Review: Footloose: The Dance Musical

Musical: Footloose: The Dance Musical [UK Tour]
Venue: Grand Theatre, Leeds, UK
Date: 30th June 2011 at 19:30
Cast: Adam C. Booth (Ren), Steven Pinder (Rev. Shaw Moore), Lorna Want (Ariel Moore), Harry Neale (Chuck), Giovanni Spano (Willard), Jodie Jacobs (Rusty), Karen Ascoe (Vi Moore), Carys Gray (Ethel), Keisha Amponsa Banson (Urleen), Tanya Robb (Wendy Jo), Gavin Alex (Cowboy Bob)
Rating: ****


Review:
Footloose is a musical based on the 1984 film of the same name starring Kevin Bacon about a teenage boy from Chicago who moved to a town of Bomont where dancing was banned and he was determined to bring dance, as well as the life and joy, back to the community. I have had no experience with Footloose whatsoever going in to this except from a few listens to the Broadway cast recording. Footloose: The Musical didn't do so well on Broadway and I've mostly heard quite mediocre to bad reviews about it so I wasn't sure what to expect out of it, being a touring production.

What I got was a really enjoyable time at the theatre! Footloose, now called Footloose: The Dance Musical, is that type of feel-good musical with a pretty ok storyline. I can kinda see why this musical could do well in England but not in the States. It's really the type of musical that British people would enjoy (excuse my racism here). Look at Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You, Thriller Live and Never Forget as just few of the examples. Those musical, well maybe except for Mamma Mia!, wouldn't last on Broadway. From the information I got, this was the third national tour of the show and it was still packed. I even heard audience members talked about how many times they had seen the show and how much they enjoyed it. I'm sure that Footloose will become like Joseph where no matter how often you bring it back, the audience will always go back to see it as if it was their first time.

First of all, what I like about the production is the logo. I think black and red logo is A LOT better than the ugly yellow Broadway logo. The storyline here, though predictable, actually gives you the excitement in rooting for the leading man, Ren, unlike my experience with The Wizard of Oz where everything was just plain boring.

The hideous Broadway logo

The songs are actually quite good, definitely surpassed my expectations. I love the American country flair that they threw in there which I think British audience could enjoy that more than American. The changes that they did from the Broadway cast recording were definitely a good call. The songs that they dropped (Let's Make Believe We're in Love, Dancing Is Not a Crime, I Confess) were pointless and what they added were not only nicer (Still Rockin') but moved the story along at a faster pace too (a shorter Dancing Is Not a Crime and the merge between I Confess/Can You Find It in Your Heart [Reprise]). The only problems I had with the songs were the title song which didn't really make much sense to the story. I guess they just needed to throw it in there somewhere.

The sceneries were pretty impressive for a touring production. I like the simplicity of it, yet it could do and symbolize so many places. I had a bit of the issue with costume continuity of the show. I hate when they just ignored what the actors were wearing. You wouldn't wear what you wore yesterday to church the next day! It just didn't make sense. And the black eye makeup, please do something about it.

The dancing was definitely phenomenal. I wasn't quite sure about the first choreography in Footloose during the opening but the rest of the show, they were top-notch.

The cast was also very talented but yet again, the girls outshone the guys. Lorna Want was definitely suitable as Ariel. She had the look of the innocent reverend's daughter, yet feisty and rebellish when needed. Her singing voice was just incredible. She also played Ariel in the original London cast back in 2006 so no doubt that she could nail the role perfectly. Karen Ascoe as Vi, the reverend's wife was just amazing. Her acting and singing totally stole the show, definitely a lot better than Dee Hoty that I heard on the cast recording. Carys Gray who played Ren's mom was also fabulous despite the minimal stage time. I especially love when the three of them sang "Learning to be Silent." 

