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The Observer, April 7, 2006 Footloose Breaks Footlighters RecordsBy Laura CastroWhile most of us are too young to have experienced the true essence of the 1980s, certain key words – leg warmers, stone-washed jeans, spandex, scrunchies, blue eye shadow, and Aquanet, lots of Aquanet – can always conjure up visions of our country's favorite decade. Last weekend, the Footlighters had all of that and more in their phenomenal production of Footloose. The troupe packed Thwing's Excelsior Ballroom, bringing in 855 people, and breaking the troupe's attendance record since they began in 1998. For anyone unfamiliar with the story – which was made famous by the big-screen adaptation starring Kevin Bacon in 1984 – Footloose centers on the life of a fun-loving Chicago boy who moves to the non-descript town of Bomont after his father abandons him and his mother. He is immediately castout by the townsfolk for questioning their quiet way of life, especially the town mandate outlawing dancing. Garrett Coombs portrayed Ren McCormack and brought the very Bacon-esque quality to the stage that made this a hit from the beginning. Coombs' wide vocal range performed a potentially complicated set with ease, and his dancing complemented the role to a "T". He brought new meaning to the term "footloose" in his lively interpretation of the show's title track. At one point he also took on the humorous rap styles of the 1980s – watch out Vanilla Ice. Stealing the stage was first-time Footlighter Sonali Arora as Ariel Moore, a rebellious pastor's daughter who is torn between her need to escape her overbearing father and her desire to stay behind and antagonize him. Her energetic portrayal of Ariel's desperation, self-destructive behavior, and intelligence brought the character to life. Arora's vivacious performance of the classic tune "Holding Out for a Hero" – along with Kimberly Sullivan's Rusty, Kristen Levy's Wendy Jo, and Emily Pentello's Urleen – brought down the house. She and Coombs' "Almost Paradise" provided a tender moment of reflection, in which Ren and Ariel realize they belong together. Arora's chemistry with everyone on stage was unmatched, with the exception of Alex Hamberger's Willard – a goofy character with a Southern drawl who imparts his mother's wisdom in a Forest Gump-like manner. Hamberger brought comic relief to the more serious scenes – as Ren's best friend and Rusty's uncoordinated love interest – and was particularly entertaining in his performance of "Mama Says." Other noteworthy performances included Laura Crawford – as Vi Moore, Ariel's mother – whose big voice took the audience by surprise during songs such as "Can You Find it in Your Heart." Sullivan's fun interpretation of "Let's Hear It for the Boy" also piqued the audience's attention, and did justice to the hit made popular by Deniece Williams. The choreography by Jessica Barnes went far beyond the jerky and spastic dance moves popular in the 1980s (although, what New Wave-era musical could be found without it? ). From ballet to break dancing (courtesy of Matt Iorio), the show had it all and managed to pull it all off, despite the level of difficulty. Said Hamberger, "Not only is she [Barnes] extremely talented, she knew exactly how to work with every single cast member to make sure we all looked fantastic." Jeffrey T. Verespej exhibited able direction and the ability to pull together a large cast – one of the largest in Footlighter history – and masterfully executed an amazing performance. "[He] was incredible in dealing with everyone's hectic schedules and the most understanding director I've had the pleasure of working with," said Hamberger. The success of the show was also a result of the intense chemistry between the actors. "On a whole I love just being around other people who share the same passion for performing as I do, so definitely a major plus is meeting a lot of people I would probably not come in contact with anywhere else. I just fell in love with everyone involved in the show, which is not something I can say for every show I've been in," said Coombs. The only hitch the entire evening was with the sound system, which emitted some disturbing noises during the show, and served as a reminder that Case buildings are not conducive to holding musical performances. The size of the stage – both backstage and performance space – was also an issue throughout the course of the show. "A lot of things had to be scaled down due to lack of space on stage to perform movements, or lack of space to store set pieces because actors need to move around backstage," said Coombs. Despite spatial and aural obstacles, the Footlighters persevered and put on an amazing show. |