Whittlesea Secondary College students will put on their best dancing shoes this Friday night for the opening of the school’s production of Footloose.
The largest set to hit the school’s stage with several location changes and set moves, this year’s production has around 23 students in the cast, with 10 behind the scenes and another 50 to 60 students involved in building sets and preparing for the show.
A crowd favourite packed with 80s nostalgia, Footloose is augmented with dynamic new songs from its bestselling Oscar-nominated score, celebrating the exhilaration of youth while exploring the power of forgiveness.
Whittlesea Secondary student Daniel Martin will step into the dancing shoes of Ren McCormack, a teenage boy who moves to the small town of Bomont and finds himself at odds with most of the town, after Reverend Bomont convinced the town to outlaw dancing.
But with the help of the Reverend’s daughter Ariel Moore and best friend Willard Hewitt, who will be played by students Ally Chesswas and Jem Johnson, Ren convinces the Reverend to let the teenagers dance, and in turn, helps the town to heal from a tragedy.
Other supporting characters include Ariel’s best friend and talkaholic Rusty Rodriguez, who will be played by student Jorji Allison.
Footloose will be the fourth show Shaun Geerlings-Parker has directed at the school, following last year’s production of Chicago: High School Edition, which received its first nominations in the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria last year.
Mr Geerlings-Parker said this year’s show was his ‘most challenging production’.
“This production has probably been my hardest one here due to the fact that there’s so many elements, we’ve got a massive set, it’s a huge technical production,” he said.
“There’s lots of elements in this production compared to Chicago last year.
“It’s a high energy show, it’s been fast for the students to learn. The students have done a great job of pulling it together really quickly.”
The production will have its opening night this Friday at 7pm at the school’s Performing Arts Centre, located at 55 Laurel Street, Whittlesea.
To find more dates and tickets, visit www.bit.ly/3yM2jkR.
