Pitlochry Festival Theatre and New Wolsey Theatre are heading back to the 1980s this summer to stage a spectacular new production of the explosive musical Footloose.
Based on the hit 1980s film, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary, and directed by the New Wolsey Theatre’s Chief Executive/Artistic Director Douglas Rintoul (Made in Dagenham (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and New Wolsey Theatre), Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole The Musical (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch), Footloose will première at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 31 May until 26 September and then transfer to the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich from 3-26 October.
When Ren and his mother move from Chicago to a small farming town, he is prepared for the inevitable adjustment to starting at a new high school, but he’s not prepared for the rigorous local edicts, including a ban on dancing. This heartfelt story pits a father longing for the son he lost against a young man aching for the father who walked out on him. To the rockin’ rhythm of its Oscar and Tony-nominated Top Forty score, elevated with dynamic new songs, Footloose celebrates the wisdom of listening to young people while guiding them with a warm heart and an open mind.
Footloose first burst into life in the 1984 film starring Kevin Bacon and was one of that year’s most successful motion pictures. The film’s soundtrack reached Number 1 on the Billboard charts and went on to sell over 17 million copies worldwide, generating hits including its title song and Let’s Hear It for the Boy (both of which received Academy Award nominations), plus Almost Paradise, Holding Out for A Hero by Bonnie Tyler, and I’m Free (Heaven Helps the Man).
Footloose opened on Broadway on October 22, 1998. The next day, the show broke the box office record for the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it continued to thrill audiences until July 2000. The production was nominated for four Tony Awards.
The production’s fantastic cast will feature Lola Aluko (Medea, National Theatre of Scotland) as Lulu; Chris Coxon (The Wizard of Oz, The Watermill Theatre and Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, Leicester Curve/UK Tour) as Coach Roger Dunbar; Theo Diedrick (Sleeping Beauty, Theatr Clwyd and The True Adventures of Marian and Robin Hood, Barn Theatre) as Lyle; Kirsty Findlay (nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role along with the 2016 cast of the National Theatre of Scotland’s production of Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour) as Ariel Moore; Connor Going (Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Footloose, West End, UK & International Tour) as Chuck Cranston; Charlotte Grayson (Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and The Lord of the Rings, The Watermill Theatre) as Wendy Jo; Nina Kristofferson (Medea, Northern Broadsides) as Ethel McCormack; Signe Larsson (The Wizard of Oz, The Watermill Theatre) as Urleen; Myles Miller (Alice In Wonderland, Liverpool Everyman Playhouse and Beautiful The Carole King Musical, Curve and UK Tour) as Travis; Wendy Paver (The Blonde Bombshells of 1943 and Summer Holiday, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Footloose, UK tour) as Vi Moore; Elizabeth Rowe (Made in Dagenham, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch / New Wolsey Theatre and One Man, Two Guvnors, Nuffield Southampton Theatres) as Rusty; Robin Simpson (The Railway Children, York Theatre Royal and Much Ado About Nothing, Northern Broadsides) as the Reverend Shaw Moore; Luke Thornton (The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole the Musical, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Summer Holiday, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) as Willard and Luke Wilson (Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Shakespeare Company and Rockets and Blue Lights, National Theatre) as Ren McCormack. All other roles will be played by the cast.
Adapted for the stage by Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie, Footloose features a score by Tom Snow and lyrics by Dean Pitchford with additional music by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, and Jim Steinman. The production is designed by Adrian Rees (Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre), with music directed by Richard Reeday (Brief Encounter, Pitlochry Festival Theatre), lighting by Jeanine Byrne (A Streetcar Named Desire, Pitlochry Festival Theatre), sound by James Cook (Once, UK Tour), choreography by Kally Lloyd-Jones (This Is Memorial Device, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Edinburgh International Book Festival), fight direction by Robin Hellier ( A Streetcar Named Desire, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) and the voice dialect coach is Charmian Hoare (The Lehman Trilogy, National Theatre).
Director and Chief Executive/Artistic Director of the New Wolsey Theatre Douglas Rintoul said:
“Elizabeth Newman and I have been cooking up a treat for our theatres for a while. Although we’re 500-miles apart there’s a palpable synergy between us. Footloose, is etched in our memories for its Oscar and Tony-nominated score, but it also unfolds as a poignant journey delving into themes of grief, cultural censorship, and youth rebellion. This new collaboration represents a thrilling opportunity to reawaken the essence of this classic. In this way, this 40-year-old 80s classic will resonate with the challenges and joys of our contemporary world.”
Footloose runs at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 31 May – 26 September. Tickets and further information are available from the Box Office on 01796 484626 or online at pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com
