River View gets 'Footloose' with spring musical

WARSAW − A beloved 1980s film turned into a stage musical will soon be gracing the stage of River View High School.

"Footloose" is a 1998 musical based on the 1984 film starring Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer and John Lithgow. There was a film remake in 2011. The play closely follows the original film about a high school student who moves to a new town that has outlawed dancing. There are original songs, but there are many from the film including the title number, "Holding Out for a Hero," "Let's Hear it for the Boy" and "Almost Paradise."

Director Mary McMullen has served as a costume designer for the musical twice and was very familiar with it. The play is updated for the modern day, but still has a lot of themes and moments from the original movie, which she believes are timeless and that her students can relate to as they also live in a small town.

"There's a lot of story points where the kids can connect with the subject matter. Some of the things they're dealing with in the show emotionally, as well as the fun aspect of it," McMullen said. "We all know 'Footloose' is about a town that says no to dancing due to some tragedies that happened. There's a lot of rules in place for the teens. But, more than that, it's a story about healing in the younger group and adult group. We see some real life subject matter."

Senior Paige Nicely plays Vi Moore, wife of the strict Rev. Shaw Moore and daughter of Ariel Moore, who takes a liking to new kid Ren McCormack. While Vi is grouped with the adults, she's sympathetic to the teens and wants to help her husband heal and move on from the death of their son.

"I love it because of the family you make and all the skills you learn," she said of the value of drama in high school. "I'm learning leadership skills and just all of what it takes to put something together."

There are 37 students in the cast, which McMullen said is quite large. There are also about five more students helping backstage along with other high school staff, alumni and community volunteers assisting.

"We've become dependent on it, especially the alumni. Because they've done it and know how is is. They know how to communicate with the kids to help them through when they're new and find out what the next thing is. They can jump right in, because they know how the program runs," McMullen said of the extra help. "The community members bring a wealth of knowledge from different facets of life and we're happy to have them as well. We couldn't do it without all of them."

Senior Bree Washington plays Ariel. Washington describes her character as rebellious, but with a soft heart underneath and family oriented, but that doesn't come out until the end. She knew the original film starred Kevin Bacon, but not much else before starting rehearsals.

"I didn't know about the other characters. It's been interesting learning about the other characters from the movie and then seeing us portray them on stage. I feel we do portray them pretty well," Washington said.

Senior Alex Courtright is Rev. Moore, who he describes as always watching and has control over everything. He's enjoyed working with the cast because of the energy everyone puts forth.

"We've done really well and I'm excited for it," he said.

Senior Kiera McPeck plays Ren's mother, Ethel McCormack. The family is struggling emotionally and financially following Ren's father leaving, leading to the move to the smaller Bomont.

"It's very funny, but very emotional at the same time," McPeck said.

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. April 28 and 29 in the auditorium of River View High School, 26496 Ohio 60, Warsaw. A dinner will be prior from 5 to 7 p.m. in the cafeteria. Tickets are $8 for the show or $18 for the show and dinner for adults and $13 for children under age 10. Tickets are available at onthestage.tickets/river-view-high-school-dept-of-music. Tickets for the show will also be available at the door, but dinner must be bought in advance.

The cast features Dalyn Lemon, Kiera McPeck, Alex Courtright, Paige Nicely, Bree Washington, Ella Casey, William Cullison, Gavin Guilliams, Cindy Keneda, Grace Cullison, Kynsington McMasters, Hollee Sheneman, Darrian Besancon, Brody Johnson, Kaden Arnold, Lanie Nickerson, Georgia Haines, Sheldon Stotts, Olivia Avalle, Aidan Stevens-Woolery, Brody Johnson, Kennedy White, Camryn Kaercher, Lilly Wells, Riah Fox, Danika Bertschy, Marissa Sheneman, JoJo Pahoundis and Carlie Stottlemire.

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: River View gets 'Footloose' with spring musical