A Roaring Success For Footloose

Footloose is an interesting musical; bit like a lion on a lead!
Inspired by a true story the Dean Pitchford / Walter Bobbie stage show centres on the fictional town of Bomont in the US where, for years, dancing has been banned, until local youth politely rebel, ask the town council for permission to hold a high school dance and are given the green light to gyrate their way into the musical history books!

But, there lies the rub.

Director Racky Plews, a self-confessed admirer of the 1998 stage show, inspired by the original 1984 movie, was faced with the interesting challenge of somehow capturing the rock 'n' roll vibrancy of the show, without betraying the fact that it was inspired by a bible belt town in Oklahoma. More Letloose than Footloose with biblical shackles!

But she pulled it off by cleverly endowing most of the main characters with an instrument; play whilst you perform, an increasing trend in many stage shows in recent years.

Cynics might attest that it is merely a way of keeping costs down, however, Plews says it was more about giving characters a way of expressing themselves musically, at a time when it was considered illegal to actually dance in Bomont.

The Devil's music might have been frowned upon but at least playing an instrument was legal! Equally the movement, as exciting as it was, showed enough restraint to be respectable and acceptable; hence my lion on a lead analogy. There were several theatrical balls to balance!

But it was a great, fun show featuring a hugely talented and vibrant cast. Young teenage rebel Ren McCormack, finds himself living with his hick town uncle in Bomont, after he and mum are forced to move south from Chicago when dad does a runner.

He is a fish out of water, more used to getting rid of his frustrations in the Windy City's nightclubs than the milk bars of dustbowl America so, when the ability to dance is taken away from him and he is left surrounded by a bunch of small-minded bible bashers, he nearly explodes, continually antagonising local authority figures.

But the linking theme is when Ren, with no father, comes face to face with local preacher, Rev Shaw Moore. He lost his son in a local car crash and was instrumental in supporting the original dance ban. Once at peace with one another, the two pave the way for the long awaited dance, the day when the kids can unshackle their ankles for a night of unfettered musical celebration.

There were some beautiful cameos in this show. Local boy Gareth Gates has come such a long way since his appearances on Pop Idol and I remember being impressed by one of his earlier appearances in Loserville at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2012. He has matured as a performer and was great as the awkward, lumbering, tongue-tied Willard, something he was more than equipped to play and drawing, no doubt, on personal experience.

Luke Baker as Ren was full of beans from start to finish and there was lots of contrast between the bouncy, vibrant, youthful players and the more staid, older town council, including the well-meaning Rev Shaw, a nice contrasting performance from Nigel Lister. And for a minute I thought I was back in Blood Brothers as Maureen Nolan made her appearance as Principal Clark!
This was a complex show to direct because performers were saying lines one minute and, seconds later, sitting at a piano with headphones and listening to the Musical Director!





But as with all things slick, this production was, no doubt, the product of hours in the rehearsal room. It was fun, vibrant and, as you can imagine, had the entire theatre on its feet at the end. Not quite one of those clubs in the Windy City, but it is guaranteed to remove any stresses acquired in your place of local employment!


Bradford Alhambra
Until Saturday July 2nd