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  • 1.  Footloose

    Posted 03-08-2017 17:11
    I'm contemplating FOOTLOOSE for our musical for next year.  We have the students for it and in many ways it feels like it would be a good fit for us.  It meets our tech needs/limitations, and fulfills our desire to do something more contemporary after a few years of classic shows.  However, while my choreographer and musical director have both done the show in other venues, I'm not all that familiar with it.   I'd love to hear from anyone who has done the show in their school and welcome all comments, insights, horror stories, cautions, advice, etc.  Thanks!

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    Susan Speidel
    Chairman of the Studio & Performing Arts Department
    Morristown-Beard School
    NJ
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  • 2.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 03-09-2017 08:16
    I have directed Footloose and although I had a good response to the show, I am always cautious of/disappointed by musicals that are adapted from non-musical films. It's fine if all the music is written for the musical (like Hairspray where they used none of the music from the film). The trouble happens when the creators have figured out a way for the characters to sing the music that was originally written as background or scoring in the original, non-musical film. Songs like "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Let's Hear it for the Boy" should have been dropped; There is simply no good reason to sing them! On the flip side, the music that was written for the musical like "Can you find it in your heart", "I Confess" and "On Any Sunday" are pretty fantastic! I will also admit that audiences LOVE hearing music they know form the radio or from their past. Since my production of Footoose of I have felt the need to steer clear of these jukebox styled musicals.

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    DJ Queenan
    Director of Fine Arts
    Savannah Country Day School
    Savannah GA
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 03-10-2017 09:39
    We did it several years ago, and it was a huge success. The only issue we had was finding all of the 80's era keyboard sounds for the pit orchestra! The students had a great time in the school library looking up all the 80's yearbooks when they were researching costumes, too. You and your students will enjoy working on it.

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    Sergio Iriarte
    Drama Coach
    Akron OH
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 03-10-2017 17:28
    I have done the show twice, once as a member of the production staff (costume designer) for a high school in Michigan about 5 years ago and the second as the director just this past January. It was my first time ever directing a musical so I can't really compare it to other musicals in that way, but I can say that I really love the show and I highly recommend it.

    I love the music (both the old and the new) and I think they did an amazing job paying homage to the original 1984 movie and its much loved soundtrack while giving the story and characters more depth and adding lots of great music to make the show Broadway-worthy.

    Footloose is fun, fast-paced, and full of energy and has, I think, just the right amount of campy 80s teen movie vibe but it also has a lot of heart and a powerful message of hope and healing that can move your audience to tears.One of the things I love about the musical is that it gives the adults in the story, especially Shaw, more character development than the original film. I think this really adds to its multi-generational appeal. My students were not as familiar with the original film as I had anticipated, but they quickly fell in love with it and it received a great response from the parents and teachers, many of whom loved the film in their youth. This was definitely a hit with both the performers and the audience.

    I think my best advice to start out with is that you've got to have some really powerhouse performers for all the lead characters, but I would say especially when it comes to Ren and Shaw. The entire story really rests on these two characters. The roles are both vocally demanding and require strong acting chops. While Shaw doesn't do much dancing, Ren has to be a great dancer as well. Although I do think you have to be careful not to focus so much on the dancing that the other areas suffer. Ren is supposed to be the "dancer" of the bunch, but if any of those three areas is weak, I would say it's better for the dancing skills to be weaker than anything else. Don't cast your best dancer at the expense of vocals or acting. But, that's my opinion.  

    I wrote a post about some of the ensemble casting in this forum about 2 weeks ago in answer to someone's query. You may find that thread helpful.

    Feel free to message me if I can answer any specific questions for you. I am a relatively inexperienced director, but I'll do my best. Good luck!

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    Emily Olson
    Theatre Arts Teacher and Director
    Port St. Lucie, FL
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 03-13-2017 21:13
    I just recently put this on at our school and it was a big success. I have directed this before and the story has changed a bit with a couple songs and rearranging a few things. I was worried about losing the "I Confess" number but still worked well with it being worked now as a scene. It is a great story with a great message, the tunes are pretty up beat and the remake of the movie helped students be familiar with it, some knew the original and the songs are pretty familiar with the parents/staff.

    If you have the right people for it, I think it is great. The character "Ariel" is a wild one and there may be some concern regarding the song "The Girl Gets Around" but we toned down the choreography a bit and were fine (in a pretty conservative area). Many featured roles and set design flexibility. Let me know if you have any questions as it's pretty fresh on the brain. 

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    Cory Finch
    Drama Teacher/ Director/ Advisor
    Vista Murrieta High School
    Murrieta CA
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 03-17-2017 19:19
    Hello Cory!

    As it happens my school is gearing up for our own showing of footloose next month. Being part of the theater crew,
    we're currently in the works building the set and planning the lighting. I don't know how "high tech" the theater is at your school but if its is could you recommend any colors or tones that you thought worked well for certain scenes?

    Also if there was anything you could change or do differently that you think might improve the play what would it be?

    Thanks alot.

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    Marshall Kidd
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Footloose

    Posted 03-18-2017 12:06
    Hello,

    My high school did Footloose three years ago.  The cast and audience enjoyed it immensely.  My one bit of advice is in casting Willard Hewitt, Ren's friend.  Even though he is a supporting character, the actor must be comfortable with singing and dancing.  It took us some time to get our actor comfortable in the role, and I am not sure he was as comfortable as he should have been.  It takes some effort for an actor to look like he doesn't know how to dance and then eventually look like he really can dance.  Also, be sure your Ren and Ariel have some natural chemistry so the relationship looks more natural as it develops through the course of the show.

    Good luck,

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    Kenneth Robinson
    Drama Club Sponsor
    Wapahani High School
    Selma IN
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    Original Message


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