ShowBizRadio

This is our time. Everbody cut Footloose! That’s what the cast of Holt High School’s production of Footloose was saying, anyway.

The musical Footloose opened at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre on October 22, 1998 and ran for 709 performances until July 2, 2000. It was directed by Walter Bobbie with choreography by A.C. Ciulla.

From his first appearance to his last, the quirky, lovable, and slow Willard (Parker Gleason) stole the show. He was always a delight and commanded the stage with his actions, comedic timing, and believable character. His song “Mama Says (You Can’t Back Down)” with his Mama’s boys (Brenden Schaeffer, Riley Grady, and Michael Twellman) was an energetic display of characterization and vocal talent.

Ren McCormack (Cody Cole), Reverend Shaw Moore (Nathan Hinds), and Rusty (Madison Miller) were also notable vocalists. Each had unique and powerful voices that were properly and beautifully showcased.

Ren (Cole) and Ariel Moore (Lara Flanders) showed powerful chemistry and strong vocal talent in their duet “Almost Paradise.” Their chemistry also improved after this song, showing their affection toward one another.

“I’m Free/Heaven Help Me” was a fun and energetic ending to an upbeat first act. “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” was another exciting performance with great energy to start the second act.

Rusty (Miller), Wendy Jo (Lauren Jurotich), and Urleen (Cayla Patterson) were a humorous, consistent ensemble that always represented themselves well and offered a spunky teen insight to the town’s blight.

The Moore’s, Reverend Shaw (Hinds) and Vi Moore (Abigail Alysmeyer) had strong chemistry and were a most believable married couple. They played off of each other well and seemed like the good cop/bad cop, the overbearing father and the less restrictive mother.

There were frequent hiccups in sound to start, but the quality improved throughout the show and were nearly completely absent toward the end of the show. The light cues were off sometimes, but never took away from the show.

Holt High School did not disappoint and may have put the newly released Footloose to shame.

by Brandon Janssen of Northwest High School