Wesleyan Musical 'Footloose,' Full of Fun and Song

As 7:00 p.m. approached, the Powell Theatre at Wesleyan School filled with an expectant chatter. Parents and friends who had gathered to watch their special person eagerly awaited the curtain rise. Then with flashing lights and the live orchestra’s downbeat there came the chorus that many of us can sing along with. “Loose, footloose, kick off your Sunday shoes. Please Louis, pull me off of my knees. “ And off we went.

The story of Footloose is of a high school student, Ren, who moves with his mom from Chicago to the small town of Beaumont. Because of a tragedy five years earlier the town is somewhat frozen in time. One of the sticking points in the town is a law declaring that no dancing is allowed. The play addresses how that law, which is only a symptom of a deeper problem, is resolved.

Footloose is a great choice for a high school to produce because even though the time and place differ from the present, there’s an over all theme that relates to all time. The play points to children wanting their parents to see and hear them, people becoming stuck in their own personal pain and a redemptive ending that all people long for.

It was fun to watch each of the characters as they played their parts well. Michael Reynolds kept us laughing. And there were some really fine voices on display in this show. Both Ricky Yoder and Lila Deaton stood out vocally. Small characters make a big difference in any play. In this case a big thumbs up to the character of Principal Harry Clark played by Eric Lang. 

In speaking to director and theatre instructor Steve Broyles it looks like Wesleyan plans to continue the tradition of performing a musical each year. Last year they did Beauty and the Beast and next year will be Oklahoma. 

When I asked Broyles why he believed musicals are valuable to his theatre students he said that, “A musical is just one more tool of art to communicate ideas and images. The challenge with any musical is to learn not just dialogue, but song lyrics, music and dance. It is a complicated form of art that demands the whole physical instrument to get across the point of the story.”

Any of us who has enjoyed being in a production like this knows how the process really bonds people together. Director Broyles explained that this experience helps these students build long lasting relationships that they might not otherwise have. 

So bravo to all involved in last weekend’s production at Wesleyan. If you weren’t able to make it to Footloose, stay tuned for the plays coming up next year. There will be The Foreigner in November, Oklahoma in February and Canterbury Tales in May.