It’s time to find your old 80s Members Only jacket. On Sept. 7, the Cape Fear Regional Theatre brought audiences back to 1984 when they officially opened “Footloose the Musical” to a sold-out audience. “Footloose” previewed to audiences on Sept. 5 and 6 with much excitement, but that Saturday was the official opening.
“Footloose” is a high energy show of dancing and singing that begins before the velvet curtain fully opens. It’s the last production for CFRT before construction begins for renovations on the theater. After viewing the opening night show, it’s apparent CFRT intended to leave audiences dancing on a high note.
“Footloose the Musical” is based on the original screenplay by Dean Pitchford and is directed by Suzanne Agins, whom you may remember for directing “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” at CFRT from 2022.
What’s ‘Footloose’ about?
The storyline revolves around Ren, a high schooler and big-city transplant from Chicago who moves to the fictional rural town of Bomont. Josiah Thomas Randolph plays Ren McCormack in his debut at CFRT. This very talented performer is not to be missed.
In the show, Ren’s character has trouble fitting into his surroundings and clashes against the town’s ordinances of no dancing, alcohol and marijuana. The town’s strict ordinance of “no fun” was due to a tragic accident that took the life of several teenagers, traumatizing the town. Ren slides deeper into trouble when he catches the eye of Ariel Moore, the preacher’s daughter. Ren soon finds himself at odds with Rev. Shaw Moore (Jesse Swimm) and the town’s council as he leads a petition to lift the ban on dancing.
Victoria Mesa plays Ariel Moore, and puts on a stellar performance, bearing a striking resemblance to actress Anne Hathaway.
Along the way, we’re introduced to lovable characters like Ren’s friend, Willard, who can’t dance and has a propensity for fighting. If you saw “The Play That Goes Wrong” you’ll remember Charlie Turner, who plays Willard Hewitt. Turner is a party-in-a-box. He immediately brings energy to any role he plays with his style and comedic genius. Footloose is packed with memorable characters and performances and Turner’s portrayal of the affable Willard is worth the price of admission.
Speaking of memorable characters and performances …
In addition to great comedy, there are thought-provoking scenes and characters. Amber Dawn French, who’s a familiar face at CFRT, plays Vi Moore, the wife of the town’s preacher and mother to Ariel Moore. It’s a different role for French, who plays a wife and mother caught in the stress of the town’s dilemma. Her character is wise with a quiet strength as she struggles to keep peace for different members of her family. French’s performance is heartfelt as she sings a solo in “Can You Find It In Your Heart?” and performs “Learning To Be Silent” with characters Ethel McCormack, who is Ren’s mother (Samantha Parada), and Ariel Moore.
Feel-good energy
Sensational performances are a staple at CFRT, but I can’t think of a past production where I observed the performers having as great a time performing as they did in “Footloose.” The singing, harmonizing and dancing in Saturday’s opening night were top-shelf and the chemistry of the performers was greater than I’ve ever seen before.
I ran into Dr. Sonny Kelly, a local and frequent attendee of and performer in CFRT productions.
“There were a lot of triple threats in this show tonight with strong acting, strong singing and exceptionally strong dancing,” Kelly said. “My sons and I were talking about this being the strongest dancing we’ve seen on the stage and most enjoyable dancing from the whole ensemble that we’ve ever seen at CFRT.”
I asked another local and supporter of the theater, Jennifer Hammond, for her thoughts.
“The dancing and energy in this show are such a great way to say goodbye to this theater for the next one to two years,” Hammond said. “It’s a really fun and exciting way to start the next phase of Cape Fear Regional Theatre and I’m really excited about this one.”
I saw people dancing in the lobby after the show. “Footloose” has that kind of feel-good energy.
“Footloose the Musical” is about 2 hours with a 15-minute intermission and runs through Sept. 29.
Tickets are on sale now at cfrt.org/footloose-the-musical/, or call the box office at 910-323-4233.
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