Top musical theatre performers are announced for Footloose (The Musical) at the New Wolsey Theatre

15 May 2024 News, Press Release, Shows

The New Wolsey Theatre is heading back to the 1980s this autumn to stage a spectacular new production of the blockbuster musical Footloose. This explosive show, based on the original iconic film, is presented by the New Wolsey Theatre and Pitlochry Festival Theatre and has a cast full of some of the best actor-musicians in regional theatre today.

Fans of the New Wolsey Theatre’s popular Rock ’n’ Roll pantomimes will be delighted to see Myles Miller, Elizabeth Rowe and Luke Thornton make a welcome return to the venue in this smash-hit musical. The Footloose cast of actor-musicians features Lola Aluko as Lulu, Chris Coxon as Coach Roger Dunbar, Theo Diedrick as Lyle, Kirsty Findlay as Ariel Moore, Connor Going as Chuck Cranston, Charlotte Grayson as Wendy Jo, Nina Kristofferson as Ethel McCormack, Signe Larsson as Urleen, Myles Miller as Travis, Wendy Paver as Vi Moore, Elizabeth Rowe as Rusty, Robin Simpson as the Reverend Shaw Moore, Luke Thornton as Willard and Luke Wilson as Ren McCormack.

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.

Director and Chief Executive/Artistic Director of the New Wolsey Theatre Douglas Rintoul said: “Elizabeth Newman (Artistic Director, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) 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 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.

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).

Book online for Footloose at wolseytheatre.co.uk, in person at the Box Office or call 01473 295900.