Tamara Tracz '25
Kick off your Sunday shoes and listen to this! On March 7th, 8th, and 9th, the LHS Theater Company kicked off the month with their production of Footloose. This past Saturday I got the chance to see it myself, and having both seen and performed in past productions, I must say that it was something special.
Footloose is essentially about a boy named Ren who moves to a small, religious town in the Southwest where dancing is prohibited. Ren falls in love with the Reverend’s daughter Ariel, and let’s just say lots of dancing, singing, and wholesome moments ensue. It is a witty, upbeat classic, and I think that the LHS cast & crew pulled it off phenomenally.
The first number, “Footloose” was the show’s theme song (did you know that this song’s genre is apparently considered “pop rock yacht rock rockabilly”!?). I wasn’t sure what to expect from the opening number at first (only the best of course), so it was thrilling when dancers started running onto stage one by one doing pirouettes, cartwheels, aerials…you name it! Later on in the show, Ren McCormick, played by junior Aaron Mason, catapulted over Willard Hewitt, played by Jacob Vega! The show was high energy with dancing throughout the entire show, and I was truly entertained by the choreography.
The soundtrack and execution of it were also spectacular and noteworthy! Footloose is an 80’s musical, so its soundtrack is heavily influenced by the pop-rock characteristics of that decade. My favorite numbers were “Somebody’s Eyes”, “Learning to be Silent”, and “Mama Says”. The numbers featuring the entire cast also had remarkably good vocals.
Overall, I think the audience as a whole enjoyed Footloose as much as I did. One man gave a standing ovation right after “I Can’t Stand Still” (he couldn’t sit still because of how extraordinary the song was). Another time everybody in the audience started clapping along to a song, and another time the audience roared with laughter after a witty scene. At the end of the show, colorful confetti exploded from the stage, which was the cherry on top of a great production. In my opinion, this is the best musical since LHS’s “Mamma Mia!” from 2019.
