The St. Michael’s College Troubadours’ production of Footloose ran at Hart House Theatre from February 12–14. Directed by Alexander Gomez, this ’80s rock musical follows a teenage boy and his mom challenging the conservative laws of the town of Bomon, Utah, where they moved from Chicago. The ensuing events reveal the heart of the town’s resistance: a family burdened by unresolved grief.
Chicago-raised Ren McCormack (Gabriella Wang) catches the attention of Ariel (Isobel Arseneau), the rebellious daughter of Bomont’s leading preacher, Reverend Shaw (Le Truong). Reverend Shaw has been leading a paranoid campaign in the town against dancing and partying for the past five years after losing his son in a drunk-driving accident.
Opening night started with a fanfare performance of the titular song, “Footloose.” The audience is briefly introduced to a lively crowd in Chicago, only to be ripped away to Reverend Shaw’s sober church service.
Footloose’s plot operates in groups, displaying its themes of family, connection, and loss through its exploration of the groups’ relationships to each other and to Bomont.
The McCormack family, made up of Ren and his mother Ethel (Norah Chaput), contrasts with Reverend Shaw, Ariel, and her mother Vi (Mykah Marquez). Ariel’s friends Rusty (Bianca Hopkins), Urleen (Allison Tanzola), and Wendy Jo (Lucia Linde); and the greasers Chuck (Andrew Evanyshyn), Lyle (Noah Meeboer), and Travis (Taniya Bahari) give Ariel an escape from her restrictive family.
The only explicit outlier is Willard (Ben Rutter), Footloose’s creative spin on the unimaginative farmboy archetype. The character has such a stage presence that he simply needs no company of his own.
The drama is set against a backdrop of two multipurpose platforms with metal stairs that could act as cars, benches, and other props as demanded by the production. Unfortunately, these platforms appeared to suffer from a slight malfunction during a scene change, but the backstage crew handled the situation quickly and professionally.
In a musical that places such emphasis on dancing, it was not surprising that the ensemble excelled at performing perfectly synchronized choreography tailored to individual characters. The band, conducted by Medha Barath, performed beautifully, especially for such a diverse array of songs and genres. In some songs, however, I found that the singers were too quiet compared to their instrumental backing — likely due to discrepancies in the speakers — making it difficult to hear the lyrics.
The cast, band, and creative team developed a setting so immersive that, by the end of the show, even I would be shocked if someone had never heard of the Potawney Bridge Accident.
The cast’s chemistry — integral to a show like Footloose — was believable for the most part but wavered during some critical moments. Sometimes it felt as though the actors were not totally interacting with each other, lacking the vivid depth they displayed in other scenes.
Wang captured the looseness of Ren McCormack, which pieced well with Arseneau’s portrayal of subtle, insecure rebelliousness in Ariel, and contrasted well with Truong’s display of anxious possessiveness in Reverend Shaw. Each actor’s body language managed to consistently express each of their characters’ key relationships to dancing and youthful festivity.
Hopkins, Tanzola, and Linde performed fantastically as Ariel’s friends in some of the musical’s most demanding numbers, particularly “I Need a Hero” and “Let’s Hear It For The Boy.” With Footloose drawing several of its numbers from rhythmic ’80s rock, it is commendable that these three were able to make their performances stand out from a show overflowing with stirring and delightful songs.
Each member of the cast — and indeed the audience as well — relieves the tension built by the now-lifted ban on dancing with the musical’s conclusion at the long-awaited high school dance.
Through its endearing romances, its punchy musical numbers, and its satisfying closure, Footloose taught audiences how the company of others — be it above train tracks or in the frenzy of a school dance — can reveal us, renew us, and let us revel.
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