Picture: Fraser Band
Casting has been confirmed for the Pitlochry Festival Theatre and New Wolsey Theatre’s upcoming co-production of Footloose.
Luke Wilson (Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Shakespeare Company, Rockets and Blue Lights, National Theatre) will take on the central role of Ren McCormack, with Olivier Award-nominee Kirsty Findlay (Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, National Theatre of Scotland) as Ariel Moore, Luke Thornton (The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole the Musical, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Summer Holiday, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) as Willard and Elizabeth Rowe (Made in Dagenham, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch/New Wolsey Theatre, One Man, Two Guvnors, Nuffield Southampton Theatres) as Rusty. Robin Simpson (The Railway Children, York Theatre Royal, Much Ado About Nothing, Northern Broadsides) will play Reverend Shaw Moore opposite Wendy Paver (The Blonde Bombshells of 1943/Summer Holiday, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Footloose, UK tour) as the Reverend’s wife, Vi Moore.
The cast will also feature Lola Aluko (Medea, National Theatre of Scotland) as Lulu, Chris Coxon (The Wizard of Oz, The Watermill Theatre, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, Leicester Curve/UK tour) as Coach Roger Dunbar, Theo Diedrick (Sleeping Beauty, Theatr Clwyd, The True Adventures of Marian and Robin Hood, Barn Theatre) as Lyle, Connor Going (Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Footloose, West End/UK/international tour) as Chuck Cranston, Charlotte Grayson (Sunshine on Leith, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, 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 and Myles Miller (Alice In Wonderland, Liverpool Everyman Playhouse, Beautiful The Carole King Musical, Curve/UK tour) as Travis. All other roles will be played by the cast.
Footloose will debut in the main auditorium at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 31 May until 26 September before transferring to Ipswich’s New Wolsey from 3 to 26 October.
Directed by the New Wolsey Theatre’s chief executive and artistic director Douglas Rintol (Made in Dagenham, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch/New Wolsey Theatre), the new 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/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).
Commenting on the production, 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.”
The new production coincides with the 40th anniversary of the release of the hit original film which starred Kevin Bacon as the teenager who brings dance to a small American town. Footloose has music by Tom Snow and lyrics by Dean Pitchford, and is adapted for the stage by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie. With additional music by Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins and Jim Steinman. The musical is based on Pitchford’s original screenplay. The show first opened on Broadway in 1998 and was nominated for four Tony Awards. The musical made its UK debut with a touring production in 2004 and received its West End premiere in 2006 following a second UK tour.
Angela Thomas
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