[NEohioPAL]Berko review: FOOTLOOSE (Carousel)

[Roy Berko]

Fine ‘Footloose’ lets loose at Carousel

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

Several years ago a new trend hit Broadway.  Rather
than develop a musical with an untested plot line,
producers turned to films as a source of getting
audiences into the theatre.  Three such shows were
‘FAME’ ‘SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER’ and ‘FOOTLOOSE.” 
‘FOOTLOOSE’ is now on stage at Carousel Dinner
Theatre.

Based on the1984 film which has become a cult cinema
sensation and insured stardom for Kevin Bacon, the
story contains a simple, if unlikely plot line.   Ren
MacCormack lives in Chicago.  He is into the club
scene and is leading a pleasant life until his father
suddenly walks out on the family.  Along with his
mother, he is forced to move to Bomont, a backwater
town where his aunt and uncle live. Streetsmart but
gentle Ren is enrolled at the local high school.  As
the new kid in town he is given a hard time by both
the students and the faculty. He is appalled to
discover the town's adults, under the guidance of the
local preacher, have imposed a law against "public
dancing" and rock music.  Ren sets about to change
things, falling in love with the preacher's daughter
Ariel in the process.  As in all good musical theatre
fairy tales...the happy ever-after ending is achieved.

‘FOOTLOOSE THE MUSICAL’ came into being in 1998 with
music by Tom Snow, lyrics by Dean Pitchford and book
by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbi.  Pritchard wrote
the original screenplay.  Additional music was
contributed by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins
and Jim Stein.

Unlike ‘FAME,’ ‘FOOTLOOSE’ gives the audience the
movie songs it expects to hear, and unlike ‘SATURDAY
NIGHT FEVER,’ it complements those songs with newly
written, honest-to-goodness songs that support the
plot.  The music doesn't exactly break new ground, but
it makes for a good listen.

Light plot, non-complicated book, the musical should
be a snap to stage, right?  Wrong.  It is not easy to
mount. There are four teenage leads surrounded by an
ensemble of approximately 25 including a gaggle of
adults.  They must all sing, dance and act.  

Carousel has been fortunate on two levels.  It has the
show’s Broadway director and it has cast performers
who can perform at a highly satisfying level.  
Director/choreographer AC Ciulla has created a
production that works well and choreography which
shines.   The cast performs that choreography with
pizazz, especially the male dancers.

Pleasantly, your first impression of the cast will
probably be, "My goodness, how young and how
talented."  None of the usual thirty-year old Broadway
gypsies playing high-school students. And, none of the
local high school kids, not quite ready for prime
time, trying to play themselves.  It freshens the
whole evening. 

Mike Backes, playing Ren, is both physically
attractive and talented.  His singing and dancing
abilities are impressive.  He is totally believable in
the role.  Of course, the fact that he did the
national tour of ‘FOOTLOOSE’ as Ren doesn’t hurt.  His
version of “I Can’t Stand Still” is fine.

Nicki Scalera is a beautiful Ariel.  She is rebellious
and sexy, but never loses the expected basic decency
and innocence of a preacher’s daughter.  Her voice is
lovely.  It is unfortunate that, as an accomplished
dancer, she isn’t given more opportunity to strut her
stuff.  Her singing of “Almost Paradise” with Backes
is wonderful.

There's an effective girl trio (Vanessa Ray, Amanda
Flynn and LaQuet Sharnell), so typical of the era, and
a wonderful, funny red-neck boy, Willard, played to
perfection by Robert Koutras, who basically steals the
show.

Clevelanders know the name of Paul Floriano from his
many local roles.  He does a nice job of making Rev.
Moore believable and vulnerable.  This is a hard job
because the character of the vulnerable but hard-edged
“bad guy” is not well written.  Marci Reid, as Ren’s
mother, and SuEllen Estey as the reverend’s wife, both
have strong singing voices and excellent acting
skills.  Their version of “Learning to be Silent” is
excellent as is Estey’s solo “Can You Find It In Your
Heart?”

The sets, lighting and costumes are functional and
well designed.  The musical accompaniment is
excellent.

Show highlights include the creatively choreographed
opening number, “I’m Free/Heaven help Me,” “Let’s Hear
it for the Boy” and the finale.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Carousel’s ‘FOOTLOOSE’ may not be
the greatest of theatre vehicles, but this production
is well worth seeing.  It harkens back to the good old
days of musicals when nice music, wonderful dancing
and a light but satisfying story line, all packaged
together in a well-directed show, were all that was
required to make audience’s happy.

For tickets  call 800-362-4100.  Show times are
Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Friday
and Saturday evenings at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday evenings
at 5 and Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2 P.M. 
Matinees are on Wednesday and Saturday at 2.  Dinner
is served two hours prior to curtain.  Ticket prices
range from $39.50 to $47.50 for the show with dinner
and 27-$35 without dinner


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.


		
__________________________________ 
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 
http://mail.yahoo.com