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Footloose
Presented by:
Whitehorse Musical Theatre
Venue:
The Besen Centre, Burwood
Reviewer:
Emmalee Bell
Date
Reviewed:
Sunday 17th May,
2009
This reviewing assignment has led me to reveal a shameful secret…..I
have never seen the film version of Footloose. While it
makes me a poor excuse for a musical theatre aficionado, it was
probably an advantage to be able to review this stage adaptation
without Kevin Bacon circa 1984 dancing in my mind.
For anyone else like me who is yet to be acquainted with
Footloose, this musical tells the story of teenager, Ren
McCormack (Drew Downing), forced to move to Bomont, a country town
where dancing is against the law. Ren catches the eye of the
Reverend’s wayward daughter Ariel (Tori Whiteside), making both
friends and enemies on his journey to bring fun back to Bomont.
Director David Parsons made a very deliberate decision to set this
production apart from the film by setting it in the 1950’s. While I
was disappointed not to see any legwarmers, on the whole it worked
and provided an excuse for some fantastic costumes (designed by John
Azzopardi) and a vintage car (very Grease inspired).
It pains me to say this, however I must be honest and admit that
this production did not quite have the professional polish that I
have come to expect from Whitehorse. This does not mean that it was
a bad production; in fact there were a number of standout things
that make it well worth seeing.
The first was the set and lighting design by Chris White (set), Brad
Adlock (lighting) and Vanessa Burke (lighting). The simple and
highly functional set was beautifully complemented by a more complex
lighting design. The two areas worked particularly well together
(with the addition of clever sound design by Andrew Poppleton) in
the railway bridge scenes, creating a realistic sense that a train
was hurtling along its tracks in the fly tower.
The second highlight was the performance given by Drew Downing. He
truly carried the show as a charismatic Ren McCormack. His singing,
dancing and acting were all equally strong, showing off Drew’s
impressive skills as a real triple-threat performer. Tori Whiteside
as Ariel, had a lovely voice, that blended well with Drew’s and
suited the role. David Gardette, looked every bit the part of a
Reverend, effectively showing the characters transformation
throughout the course of the show. Amy Clarke as the Reverend’s
wife, Vi gave another outstanding performance. Her beautifully
understated portrayal was outwardly fragile, while conveying the
inner strength of her character. The characters, Willard and Rusty,
friends of Ren and Ariel, capably played by Tyson Legg and Diana
Perini and provided effective comic relief.
The vocals of the ensemble, while strong, were at times unevenly
balanced. This was particularly evident in the title song
“Footloose”, where the melody was drowned out by the alto line. I
wonder if there may have been some issues with fold-back, as there
were also a couple of times where the singing was under pitch. It
was however, great to see so many relative new-comers gaining
valuable performance experience in the ensemble.
The choreography by Meriki Comito (assisted by Nadia Gianinotti) was
suitably fun and full of energy and the direction by David Parsons
well considered. Along with Music Director, Julia Buchanan, they
managed to create an enjoyable production that was enthusiastically
received by a large matinee audience.
I think that Whitehorse Musical Theatre is on the right track to
countering its recent financial difficulties – simpler staging, a
great production team and a focus on new members. I hope that
Footloose sets the company well on the road to financial
recovery.
Emmalee’s passion for musical theatre developed in her home-town of
Warrnambool where she was in 18 productions before her 21st
birthday. After moving to Perth to complete an Arts Management
degree at WAPPA, she performed in Les Miserables and the King and I
at the Regent Theatre. Since moving to Melbourne in 2005, Emmalee
performed in a concert production of Ragtime with Monash University
Choral Society, played the Bakers Wife in Into the Woods (MD
Productions), played Maria in The Sound of Music (Altona City
Theatre), went incognito as a pit singer in Cats (CLOC), played
Frauline Kost in Cabaret (ARC) and was in the Producers with
Whitehorse Musical Theatre.
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