'Footloose' Stands Out Over Weekend

I haven't been to many musicals in my lifetime and I have written even fewer reviews of musicals- this being my first!

I decided to give it a shot this past weekend at the matinee performance of the Dover-Sherborn Drama department's production of "Footloose" at the Mudge Auditorium on Saturday.

And I have to say, I was impressed.

The musical, is a take on the film "Footloose" from the 1980's starring Kevin Bacon.

Leading the way was Nolan Murphy who played the starring role of Ren McCormack, a kid from Chicago who moves to rural Bomont, Texas where seemingly everything fun is illegal,  especially dancing.

Murphy's sassiness and attitude on stage made Ren seem like a true Chicagoan out of the big city.

He showed off his superb dancing skills during a solo by strutting and moonwalking across the stage while belting out tunes to the song "I Can't Stand Still."

Ariel, the rebellious minister's daughter and love interest of Ren, was played fantastically by Goldie Flavelle.

Her powerful but beautiful voice gave her a shining presence on stage and her and Murphy's chemistry worked great together, which included a kiss they shared after a duet during the second act.

The dancing and choreography was at points mesmerizing with routines that included seemingly the entire cast- my count was at least 25 people on stage dancing at one time- in synch and rarely missing a beat.

The orchestra rocked the house and made the classic songs from the film "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Footloose" sound like they were straight off the CD of the soundtrack.

The costumes were an eclectic mix of radical 1980's garb and classic southern style. A combination of fluorescent leg warmers and leather cowboy boots. 

If I had one complaint, it would be that at times when there were several people singing or talking in the background, it often drowned out the voice of the character who was the focus on stage at that time.

Overall though I was happy to have attended and am looking forward to more productions coming up this spring.