This spring, the Nightingale Theatre will perform Footloose as the annual spring musical. The original 1984 Footloose tells the story, through music, of a teenage boy moving to a Midwestern town where he challenges the rules against rock music and dancing. Since auditions were held at the start of December, the THHS Nightingale Theatre has started preparations to bring this story to the THHS stage in April.
This year’s play is more ensemble based, requiring more students than last year’s play, Little Shop of Horrors. “Last year’s musical, Little Shop of Horrors, didn’t require a huge cast, but with Footloose, everyone is part of the town. Because of that, we’re really focused on bringing the town itself to life and making the world feel full and real,” said Sophomore Olivia Perla, a member of the adult ensemble.
The selection behind the musical Footloose came from the play’s choreographer, Science Teacher Katherine Cooper. English Teacher Kevin Schwab said, “our selection process was down to one passionate person: our choreographer Ms. Cooper was inspired to cut loose.”
Following the auditions that were held on December 9 and 10, cast members have begun to attend afterschool rehearsals to start preparing for the musical. The cast meets three times a week, as those with certain roles are called to rehearse their specific scenes, with Wednesdays dedicated to choreography, Thursdays to blocking, and Fridays to music rehearsals. There have been two full cast rehearsals, where the cast is encouraged to bond with one another and read the script together.
However, with rehearsals and other clubs overlapping, it has been difficult to get the whole cast to rehearse together consistently for full cast rehearsals. As this problem occurs, freshman Vivienne Galvin says, “On days when I know rehearsal will consume the bulk of my evening, I try to complete any work I have during my free bands.”
Footloose is a musical full of high energy choreography, different from many musicals done before such as Into The Woods and Little Shop Of Horrors. Mr. Schwab, one of the directors, said, “The number of choreographed sequences in Footloose is more than we have had since The Wiz, 7 years ago.”
Actors express anticipation for rehearsals in the future and for the final production. Sophomore Clair Kim, who will play the character Wendy Jo, said, “I’m excited for the show to come together into a real production.”
Some members said they were looking forward to tech week, the week prior to the show where final rehearsals are held. Freshman Sofia Stacic in the teen ensemble said “ It’s the week before the show, and it’s when everything starts coming together in a super chaotic, messy way. I think there’s something super poetic in how art can come from discord.”
Looking to the future, Sophomore Siddhini Singh said, “I’m anticipating a lot of choreo rehearsals, at least more to the extent that we had from last year. There’s going to be a lot of time spent between the cast since it’s so big, and also way more rehearsals point blank.”
Mr. Schwab said he hopes “to move [the] audience in April, and [he] very much looks forward to the growth achieved by [their] cast between now and then.”
