Footloose at RMHS

The following was submitted by Mary Ellen Ferolito:

Musical Theater is alive and well in Reading, as will be evident for the next two weekends when the Award Winning Reading Memorial High School Drama Club presents: Footloose. 

Footloose is a family-friendly musical, set in Bomont, Texas.  Ren and his mother move from Chicago, and are surprised by the town’s strict local laws which include a ban on dancing, instituted by the local preacher after the tragic deaths of several youths five years earlier.  When the reverend’s daughter sets her sights on Ren, her roughneck boyfriend tries to sabotage Ren’s reputation.  The heartfelt story that emerges is a father longing for a son that he lost and of a young man aching for the father who walked out on him.  The story is set to the rhythm of its Oscar and Tony-nominated top 40 score and augmented with dynamic new songs for the stage musical.  A cast of 72 RMHS students will dance and sing  throughout this upbeat 1980’s musical.  There is an equal number, 72 students, behind the scenes, running all the technical aspects of the show.

Footloose will be the first RMHS musical directed by the new Drama and Theater Arts teacher: Natalie Cunha, herself a graduate of RMHS.  Musical Direction is by the Fine and Performing Arts Department Chair Kristin Killian.  Choreography is by Nancy Katz Stone and the Technical Director is Stephen Macdonald.

Parents and students together with staff built the sets, created the costumes, and will handle the front and backstage tech for this club’s productions which often boast sold-out performances. 

Buy your tickets now or on the day of the show for The RMHS Drama Club’s performances of Footloose on two consecutive weekends: Fridays and Saturdays November 9, 10, 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m. with Sunday Matinees on November 11 and 18 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the RMHS Box Office on November 5, 6, 7, and 8 from 6:30-7:30 as well as for an hour and a half before each performance.  Tickets may also be purchased for an extra fee at http://www.ticketstage.com/.  Click here for additional ticket information.