Karen Ascoe as Vi Moore

Carys Gray as Ethel McCormack
(seen here with Max Milner as Ren)



Then we have Jodie Jacobs as Rusty. She was just darn funny and raised the roof with her rendition of "Let's Hear It for the Boy". Woah! That last few notes was amazing! Special mentions also go to Keisha Amponsa Banson and Tanya Robb as Urleen and Wendy Jo. And when the four of them, including Lorna Want teamed up for "Holding out for a Hero". The audience went wild (which might be due to the fact there were half-naked guys all over the stage, talking about a "camp" number, eh?). I also wanna mentioned the lady who played the girl who worked at Burger Blast, she was simply hilarious!

The girls about to go "Looking out for a Hero"
Tanya Robb, Lorna Want, Keisha Amponsa Banson and Jodie Jacobs

Talking about a campy number!

The most outstanding male cast was probably Giovanni Spano, also a member of the 2006 original West End cast, who reprised his role here as Willard. I think it was a very difficult role to pull off but he did it very well and the comedic timing and the charm that he got was spot on. His number, Mama Says, was definitely one of the highlights.

Giovanni Spano (left) as Willard at the BBQ Dance Hall

Steven Pinder, who looked a lot like Jonathan Pryce, was our Reverend Moore and I think he acted the part impeccably but seemed to struggle a bit with the high notes.

Steven Pinder as the Reverend

For Leeds, the roles of Ren and Chuck were played by Adam C. Booth and Harry Neale. Both performances fell a bit short of my expectation being a leading man and a leading villain. Booth has been the alternate Ren for the first part of the tour. Here, he fully played the role and though his acting and dancing was good. His singing seemed to struggle a lot, especially in I'm Free. He was not believable as teenage boy Ren either, despite the resemblance to Kevin Bacon, and was outshone by the rest of the cast pretty much the whole time. Neale, on the other hand, definitely had the look and the bad boy attitude for the part but everything else was just not right. His speaking, not to mention acting, singing and dancing still need a lot of work.



Adam C. Booth



Harry Neale

However, I really enjoyed the production a lot and was even thinking of going back a second night. Again, it was not a perfect musical, possibly too shallow for some, but I like the sincerity and the fun that it brings to the audience. We were all up on our feet by the finale. The 2011 tour ended here in Leeds but I'm sure that due to the popularity, another national tour will come up very soon and I would recommend this show to ANYONE who is looking for a good time at the theatre. As cheesy as this may sound, I'm gonna end the blog with a quote from the poster: "Dancing is not a crime, to miss Footloose would be.!"

"On Any Sunday"
Karen Ascoe, Steven Pinder and Lorna Want

"Can You Find It in Your Heart?"
Karen Ascoe and Steven Pinder

"Looking out for a Hero"

"Still Rockin'" at the BBQ Dance Hall

"The Girl Gets Around"
seen here with Matt Willis and Lorna Want as Chuck and Ariel

Act One Finale "I'm Free"
led by Max Milner as Ren and Steven Pinder as Rev. Moore in the back

MUSICAL NUMBERS
ACT ONE
Overture... Orchestra
Footloose... Ren and Company
On Any Sunday... Rev. Moore and Company
The Girl Gets Around... Chuck, Ariel and Company
I Can't Stand Still... Ren
Somebody's Eyes... Rusty, Urleen, Wendy Jo and Company
Learning to be Silent... Vi, Ethel and Ariel
Holding out for a Hero... Ariel, Rusty, Urleen, Wendy Jo and Company
Heaven Help Me... Rev. Moore
I'm Free/Heaven Help Me (Reprise)... Ren, Rev. Moore and Company


ACT TWO
Still Rockin'... Cowboy Bob and Company
Let's Hear It for the Boy... Rusty and Company
Can You Find It in Your Heart?... Vi
Mama Says (You Can't Back Down)... Willard, Ren and Company
Almost Paradise... Ren and Ariel
Can You Find It in Your Heart? (Reprise)... Rev. Moore
Footloose (Finale)... Company