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Aqdas Lilani

Professor King

English 4

2 December 2018

Footloose: Kick off the Sunday shoes

When Footloose is in town, you need to put on your favorite dancing shoes and make it

girls or guys night with your best friend. That is precisely what I did on the night of November

3rd; my best friend and I spent the evening at the DVC Performing Arts Center indulging

ourselves in Lisa Drummonds rendition of Footloose, The Musical. The original production by

Dean Pitchford was actually a 1984 film which made its way to Broadway in 1998.

The story is of young Ren McCormack who moved from big town Chicago to a quaint

little town called Bomont. Ren experiences a culture clash as he tries to assimilate to strict rules;

Bomont prohibits rock music and dancing which might as well define Ren’s personality.

Furthermore, Ren falls for darling Ariel Moore who is the daughter of the local Reverend who

enforces the prohibition on rock and dance. The musical is brought to life by Lisa Drummond,

DVC Drama Department Chair and Marketing Director, and Enrico Banson, Music and Stage

Director. The musical had the audience tapping their feet to the beats and lusting over Ren and

Ariel’s onstage chemistry. A night well spent!

The two masterminds behind the DVC production have quite the resume which led the

entire team to a successful two and half weeks on stage. The director, Lisa Drummond, received

her BA in Drama-Acting from San Francisco State University and an MFA in Drama-Musical

Theatre from San Diego State University. She has been working as a teacher, actor, director, and

acting coach for the last 20 years; she has also won numerous Teacher Excellence Awards and
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has several productions under her belt. The Musical Director, Enrico Banson, really outdid

himself in the production of Footloose, he is an accomplished music and stage director who also

got his degree in Film from San Francisco State University. He has directed two full-length indie

film and has worked on many Hollywood movies. The dynamic duo put their minds together,

and the outcome was a successful production.

One of the major themes of the musical was family and community, and the actors and

actresses did an excellent job immersing themselves into the emotional dialogue the musical

desperately called for. Ren, played by Myles Brown, comes from a broken home where his father

left them without a word. He blames himself for the loss and claims responsibility of taking care

of his mother. He channels his angst into music and dance, but due to the town's restriction, he

finds himself continually getting into trouble. Ren’s mother, Ethel, played by Jessica Montez,

finds herself filling in both parents’ shoe and wants to support Ren through his aggression. Ariel

Moore, played by Sabrina Gottlieb, also has conflicts she is trying to fight out of at home.

Bomont suffered a tragic loss in which Reverend Moore lost a son, and Ariel lost her brother in a

car accident; since then rock and dance had been banned. Ariel drifted away from her father and

both mourned the loss in their own ways; Ariel sought into rebellious behavior, and the Reverend

took it upon himself to protect the town's youth. Towards the end of the story, the community

goes to townhall to suggest a change in rock and dance policy. The Reverend denies, and so Ren

meets him in church, shares with him the internal conflicts he is facing, and how music and

dance help him cope with his family dynamics. The Reverend realizes that his strict attitude is

the cause of the distance between him and his daughter.

The DVC Drama team were able to bring the experience to life through props, the

backgrounds, costumes, and the actors and actresses character development throughout the
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music. There was a smooth transition between the scenes, and the actors had a seamless way of

incorporating the 80s culture into their costumes. One could easily get lost in the music and be

transported into the town of Bomont. Each scene pulls on the heartstrings of the audience, and

the emotional context is quickly picked up through the communications of song and dance. By

the end of the musical, the audience was in awe of the fantastic performances, and it was evident

that the team worked hard in compiling a beautiful masterpiece. I found Sabrina Gottlieb

performance to be particularly amazing because she was able to pull off a delicate southern

accent and her innocence lured the crowd into lusting over her performance. Myles Brown also

did a fantastic job in keeping the audiences spirits heightened by keeping a constant energy

throughout his entire performance. The entire production did a great job in keeping the original

spirits of the 1980s production of Footloose alive.

As a novice theater attendee, Footloose, The Musical was an excellent way to start my

theatrical career. I recommend this musical to everyone because the premise of the story is

relatable, and the crowd was full of children and adults just having a good time. The themes of

the musical are relevant even 30 years after the original production. The play might have been

performed at this time in history because it highlights important themes of family and

community which are integral in the transition to the holidays. It is a reminder to mend family

and community issues as love and happiness prevail all other matters.
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Works Cited

Ben, Brantley. “THEATER REVIEW; A Little Town Goes A Little Footloose.” The New York

Times , 23 Oct. 1998,

www.nytimes.com/1998/10/23/movies/theater-review-a-little-t own-goes-a-little-

footloose.html.

Cordero, Phillip, and Elias, George. “DVC’s Drama Department Kicks Off ‘Footloose’ This

Fall.” The Inquirer, 1 Oct. 2018,

www.dvcinquirer.com/af/2018/10/01/dvcs-drama-department-kicks-off-footloose-this-

fall/

“Enrico Banson.” DVC Drama, Diablo Valley College,

http://dvcdrama.net/about-us/facultystaff/enrico-banson/

FOOTLOOSE.” DVC Drama, Diablo Valley College, 19 Oct. 2018,

www.dvcdrama.net/current-season1/footloose/.

“Lisa Drummond.” DVC Drama, Diablo Valley College,

http://dvcdrama.net/about-us/facultystaff/lisa-drummond/