By Jack Meyers ‘27
After the highly successful theater season in 2023-24, including the impressive three productions SJR staged (Twelve Angry Men, Les Miserables, and A Chorus Line), all members of the department were in anticipation of what would be performed next. Students were emailed over the summer with choices of what would be on the Inserra Theater’s stage this winter. They all expressed interest in a variety of shows, and many were considered. However, John Asselta and Susan Van Buskirk, the leaders of the performing arts department, eventually settled on the energetic Footloose.
Footloose is a musical which premiered on Broadway in 1998. Based on the 1984 movie starring Kevin Bacon, it features iconic songs like “Holding Out For a Hero”, “Almost Paradise”, “Let’s Hear It for The Boy”, and of course, “Footloose.” The original production was a success on Broadway, running for a total of 709 performances and getting nominated for four Tony Awards.
The show itself follows a high school senior named Ren McCormack, who leaves the loud, bustling city of Chicago and moves to the quiet and old-fashioned town of Bomont. After moving in, Ren quickly learns the town’s number one rule enforced by the Reverend Shaw Moore: no dancing. Ren soon leads a rebellion to make dancing legal in the town, and along the way falls in love with the preacher’s daughter, Ariel, makes friends with a local cowboy, Willard, and learns the secrets of Shaw and his wife, Vi.
Susan Van Buskirk is the new Communications teacher for freshman and sophomores this year. Last year, she started at SJR by co-directing A Chorus Line, and is now looking forward to her first full year at Joes as Associate Director of the Performing Arts. “We wanted a show that was a crowd pleaser with great roles for many people in our program.” Says Van Buskirk. “We also wanted to continue to build on the dance training everyone received during A Chorus Line.” When asked what will be new and different in this year’s production compared to others, VB has this to say: “what we hope to make new about Footloose is Footloose! Since the show has last been performed on Broadway, a number of changes were made to increase the emphasis on the journey of both of our heroes (the main character, Ren, and the minister) to achieving forgiveness and true reconciliation with significant people in their lives. We are hoping to dig into the question of mental health, and the very challenges people have lurking under the surface. Additionally, the kids in Footloose fought to make change in their communities. We will ask our cast to dig deep and uncover what they think needs to be changed in their community and to try to identify how they can be part of the solution.”
“... Hopefully, you can see that there’s more to Footloose than meets the eye. With the new revisions and some of the programs we’re looking to take on, this is clearly not ‘your mother’s Footloose’. Our goal as a company is to make this a Footloose like no one‘s ever seen before with energetic and danceable pop hits, and a message that will hopefully resonate with our audiences.” Susan Van Buskirk concludes.
Auditions for Footloose will be held Monday, October 28th and Wednesday, October 30th, with students able to choose what day and time slot. (Sign up here: FOOTLOOSE Audition Sign-Ups) There is also a mandatory dance audition on October 31st at 6pm. Optional dance classes will be held weekly on Tuesdays from 6-7:15pm leading up to the Halloween dance call, learning combinations in the style of the show. Check the website or see John Asselta if you have any questions or are interested in performing in or being on the stage crew for Footloose. All in all, the theater department is going to have to be on top of their game to stage this big show. Be sure to check out Footloose from January 28th - February 8th, 2025 in the Inserra Theater.