Good luck :)



    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 01-12-2020 09:07
    I have directed Footloose twice and did not cut anything. The only complaint we got was from a conservative radio host who objected to the "beer and cigarette" lines from high school-aged characters.
    Actually the words to Meredith Willson's "The Sadder but Wiser Girl" from The Music Man are much more risqué if one understands the references.

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    Kate Costello
    Theater director
    Arlington Heights IL
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 01-12-2020 12:19
    I did Footloose a few years ago, and I also teach at a very conservative school. I'm fact, the choir director who was a super conservative Christian quit as my musical director and I had to teach music myself. We did not cut anything, and choose to make The Girl Gets Around more playful. It turned out to be a total hit because the audience already had such a strong connection from the movie. After the show closed, I met with my principal and she encouraged me to try to push our boundaries because that is exactly what theatre is supposed to do. I think that if you keep it true to the underlying message, you will be fine.

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    Ricardo Robinson-Shinall
    Theatre Director
    Bradenton FL
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 01-14-2020 08:13
    I have directed Footloose twice.  The first was for a small, Christian school in which the musical director and producer just couldn't get past the lyrics.  We cut the song.  You can get the idea from just the dialogue, but the dialogue is actually more risque than the actual song.

    The second time, I directed it at a large public school.  We did not cut "The Girl Gets Around," but my choreographer put the power in Ariel's hands.  She controlled the whole situation and we had no negative responses.

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    Tiersa Ferraro
    Drama Director
    Delafield WI
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 01-18-2020 19:17

    I have directed the show THREE times in three very different communities. No one objects to The Girl Gets Around if you keep the choreography tame. I did have a wonderful choreographer do the dance once and Ariel's mother complained about the choreography, so we changed it. No big deal. Otherwise, the show has always been incredibly popular, everywhere I've done it. People just love this show!

    I will give you a heads up however that it can be really difficult casting Chuck. "The Girl Gets Around" is one of the hardest songs in the show to sing. It's REALLY high. I don't know your casting pool but Chuck is only the fourth largest male role in the show (after Ren, Willard and The Reverend), and yet he probably needs to not only be one of your best singers, but a kid who looks tough enough to be a convincing threat to Ren. So you need a tough looking kid with a high tenor rock and roll belt and then you need to NOT cast him as your lead. Good luck.

    Also every time I did it, I was usually out of strong male singers by the time I got to Chuck's Cronies (the back up on "Girl" is also not easy) so I'd have a couple of my stronger tenors (Ren and Willard, etc.) on body mics in the wings helping augment the back-up vocals on stage. Just a suggestion. 



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    John Monteverde
    Drama Teacher
    A3: The Academy of Arts & Academics
    Springfield, OR
    john.monteverde@springfield.k12.or.us
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    Original Message


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