Thespians’ ‘Footloose’ Rocks and Rolls Into Our Hearts

ELTON HO
KAYIU WONG
Staff Writers

On April 3, three months of hard work and dedication paid off for our Thespians Honors Society with the opening night of their spring production “Footloose.” Working alongside many other dancers and musicians, they put on an admirable performance that showcased the wonderful vocal, musical and acting talents here at AHS.

Directed by Thespian adviser and drama teacher Jennifer Nitschke, the musical centers around the seemingly quiet town of Bomont where curfews are strict, dancing is illegal and the Bible is the authority. After recently moving from Chicago, determined protagonist Ren McCormick challenges the town’s enforced law and reminds everyone that a little dancing goes a long way in inspiring freedom.

With such complex and emotional deliveries, the Thespians skillfully portrayed the play’s realistic characters and engaged the audience in the storyline. Several major characters are highly memorable due to the passion of their actors. One notable performance included senior Anthony Amato as the male lead Ren McCormick. His intense fervor in both acting and singing truly captured the spectators’ attention. Alongside Amato, senior Carissa Herrera delivered a fantastic performance as Ariel Moore, Ren’s love interest. With a dynamic voice, Herrera eloquently illustrated the inner conflicts and feelings Ariel faces in the play.

Ariel’s father, Reverend Shaw Moore, acts as the musical’s main antagonist. As the one who primarily supports Bomont’s “no dancing” law, it would have been easy to portray him as just an one-dimensional villain. Instead, because of sophomore William Martinez’s adept acting, the Reverend can be seen as sympathetic and multifaceted. Reverend’s characterization allows the audience to understand that his actions are only meant to protect his daughter from harm. Instead of rooting for his downfall, we wish for him to understand and mend his relationship with Ariel. Their poignant familial issues is a touching secondary plot, keeping the audience emotionally invested in the play.

Supporting actors junior Brianna Sandoval and senior Tuan Tran truly delivered with strong stage presences. Sandoval’s solid vocals and energetic acting as Rusty were prominent throughout the musical’s scenes and dance numbers. Her spirited performance added liveliness to the play. Tran played Willard Hewitt, a simple-minded, rough but ultimately devoted friend of Ren’s. He became a clear audience favorite due to his comedic sayings and quirky charm.

Furthermore, the play’s numerous musical numbers were both stunning to listen to and visually appealing. Featuring many guest dancers, the choreography added emotion to the scenes, whether it was excitement or apprehension. One notable number was “Somebody’s Eyes,” which created a fittingly tense mood, effectively using spotlights to shade dancers in the background. The ambience of the live instrumental music in the pit was another strong point. Directed by AHS’ Visual and Performing Arts Director Mark Trulson, the music set up the scenes perfectly and immersed the audience into the actors’ performances.

Despite the overall excellence of the musical, there were some details that can be improved on for future performances. One unfortunate issue that the Thespians could not be faulted for was the auditorium’s old sound system that occasionally made it difficult to hear the actors’ lines. Stage transitions were fluid and impressive for most of the play, but the few occasions in which they stalled were quite noticeable. In these times, the music helped to alleviate some of the boredom, but the audience would often become distracted after waiting patiently for an extended time.

Regardless, three months of constant rehearsals and hard work definitely showed during every second of the play. Watching the cast’s beaming faces in the final musical number made it impossible not to admire the collaborative effort of everyone involved. They truly appeared to enjoy their performance and their enthusiasm spread to the audience. Planning, directing, staging and performing in a play is not easy, but the Thespians’ riveting production of “Footloose” was clearly done with dedication and pride.