Footloose was first a hit film, then a musical. Both tell the story of Ren McCormack, a teenager from Chicago who moves with his mother to the small town of Bomont, where the local killjoys led by their preacher, Reverend Shaw Moore, have imposed a ban on rock music and dancing. The film was released in the USA and Canada on 17th February 1984 and in the UK on 13th April. It starred Kevin Bacon as Ren, John Lithgow as Reverend Moore, Diane Wiest as his wife Vi and Lori Singer as their daughter Ariel. The cast also featured Sarah Jessica Parker as Rusty.
The 1984 film soundtrack of Footloose was a number 1 hit in the USA. The nine-track album included four hit singles: Footloose, a number 1 hit in the USA for Kenny Loggins; Let's Hear It For The Boy, a US number 1 for Deniece Williams; Holding Out For A Hero, a US Top 40 hit and UK number 2 for Bonnie Tyler; and Almost Paradise, a US Top 10 hit for Mike Reno and Ann Wilson. Lyricist Dean Pitchford co-wrote all of the songs on the soundtrack. He worked in partnership with a variety of songwriters, among them Eric Carmen (Almost Paradise), Kenny Loggins (Footloose), Sammy Hagar (The Girl Gets Around) and Jim Steinman (Holding Out For A Hero). Two of the songs (Let's Hear It For The Boy and Somebody's Eyes) were written with Tom Snow, who Pitchford later teamed up with to write the rest of the songs for Footloose The Musical.
Footloose was first staged as a musical in 1998 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. It opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on 22nd October 1998 and the following year went on a successful tour of the US. The Broadway production ran until 2nd July 2000.
Footloose The Musical arrived in the UK in 2004, embarking on a national tour that travelled to major theatres up and down the country, including the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham and the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton.
In April 2005 the show went through a partial re-write. The order of the songs in the second half was changed. Two songs were taken out - Let's Make Believe We're In Love and I Confess - and a new song added - Still Rockin'. The first Act now opened with the girls (Jo, Rusty, Urleen and Wendy) singing Footloose instead of the boys, while the song Learning To Be Silent, originally a duet between the two mothers Ethel and Vi, became a three-part harmony with Ariel.
A second UK tour followed in 2006, starring the Emmerdale actor Stephen McGann as Reverend Moore and Bucks Fizz singer Cheryl Baker as Vi. It kicked off at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff (Friday, 6th - Saturday, 14th January) and ended up at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth (Monday, 20th - Saturday, 25th March).
The production then transferred to London's West End, opening at the Novello Theatre on the Strand on Tuesday, 18th April 2006, following previews from Saturday, 8th April. After a seven-month run, the production closed on Saturday, 11th November 2006. The West End production originally starred Derek Hough as Ren, Stephen McGann as Reverend Moore, Cheryl Baker as Vi and Lorna Want as Ariel. Amy Pemberton replaced Lorna Want on 1st May and continued until the end of the run. David Essex joined the cast as Reverend Moore for three months in the Summer (10th June - 10th September) with Michael Howe taking over the role for the last two months.
Two of the principal members of the West End cast (Johnny Shentall as Chuck Cranston and Giovanni Spaño as Willard Hewitt) stayed on for the 2007 UK tour. They were joined by Tommy Sherlock as Ren, Julian Agnew as Reverend Moore, Lyn Paul as Vi and Miria Parvin as Ariel. Following the tour Footloose returned to the West End for a second run, this time at the Playhouse Theatre. The cast remained largely unchanged from the UK tour, with Lyn Paul continuing as Vi Moore until the show closed on 1st December.
   
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Footloose
All you might ever need to know about the 1984 film, with photos, film clips and some entertaining trivia and "goofs".
A useful summary of the 1984 film - minus the photos, film clips, trivia and "goofs" that you get on IMDb.
Footloose The Musical
Footloose
Review by Peter Lathan
"The strengths are in the performance. We have a Ren (Derek Hough) and an Ariel (Miria Parvin) of exceptional quality, and they are supported by a cast whose energy, drive, athleticism and sheer dance talent are extraordinary. Giovanni Spano, playing Ren's friend Willard, has a great comic sense whilst Julian Agnew (Rev Moore) and Lyn Paul (Vi Moore) manage to bring more to their characters than the text would suggest. I have to say, too, that Nikki Belsher (Ren's mother) did the seemingly impossible - she made the character both believable and sympathetic."
Details of the Broadway production of Footloose, which ran at the Richard Rodgers Theatre for 709 performances. The opening night cast included Jeremy Kushnier as Ren McCormack and Jennifer Laura Thompson as Ariel Moore, with Stephen Lee Anderson as Reverend Moore and Dee Hoty as Vi Moore.
Information on the Broadway production and beyond, including the show's UK premiere at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth (2004) and the original West End production at the Novello Theatre (2006).
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