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Movie spin off still packs 'em in
Hoe down time as Footloose cranks up the action Footloose - the Dance Musical Birmingham Hippodrome
THERE are some
songs that will always fill the dance floor at any wedding. From the
very first bar people jump unsteadily to their alcohol fuelled feet and
they're immediately transported to a time when their co-ordination was
good and their dress sense was very very bad. Footloose is one of those
songs. Its a film that I must
admit is something of a guilty pleasure and I can't really explain why.
It shouldn't work it shouldn't draw you it, but it does and all you
really need is the intro:Downg dang
dang dang dang dang dang dang dang...
So I was quite looking forward to this show. To
be fair it was not without it merits. They did not wait long to break
out the title song, indeed its was the second or third number. This
seemingly is a production that knew what the audience had come for and
it was eager to deliver. And yet as a piece I and my companion found
that it fell short.
There were strong supporting performances, notably Giovanni Span who was excellent as Willard and the trio Jodie Jacobs, Keisha Amponsa Banson and Tanya Robb who all had some very nice interplay and got everything that they could from the sometimes lacklustre script. The lead performances were by no means bad, but
they didn't quite have the passion that one would hope for. The story is
an emotive one, or at least it could be, and that did not always shine
through.
There were flashes of genuine quality in the
performance. The choreography, by director Karen Bruce, was engaging and
energetic and some of the set pieces were well executed, however too
often these barnstorming ensembles were let down by the intervening
scenes which were unable to transfer the energy of the dances into the
script. This is a very successful show and has been for
ten years but in the same way that I am not totally sure why the film
worked so well, I'm not totally sure why this did not. Generally I would
say that the cast deserved better both in terms of script and sound,
which was sometimes difficult to hear, for their technical dance skills,
which did at times display undoubted prowess.
This was not a bad production but one can't help
but feel that it could have been a great one. Having said that I've been
humming footloose all bloody day, so it must have had some effect on me.
***** THIS rip-roaring musical began life as a
movie in 1984, but its transfer to the stage has seen the show pull in
large audiences all over the country, and a return visit to Birmingham
is proving as popular as ever. Opening night ended in cheers and a standing
ovation for a terrific young cast whose singing and dancing was, at
times, simply breathtaking. Based on a true story, it tells how a God-fearing
town in America bans public dancing in a move to crack down on risky
behaviour by its young people, following a tragic car crash. So it's a touch ironic that the musical is jam packed with stunning choreography by director Karen Bruce, including some of the most steamy, sexy and athletic dances imaginable (such as the cowboy and cowgirl right) Heading the cast is Matt Willis, star of
Busted and I'm A Celebrity, who plays the tough guy Chuck
Cranston, finding he has a love rival in Ren McCormack, a city boy ready
to stir things up when he moves to rural backwater, Bomont. Max Milner is excellent as Ren, forming a perfect
partnership with Lorna Want, playing glam blonde Ariel, daughter of the
strict Rev Shaw Moore (Steven Pinder). A fine performance, too, from
Giovanni Spano, the dance shy Willard Hewitt. Frantic Footloose runs to Saturday 19-03-11 Paul Marston
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