Dancing is a big part of everyday life; from rocking out in the car to slow dancing at a wedding or formal dance, no matter what, we’d all be lost without it. In the movie “Footloose” (1984), dancing was illegal which made the then teens upset causing the world famous Kevin Bacon, who played the main character Ren McCormack, to go to the city and tell them why it was wrong to take something away that was made for celebrating and exclaiming your feelings. As the Baconator says, “Let’s DANCE!“.

Footloose is a “fun and happy musical with dancing and heart wrenching love with beautiful singing,” says Cassandra Winsler, ‘21. When asked who in the audience would enjoy this musical more, Winsler responded with, “[Footloose is a musical that has] 80’s dancing and singing so, most parents or 80’s lovers would like this musical.” Sophomore Elizabeth Noll says, “‘Footloose’ is a fun little musical that is packed with dancing, despite the town of Bomonts law; No dancing.” Noll also stated that she thinks that the teens and kids would like the musical because of the dancing and the songs. What’s your opinion on “Footloose”?

Think to yourself: What would I do if I couldn’t dance? Fin High ‘21, answered. “I feel like it would be difficult,” He said, “but I’d like to think I’d be apart of the group that’s fighting the rules.” High auditioned for the role of Rusty, who is played by Sarah Jessica Parker in the 1984 edition of “Footloose”. When asked what the boundaries of changing your appearance for a production, High answered with “Maybe losing a lot or gaining weight would be the boundaries.” Winsler has played in Cinderella, The Spring One Acts, and recently, Footloose. As a returning actress who also auditioned for the role of Rusty. Winsler made into Footloose as part of the ensemble. Noll has been in a multitude of plays/musicals including “Quest for Quasi” and “The Princess Knight” when she performed at Wheatridge Middle School, and “Cinderella”, “You Can’t Beat the House”, and the Spring One Acts which were “Check Please”, “Stewart Little”, and “Twitch.” Have you been in any musicals and/or other productions?

Finding the right song for auditioning is nerve-racking. Finding one that matches your voice and range is a whole other story. Fin High, ‘21, totally agrees. Winsler, ‘21, summarizes that the most difficult part about acting would be “getting into your character” along with “performing to a full house”. Noll, ‘21, auditioned for the roles of Mrs. McCormick and Mrs. Moore, but got the role of Eleanor Dunbar.

When asked what character from Footloose they’d want to meet, this is what the sophomore students, who love theatre, had to say. “I would want to meet the actor of the Reverend or Shaw, Ariel’s father, I would ask for some tips because of how good he is at playing this role and staying in this character,” Winsler states. Noll adds, “Chris Penn” and “How do you accomplish comedy?” What actor would you want to meet?

Mr. Jeff Lady, the head of the theatre department and theatre teacher, has put together many productions from “Little Shop of Horrors” to “Guy and Dolls”, so clearly, “Footloose” isn’t his first rodeo. Lady says that “[the most stressful] is the last week before we open when we are trying to fit our cast and our technical elements together.” Lady also told sources that “It really spreads out evenly across the grade levels. We generally get anywhere from 30-60 kids depending on the show we pick and how popular it is with the kids.” on the point of how many kids audition for different roles for productions. Along the lines of costumes and props, Lady says “[costumes for this show will almost] completely come from the kids themselves.  They will have most of these items for Footloose in their closet.”

Lady and his theatre kids, we wish you the best of luck for your opening night and every performance after! Lady and the actors have worked for so many hours to make this the best first production that the Gardner-Edgerton School District has seen! This production is definitely worth seeing!